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ADDISON
At exactly 11:30, we knocked on Karly's front door. Then we spent thirty minutes catching up before Karly finally dragged us to her first-floor office.
"Why did you tell him it was Asher?" I hissed, slapping Maddy's arm when Maddox excused himself from the room.
"Ow." She sneered, grabbing her arm. "The cat was out of the bag, Addison." She shrugged. "He wasn't going to let it go." I knew she was right, and even I would have caved under enough pressure.
"I'm sorry." Karly sighed, leaning back in her chair. "It's my fault. I assumed he knew, especially since this was all because of him."
"I didn't tell him because I didn't want him to make the situation worse," I said, my gaze flashing to the other side of the sliding glass door where Maddox was. "But so far, he seems to be handling it okay."
"I'll be right back," Karly said, pushing out of her fluorescent pink and black gaming chair. "I need to grab something." She disappeared through the door, and I sank onto the small black leather loveseat.
"Was Coach pissed Maddox wasn't at practice?" I asked.
Maddy snorted a laugh. "No," she shook her head. "He's had bigger fish to fry." I narrowed my eyes cocking my head to the side. "Look, you didn't hear this from me, okay?" I nodded, my eyes urging her to continue. "His wife found out he's been having an affair." My face dropped as her words sank in.
"Wife?" I repeated. My lungs seized with realization, and my chest constricted. Chance was married?
"Yeah." She laughed. "He had Asher wipe all of his hard drives. Apparently, she only found out about one, and he'd had several."
"Wife?" I repeated again, this time louder.
"Yeah," she said, her brows pinched. "You didn't know he was married?" I shook my head, a mixture of dread and anxiety twisting in my gut. "She's eight months pregnant with his third daughter." I felt sick as my stomach churned with disgust. "She comes to all his games."
"I don't go to the games," I mumbled. How could I not have known Chance was married with kids? We dated—scratch that—we fucked for two years.
"Okay," Karly said, swinging around the corner. "Let's do this." I forced a smile as she dropped into her chair. I didn't have time to deal with the emotions swirling through my head.
"So, to be safe," Maddy said, handing Karly a folded paper. "I got the IP Addresses for the entire team."
"This could take a while," Karly's gaze flashed up from her list, locking on mine. "So if you have to leave, just let me know."
"I'm staying," I said, pushing off the couch and strolling towards them. "I'll let Maddox know he can go back so he doesn't miss the game."
"What's up with him?" Karly asked, jutting her chin towards the sliding glass door leading to the patio where Maddox was sitting, staring aimlessly into the distance.
"I don't know." I shrugged. "He hasn't really said much since we left the fair last night." Sucking in a deep breath, I bit my bottom lip as my gaze trailed over Maddox, who was obviously bothered by something. "You guys, go ahead and get started. I'm going to talk to him."
Sliding the glass door open, I stepped out into the cool air. Maddox was so deep in his thoughts he didn't notice me.
"Hey," I said, sliding into the chair beside him. I waited a minute for a response, but it never came. "Karly said this could take a while, so I'm going to stay."
"I changed the tickets this morning," he said dryly, staring off into the distance. "We'll fly into Buffalo tomorrow morning for the game and ride back with the team."
"You don't have to stay." I leaned forward in the chair, my gaze fixed on him.
"I'm staying."
Biting down on my bottom lip, I nodded. Something was bothering him, and I couldn't figure out what it was. Was he mad about having to stay or that he'd caused all this?
"You want to talk about whatever's bothering you?" He shook his head, still staring off into space. "Maddox."
"What?" He shrugged, finally making eye contact.
"What's going on?"
Biting down on his bottom lip, he sucked in a deep breath. "What happens once the videos are gone?" I narrowed my eyes. I wasn't sure what he was asking. "Do I need to find a new tutor?" Realization washed over me. I was only tutoring him because I was being forced to, but I didn't have to once the videos were gone.
