Page 88 of Unwritten Rules
I snort a laugh as feeling comes back to my body and I’m returned to Earth. “There is no way that’s true.”
“I’m being serious.”
I raise a brow at him and push away the hair sticking to the side of my face, having fallen from the messy bun at my nape. “You are?”
Sinnett nods, tongue darting out to lick his bottom lip. “I’ve gotten myself off plenty of times before, but never over Facetime and certainly never with a specific person in mind. Until you.”
Heat floods my cheeks and I’m helpless to fight the smile that splits across my face. “Well, I guess we’re in the same boat then.”
“That’s what I like to hear.” Sinnett shifts on the bed, reaching for something on the floor before settling back in position. “I’m also serious about having a lot on my mind.”
The mood shifts from flirty to serious. Wanting to be the person Sinnett needs right now, I shift my focus to what could be stressing him out to the point he’s awake at three in the morning. “Is everything okay?”
He shrugs as he reaches for something off-screen. A blush rises up my throat when a box of tissues appears. “Yes and no.”
“Talk to me,” I encourage, leaning back further into the mound of pillows. “I’m listening.”
Sinnett exhales a sharp breath and shakes his head, as if trying to find the right words to speak what’s on his mind. “I spoke with my dad about me getting cleared to play tomorrow—tonight.”
“And how’d that go?”
“As well as you could imagine,” Sinnett murmurs, running a hand through his hair. “No matter what I do out there, it’s not going to be enough for him. Being out for six weeks has opened my eyes to the amount of pressure he was putting on me because he wasn’t doing it anymore. And now I don’t know if it’s something I can handle again.”
“Sin,” I start, keeping my voice even. “You’ve got this, remember? Forget about your father and what he wants from you. Hell, forget about what my father is expecting of you and just go out there and be the best version of yourself for the team.”
Sinnett’s eyes meet mine, and my heart stutters in my chest. The stress behind them is evident, and I wish so badly I could take some of that pressure so it’s less for him to hold on to. But I know it’s not possible, so all I can do is remind him of what’s important—himself.
“You’re right,” he murmurs, nodding slowly. “Sometimes I get so lost in my head that I forget I need to look after myself.”
“Well, I’m always going to be right here whenever you need a reminder.”
Sinnett smiles, bright and genuine. “How do you do it?”
The question catches me off guard. All I can do is blink. “Do what?”
“Stay so positive all of the time.”
A smile touches my lips. “My mum. She was the most positive person I knew. I don’t know how, but she could turn any negative into a positive by asking me to look on the bright side of things. If I didn’t get a good grade in school, she would remind me that at least I got up, went to school and took the test. Even if it wasn’t the mark I was expecting, I still put in the effort, and that’s all that mattered.”
I glance to the left at the framed photo of me and Mum at my year twelve graduation. She spent weeks searching for the perfect dress, and when she found it, she was so excited she couldn’t stop talking about it for weeks. Black always looked stunning on her, making her orange hair pop and emerald eyes sparkle. No matter what room she walked into, Mum could demand attention from any person near without so much as lifting a finger or flashing her award-winning smile.
She had no idea of the devastating news she would receive a week late about her cancer diagnosis.
“No matter what I did, if a negative came from it, Mum was there to remind me of the positives. And, I don’t know… I guess it has stuck with me through the years. It’s easier to stay positive than get dragged down by the negatives, especially when you can’t control it.”
“You saidwas,” Sinnett murmurs, breaking me from the memories resurfacing of my mum. “Is she…?”
I swallow around the lump forming in my throat and drop my gaze to the hem of my tank top. I wasn’t planning on talking about my mum because it’s not something that comes easy to me. But when I’m with Sinnett, the carefully constructed walls I had built two years ago come crashing down in an instant. It’s asif my body and mind are eager to pull him closer, to reveal to him the deepest parts of me without my say so.
“She passed away two years ago from ovarian cancer.” My voice is barely above a whisper, thick with grief. Tears spring to my eyes when images of her lying in the hospital bed the night she left us appear, replaying in my mind like a home movie, reminding me of everything I have lost. The one person who knew me better than anyone else. And suddenly, she was gone.
Sinnett hisses out a sharp breath and shoves his hand through his messy hair. “Shit, Tate. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.”
I shake my head, lifting my eyes to his. “You don’t need to apologise. I don’t mind talking about her, it’s just—” I exhale a shaky breath and lift my shoulders in a half-hearted shrug. “I miss her a lot. And being here in Sydney without her reminds me of everything she missed out on when she had me. She never got to travel the world like she had always dreamed of, nor did she ever become a psychologist because she was too busy raising me. If she just had more time?—”
Tears burst from my eyes, but I’m quick to wipe them away, not wanting Sinnett to see me in this state. He has enough on his plate to deal with, he doesn’t need me crying to top it off.
“Tate, you can talk about her,” he says, voice a soothing chill to the fire licking at my side. Dark eyebrows raise, and I find myself tracing the shape of them with my eyes, noticing how they kink perfectly at the edges without a professional having to shape them. “If you find yourself wanting to tell me about her because she springs to mind, then do it. You have listened to enough of my shit over the past couple of weeks, so the least I can do is return the favour.”
