Page 82 of The Trouble with Players

I nodded. “Thanks for this.”

As Gina and Cody walked toward the parking lot, I sat down on the ground. The lights switched off, cloaking the area in darkness. The door to the field house opened and a few coaches walked out. The beam of light behind them was cut off when the door closed, again leaving me in darkness. Last time when I waited in the dark, I was excited for what Crew had planned for us after the game. Tonight, I was filled with dread.

Minutes passed and no one else exited the field house.

Crew had to be in there.

Was he waiting to be sure we didn’t cross paths?

More minutes passed. I reached for my necklace to fiddle with it, but it wasn’t around my neck. Dammit. I’d taken it off when it kept snagging on Crew’s jersey. I’d forgotten that.

I checked my phone. The game had ended an hour ago.

I was done waiting.

I stood up, brushing grass from the back of my shorts. I pulled in a deep breath and took off for the field house, yanking open the door and walking inside. I passed a small office and then stepped into a small locker room. Crew sat on the bench in front of the lockers, his elbows were on his thighs, his fingers were laced together, and his head was bowed.

“I’m glad to see you’re not dead in some ditch,” I said from the doorway.

He glanced up, and even though his Sharks ball cap was pulled down low, I searched for answers behind his distant gaze. “You sure about that?”

I shrugged. “I guess it depends on why you disappeared.”

“I’m sorry.”

I stepped into the room. “This is the second time I’m hearing that from you. But newsflash. You packed up and left.”

“It’s not that simple.”

I crossed to the bench across from him and sat down. “I’d say it is. You could’ve stayed. But you left without any reason.”

“I had a reason,” he said, his eyes avoiding mine.

“What is it?”

He didn’t respond.

“Did you meet someone else?”

His eyes cut to mine. “What?”

“Did you cheat on me?” I asked.

“Why would I do that? I love—” He cursed under his breath.

“You love me?” I pressed.

I watched indecision cross his face.

“What the hell, Crew? Why’d you fucking leave?!”

He scrubbed his hands up and down his face. “No matter how I say it, you’re gonna be hurt.”

“I’m already hurt.”

He stared at me for a long time with exhaustion in his eyes. “I know what your father did to your family destroyed you.” His eyes cut away. “It was the worst kind of betrayal.”

I shook my head, not understanding what my father had to do with any of this. That’s when it hit me, and I gasped. “Did you get someone pregnant?”

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