Page 223 of Scoring the Player
“I don’t want to run from this. I can’t. I tried, and I still ended up back here. I want to be honest with you—that’s the only reason I am telling you about the cake.”
“Why didn’t they film you receiving it forRoyals All-Access?”
“I asked them not to.”
“Why?”
“It was from you. It didn’t feel right.”
He turns back to his side to face me. “What happened to you tonight before you came here?”
“Wait.” I want to take care of him first. “Tell me how you’re doing with Denzel?”
He adjusts his pillow, curling it under his head. “I don’t know. It’ssomethingthat he hasn’t completely vanished, but he’s still not here, nor has he reached out.”
“I get that. Did the PI describe how he looked?”
“Crossing the border?” he asks.
I nod.
“Nope.”
“Did your dad see the cardiologist?”
“Yeah.” His gaze softens. “His heart’s okay.”
“That’s good. How’d he and your mom take the news about Mexico?”
“Confused, but maybe a little more hopeful. They seem to believe the PI is closer to finding him.”
“Anything I can do to help?” I ask.
“Keep talking to me. Tell me what happened tonight.”
“Okay.” My fingers curl around the edge of the pillowcase. “I went to visit Anaïs and had a run-in with Mom and Carter.”
He shifts closer. “Run-in how?”
I look down at our hands and cup them together. He releases my hand and strings his arm over the side of my waist, shifting me closer.
I reach up and caress the stubble across his face.
“Tell me,” he rasps.
“Carter kept asking to talk. I avoided him at first, but then, after talking to Anaïs about you and me, I realized I’m done running. So, when I was leaving, we talked.”Or whatever the hell that was. For our “family,” that’s as close to talking as we know how to do.
“How did it go?”
I shrug. “I didn’t hold back. Anaïs was there. Mom was crying. Carter tried to explain his perspective, but everything he said just made me angrier. He followed me outside. I had…”Collapsedfeels too hard to admit. “I don’t know. I was just in rough shape.”
“Come here,” he says, opening his arms.
I close the rest of the distance between us.
“And you came straight here to me?” he asks.
“Yeah. For a second, I thought about going back to the hotel and coming in the morning when I was in better shape, but?—”
