Page 51 of Finish Line

“I miss you too, Mav.”

He wiggles down on his bed and gets comfortable. “So, tell me what you’ve been up to?”

“Not much, a lot of sitting and thinking.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that.” He smiles.

I talk to Mav for a while before he hops up to get Dom.

They argue in the background, and Dom sounds like his grouchy self while Mav tells Dom to, “Shut his hole,” and that he will want to talk to Cam.

The computer moves around, the screen tilting up so I can’t be seen immediately.

Off to the side, Dom scowls in Mav’s direction, not looking at the computer screen.

“What do you… Firefly?” He drops to his knees in front of the computer.

“Merry Christmas, Grizzly,” I choke out, my voice thick with the tears I’m holding back.

“Same to you. How are you doing?” Dom stays on his knees.

“I’m doing better.” I glance over at Cam and smile. “Being here has helped.”

“Firefly, I can never say I’m sorry enough.” He does the same as the others, apologizing for his doubts and everything he did to me.

“Grizzly, I forgive you. Like I told Luke and Mav, it wasn’t you. You were made to say and do what you did.”

He’s beating himself up for everything. Unlike the other two, Dom looks rougher than usual. Not as put together.

I only wish you’d talked to me about what you were feeling. I don’t say it out loud, but he must know what I’m thinking because his shoulders lose only a fraction of their tension, and a frown is still on his face, though not as harsh.

“Has there been any news on Roger?” I ask hesitantly, not sure I want the answer.

Dom’s expression goes to his angry face, and he growls, “No, the bastard has gone to ground. But he has to surface sometime, and when he does, I’ll be there.”

After everything I endured, that tone should scare me, but my body senses that it’s Dom. I’m safe, and a slight tingle races along my spine.

I shift in my seat, wanting to change subjects. “How’s school going?”

“All right, I guess. My grades are down.” He rubs the back of his neck. “All our grades are down. Almost too low to continue football, not that it would matter. We lost the last three games.”

“Badly,” Mav says from the background.

“The coach pulled us off to the side and asked us if something was wrong. Luke kept getting sacked, and I let it play through. Mav couldn’t catch a ball if his life depended on it.” He shakes his head.

“Don’t you want to continue with football through college?” I ask.

“That was the plan.”

“Then snap out of it, Grizzly. Things are rough right now, but I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be back, I promise. Kick some ass. I love you, Dom.”

A smile forms on his face. “Thank you, Firefly. I love you, too. Take care of yourself.”

I hang up with Dom and fall back onto the couch.

“How do you feel?” Cam asks.

“Drained, but I’m glad I did it. You were right. We need to talk to each other.” I yawn. “Do you mind if I take a nap? I’m tired.”

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