Page 147 of Check & Chase
It doesn’t feel like home anymore.
The hallways that once felt welcoming now seem charged with whispers and stares. Colleagues who were once friendly now offer awkward smiles or avoid eye contact entirely.
I’m packing photos from my desk when a familiar voice speaks from the doorway.
“So, the rumors are true. You’re back.”
I turn to find Chase standing there, looking haggard in a way I’ve never seen him. Dark circles under his eyes, hair unkempt, a tightness around his mouth that speaks to sleepless nights and barely contained anguish.
“Just collecting some things. The hearing was this morning.”
He steps into the office, keeping his distance like I’m a wild animal that might bolt. “How did it go?”
“Well, I think. Judith—my lawyer—expects a full exoneration.”
Relief flashes across his face. “That’s great, Emma. I’m happy for you.”
“Are you? Because it seems like you gave up on me, hell, on us, pretty easily.”
He flinches as if I’ve struck him. “That’s not fair. I was trying to protect your career.”
“By making decisions for me,” I state coldly, the words coming easier than expected. “By deciding that my job was more important than our relationship. Without even asking what I wanted.”
“I made a mistake,” he admits, running a hand through his disheveled hair. “A massive, stupid mistake. I see that now.”
“Too late,” I reply, the words like knives in my own heart. I want to forgive him, want to run into his arms and forget these miserable days apart. But I can’t. The hurt is too fresh, the betrayal too deep.
“Emma, please, can we talk about this? Really talk?”
“I think we said everything that needed saying when you decided breaking up was the solution to our problems.”
He’s silent for a long moment. “I miss you. Every minute of every day. I can’t sleep, can’t eat, can’t even play hockey right anymore.”
My hands falter on the photo I’m wrapping—a shot of Maya and me at graduation, smiling and innocent of the heartbreak to come.
“I miss you too,” I admit quietly. “But that doesn’t change anything. You didn’t trust me enough to fight this together, Chase. You made a unilateral decision about our relationship. How am I supposed to come back from that?”
“I don’t know. But I want to try. Please, just give me a chance to make this right.”
I turn to face him, steeling myself against the raw need in his eyes. “I can’t do this right now. I need time. Time to figure out what I want, what’s best for me.”
He nods, accepting my boundary even as disappointment clouds his features. “I understand. Just don’t shut the door completely, okay? I’m not giving up on us.”
“I’m not making any promises.”
“For what it’s worth,” he adds, backing toward the door, “the team isn’t the same without you.I’mnot the same without you.”
After he leaves, I sit in my desk chair, emotions washing over me in dizzying waves. Seeing him has unsettled all my careful plans, all my righteous anger.
Because despite everything, despite the hurt and betrayal, I still love him. And that terrifies me.
My phone buzzes with an incoming call.
Jackson.
“Hey, Jack.”
“Emma. I just talked to Coach Willis. He’s offering you a position with the Wolves. Head physical therapist for the team.”
