Page 87 of Actions and Reactions
“I know.” She snorts and pulls back. “Thanks for coming over to talk to me, Vinny.”
“It was self-serving, but I’m glad I helped make you feel better. And he’s going to be okay, Lottie, he’s the strongestone out of all of us.” It’s hard to admit it for some reason, but I think it’s also the truth.
“You should tell that to Hulk,” she challenges with a smirk.
“I bet he’d agree,” I counter.
December
Our season is going well enough. Better than it was doing last year at this stage if I’m honest, but that was because Santa was being a dumbass about Charlie.
This year we’re justgood.
We’re not great.
A winning record is a fickle thing, but we’re holding on to ours like a lifeline.
Knowing Mater’s gonna be gone soon too isn’t doing us any favors in the mentality department, and it means we’re going to have to draft really well—or Gab and Jake, our GM, will—to make up for all these damn losses.
Our farm team is looking good from what I’ve seen, but how the fuck do you replace three legendary D-men in two years?
You can’t.
It scares me that the most glorious years of my career might be behind me no matter what Gab says about me eventually becoming the best.
All of this, I want to talk through with Silas, but of course I haven’t. Another reason why I need to see him inperson is to gauge how he’s really doing, because I can’t get any reliable information from texting.
Only two more weeks, though.
Two more weeks and I’ll be able to figure out how much better he’s really doing and whether we can move forward together or not.
I want us to . . . so,somuch.
But it’s the not knowing that’s been killing me. To battle that I’ve been trying to focus on my job as much and as hard as I can.
Whenever I’ve needed to talk about Silas, Milkman’s had my back, and of course so has Mom, but I asked her to stop making me talk about it because she was getting a little too worried while I was only venting.
Having her at my place all these months has been pretty awesome—not gonna lie.
It’s been seven years since I’ve lived with her, and I didn’t realise how much I missed her. So with her I gossip—she has all of it—about Dad and Lex of course, as well as gossip from inside the team, which she loves the most.
It’s not a secret that Twocox has been in love with Lucy, Gab’s daughter, since he first met her years ago, but now it looks like they’re coming back to spend Christmas in Vegas, something that hasn’t happened before, and so he’s an excited, nervous mess because he wants to shoot his shot.
We’ve all been giving him the best advice we’ve got, and he’s thinking about having a chat with Gab—the poor bastard—and though we all agree that might be a good idea,he’ll have to choose his words carefully, so we definitely pity him too.
So yeah, focusing on anything and everythingbutSilas and how he’s doing and what awaits us when he comes back is best for now.
For example, right now, as I look at the faces around me in the hotel restaurant in Philly, I remember how it was during the playoffs last season, when the whole gang was together and we were on a roadie. Dinners were lively events. We used to linger at the table and shoot the shit for an hour at least.
Now . . .
Well, now I’m clocking in early, hoping a good night’s sleep will help me play harder tomorrow—ironic, I know.
And I’m wading in that irony when I hear Jules’s voice behind me.
“Eagle, wait up.”
I keep the elevator door open for him.
