Page 77 of Curveball

“Umm…she left.”

“Without you?”

I look up and give him a look, trying to convey what he must already know.

I see the moment realization hits. “She left with him, didn’t she?”

I nod once.

“His place?”

I nod again.

“How long has it been going on?”

“I’m not saying anything else.”

He hangs his head. In a resigned tone, he says, “Okay. I’ll take you home.”

“You don’t have to.”

“I want to. Can we walk though? It’s nice out.”

“Sure.”

We get dressed and begin the walk toward my apartment. He intertwines his fingers through mine. His thumb lovingly runs over my fingers. I love the animal in Quincy, but tender Quincy threatens my psyche more than anything. Even something as simple as handholding isn’t the norm for him, so it hits me extra hard when he does it.

We’re silent for a bit until I ask, “I still don’t understand why you care so much about Arizona and Layton. It’s silly. I know you said he’s a womanizer, but she can handle herself.”

His jaw tightens. “Like she did with Marc?”

“She was young and naïve. She’s different now. Stronger. And Layton isn’t Marc. Neither of us liked Marc. We both adore Layton. Don’t you see the way he looks at her?”

He rolls his eyes. “Yes, I fucking see it, but I watched him move from woman to woman for eight months. I’m telling you; he was with a different woman every night. I’ve seen too much. I’d rather die than see her go through that hurt again. I practically lost my sister after Marc left her.”

“I know. I felt the same. Honestly, I didn’t want to move to Philly knowing I’d see you all the time. I did it for her. She needed me.”

He winces. “Ouch.”

“It’s the truth. This isn’t easy for me. Being around you so much. I told you I was in love with you, and you responded by walking out of my life.”

“You kicked me out and told me it was over. You’re the one who walked away.”

“No, Quincy. I told you I was in love with you. You couldn’t handle it. You didn’t love me back. I wasn’t okay. I’m still not okay. I was doing better, but being around you again stifles my progress.” I look down and swallow at what I’m going to say. “I’ve been thinking about it. Arizona is in a good place now. When this season is done, I think I might request a trade.”

His eyes widen. “What? Why?”

“You know why, and you know it’s for the best. You have a chokehold on me.”

He smirks. “I thought you liked my chokehold on you.”

I can’t help but smile and throw him a soft elbow to the gut.

He mock grunts. “Don’t do anything rash. We all love having you around.”

We walk into my building. I try to send him home, but he insists on dropping me at my door. As we’re walking down the hallway, we hear a woman’s scream coming from Kam and Bailey’s apartment. Then we hear a man scream too.

I turn to Quincy. He scrunches his face in confusion. “That’s Cheetah.”

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