Page 77 of The Trouble with Players

He said he wouldn’t hurt me.

So, where the hell was he? And what was he sorry about?

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

A voice in the kitchen carried its way upstairs waking me from my spot on the bathroom floor. I struggled to open my eyes given all the tears I’d shed, but once I did, I realized sunshine filled the room. I grabbed my phone from the floor beside me only to find no calls or texts. The voice downstairs continued. I pushed myself to my feet, a little achy from my night on the floor, and hurried downstairs. “Crew?” I called as I stepped into the kitchen.

My father sat at the island on the phone.

I exhaled, disappointed to find him and not Crew. “Where’s Crew?”

“I’ve gotta go,” he said into the phone before placing it down on the island.

“Have you talked to him?” I asked.

He shook his head. “He took off after his mother showed up. We didn’t know where he was going.”

“What’d she say to him?”

He shrugged.

“Did he seem unhappy to see her? Because when I saw him, he wanted to go talk to her. What changed? Did they have a fight?”

“Look, you’re asking the wrong person.”

“The wrong person?” I asked incredulously. “You were the only one here when he saw his mom. Who else should I ask?”

“Did you call him?” he asked.

“He’s not answering his phone,” I explained. “Could his mother have taken him home?”

My father shrugged. “She left alone after he did.”

“This is insane. He wouldn’t just disappear like this. Especially when he had scouts coming to see him.”

“Why are you so concerned over a guy you wanted out of our house?” he asked.

“The better question is why aren’t you?”

* * *

I sat behind the counter of the gift shop staring down at my phone. But, no matter how long I stared at it, neither a text nor call came through.

“How much for this T-shirt?” a customer asked.

I didn’t bother looking up. “All T-shirts are fifteen dollars.”

“I’ll take these two,” he said.

I cashed him out, bagged the shirts, and continued looking at my phone.

“Anything yet?” Gina asked, stepping into the store a short time later.

“Nothing. Has Cody heard anything?” I asked, a trace of hope in my tone.

She shook her head as she stepped up to the counter. “None of the guys have. But I was thinking. If they win tonight, they’re in the championships game this weekend.”

“So?”

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