Page 184 of Play Along

Chapter 36

Isaiah

I knock and wait, hands braced on the edges of the doorframe because my body feels too heavy to hold itself up. I tried to go home, but as soon as I pulled into my parking garage, I backed right out and came here. I didn’t want to be there alone.

I did the right thing with Kennedy. I know I did, but it doesn’t make it any easier, knowing I gave her the option not to be with me.

Typically, I hide the bad moments, lock myself in my apartment so no one sees them. Shit, hiding in the women’s restroom while I was having a bad day is what got me here in the first place.

But I’m tired of it. I’m exhausted from trying to convince others that I’m unbreakable. That I’m the fun one who doesn’t get too worked up about life, doesn’t take anything too seriously.

I am breakable, and I’m currently at my breaking point.

So, I came here instead of hiding away.

“Hold on. Someone’s at my door,” I hear Monty say before he cracks his door open, phone pressed to his ear. He takes a moment to look me over before exhaling a sigh of relief. “He’s here. I’ll call you back.” He hangs up the phone to give me his full attention. “What the hell is going on, Isaiah?”

“Can I come in?”

He looks me over, most likely noting how fucking wrecked I am, before fully opening his door to allow me inside. I barely make it into his entryway before he’s cupping the back of my head to pull me into a hug.

“You good?” he asks.

“Not exactly.” I smack him on the back a couple of times, hugging him in return before pulling away.

With a hand outstretched on my shoulder, I can feel him trying to read me, trying to figure out what’s going on. “Come on,” he says, nodding towards his couch.

I fall into it, letting my heavy body sink into the cushions. Monty heads to the kitchen, grabbing me a water, before settling in on a chair across from me.

“Care to explain why my phone has been blowing up all night due to trade rumors about you?”

“Sorry about that.” It’s my automatic response whenever I feel like I’m making someone’s life more difficult than it needs to be.

“I don’t need you to apologize, Isaiah. I just want to hear from you, not some random TV analysts, that one of my players, who I view as part of my family, is possibly asking for a trade.”

I take a long drink of the water, letting it cool my burning throat. “It wasn’t supposed to get out like that. I was going to talk to you as soon as I told Kennedy, but then my fucking agent opened his big mouth. He’s wanting to build some noise around it, I guess. Get it on other teams’ radars.”

The hurt is so fucking evident on Monty’s face. For being this solid guy who comes across as a hard-ass unless you know him, he looks devastated.

“So you are,” he states. “You’re trying to leave.”

“No.” Head hanging low, I keep my eyes glued to my lap. “Not necessarily.”

There’s a heavy pause, a clear indication that Monty wants me to keep talking.

“I’m only going to leave if Kennedy wants me to go with her. I’m not going to shop offers or anything like that. The only teams I’m willing to play for are either Chicago or the team she gets a job with. San Francisco, in this case.”

His brows furrow in confusion, shaking his head as he tries to understand. “I heard she didn’t get an offer from them.”

“She did, though. She only said she didn’t because she was trying to stay. For me.”

Understanding washes over him. “And you don’t want her to.”

“Hell no. Fredrick has gotten out of hand with her. I’m tired of it. I’ve watched him treat her like shit for years, and now she has an opportunity to get away from him and have the career she worked so hard for. I’m not going to be the reason she doesn’t take it.”

Monty doesn’t say anything, so I look up to find him watching me.

“What?” I ask.

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