AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Same.” I croak out, “I mean I’m doing good as well.”
“That’s great– No, go left. Go left!” He says, abruptly yelling into the phone. “Sorry, babe. I let Tony take over for me in Fortnite and I’m watching him fuck it up. Can we talk later?”
“Oh, uh, sure.” I tell him, “I was kind of hoping we could talk now though.”
“Sorry, babe. It’s just not a great time. We can talk tomorrow, I promise.” He says, “Tony, it’s like you discovered gaming this morning. What are youdoing?”
“Wait, Carter, before you hang up,” I add hastily, hoping he hasn’t hung up already. Not even saying goodbye to me would be a first, but I wouldn’t be surprised at this point. “Did you go see my mom?”
I haven’t talked to my mom in almost a week, which isn’t unusual for us, but I’d wanted to make sure she was okay nonetheless. My brother was basically living at his girlfriend’s parents’ house and was notoriously unreliable on top of that, so I texted Carter a couple of days ago asking him to stop by if he could and he’d thumbsed up the message.
“No, I haven’t. Sorry, babe.” He tells me and I’m getting really tired of hearing those words. “It’s been crazy with school and basketball and all that.”
“You’re playing video games with Tony right now.”
“Yeah, but– Tony, he’s going through it, you know. He needs friends around him right now.”
Irritation morphs into anger at his words. I’d asked him for a simple favor, one he could have done in half an hour if he’d wanted to.
Drive over, check on my mom, make sure she’s doing alright and her current deadbeat boyfriend Mitch isn’t around, and leave.
As quick as it was to appear, the anger leaves my body and makes way for an emotion far more deadly.
Disappointment.
I don’t understand why it’s so hard for him to prioritize anything to do with me, especially when I feel like I don’t ask for much.
“I need you too. Remember me, your girlfriend?”
“Of course, babe. But you’re far away–” I tune out the rest of his sentence, deaf to whatever excuse he’s about to come up with.
“I don’t want to argue with you. Please just try and go see my mom, alright?”
“You got it, babe. Promise.” He says, clearly relieved that I’m dropping the topic. “I love you, we’ll talk later, okay?”
“Sure.” I tell him, “Bye.”
I hang up the phone and toss it on the bed, frustrated.
All the tension that’d been released when I’d come trickles back into my body.
Why does it feel like I’m talking to a stranger every time I pick up the phone?
???
When I meet up with Rhys the next day, I don’t acknowledge yesterday and pretend that nothing happened between us.
Surprisingly, he doesn’t bring it up either. He jumps into the plan for the workout and we start the drills with our usual focus and single-minded concentration.
Over the next week, my schedule is grueling. Between classes, team practices, and the individual training sessions with Rhys, plus all the socializing I do with my roommates, I’m drained.
But I’m happy.
I’m starting to see improvements in the way I react to plays, the way I read my opponent’s movements, and my stamina.
The best change though, is my confidence. I honestly didn’t realize how rattled my belief in myself was by the culture shock of joining a new team.
I’m slowly but surely building it back up to one hundred, with Rhys’ help.
