Page 116 of Stick Side
Ben was touched by the outpouring of support he’d received since the original story had run. According to Shawna, whose job it was to know such things, the hashtag #WeLoveYouBen was trending all over social media alongside fan pictures and positive accounts of his character by everyone from fans who he’d taken the time to talk to over the years to former teammates.
Tali, who had a huge social media following on account of her modeling career, had also posted a picture of him carrying her off the field when she’d sprained her ankle during a high school soccer game. She’d captioned it “Benji will always be my hero.” As of this morning, the post had over three hundred thousand likes. It had also been shared close to ten thousand times.
Between the passage of time and the ongoing media coverage, Ben was really starting to worry. While he would have beenupset to learn that Melody had believed him to be the type of man who would get a woman pregnant and then abandon her, he would have at least drawn comfort from knowing she was okay.
As things currently stood, he didn’t even know whether she’d made it home safely from his place. She could have slipped on some black ice or been mugged on the “L.” If someone had run off with her purse, no one at the hospital would know who to contact.
As soon as Ben’s thoughts started to spiral, imagining worst-case scenarios, he knew what he had to do. He was sure he was crossing any number of lines, but he was going to ask her dad if he knew she was okay. It wasn’t Ben’s favorite approach, but it was either that or lose his mind.
It was early afternoon by the time Ben finally tracked down Coach McGuire. He was in one of the hotel restaurants, thankfully alone.
“Coach?” Ben asked as he neared the small table. “May I have a word?”
Coach McGuire’s eyebrows lifted over his coffee cup, but he nodded in the affirmative. “Take a seat,” he invited as he set down his cup and gestured to the seat across from him.
“Is everything all right?” Coach McGuire inquired with apparent concern. “I heard everything went well with the press conference.”
Ben nodded. “It did,” he confirmed, “but that isn’t exactly what I want to talk to you about.”
“Oh?” Coach McGuire replied, looking somehow both curious and guarded.
Ben’s lips twisted at the discomfort he currently felt, but he took a deep breath and marshaled on. “I don’t really want to involve you in this, but I haven’t heard from Melody since before the story broke, and I’m worried.” Ben paused before adding,“She hasn’t answered any of my texts and my calls keep going to voicemail. I just want to make sure she’s okay.”
Coach McGuire frowned in a way that was both worried and thoughtful. He didn’t respond beyond that, electing instead to pull his cellphone out of his pocket. He proceeded to dial a number he clearly knew by heart.
Ben’s heart sank a little when he noted that it wasn’t Melody’s.
“Olivia?” Coach McGuire confirmed after what Ben imagined was only a couple of rings. “Hi, honey.”
There was a moment of silence, suggesting that Coach McGuire’s wife was talking.
“Sure, let’s do that,” he responded. To what, Ben didn’t know.
Coach caught Ben’s eye before saying, “I was just wondering if you’d heard from Melody. She hasn’t been answering her phone.”
Ben couldn’t help but wonder whether Coach McGuire had deliberately left off the fact she hadn’t been answering his calls specifically. Did Coach know or suspect something he didn’t?
Whatever Mrs. McGuire said must have been reassuring because Coach McGuire visibly relaxed back into his chair. “She broke her phone,” Coach appeared to repeat back to his wife, though Ben knew the words had been for his benefit. “That would certainly explain things.”
Coach McGuire continued his conversation with his wife, but Ben didn’t take note of the words. His adrenaline was finally letting down. He had a niggling feeling there were still issues that needed to be discussed and resolved, but at least Ben knew Melody was safe. That would have to be enough. For now.
Chapter 59
Melody
Melodyheavedagiantsigh of relief when she stepped out of the Apple Store with her fully charged and functional new iPhone, all her contacts and data successfully ported. Her phone pinged with notification after notification as it caught her up on everything she’d missed over the past day. And it was a lot, apparently. Her eyes must have looked comically wide as she noticed she had seventy-three new text messages and twelve missed calls. And did she really havehundredsof social media notifications? That couldn’t be possible, could it?
Melody’s finger hovered briefly over Ben’s name. He’d sent her five messages while her phone was offline.
A mantle of nervous tension settled over her. She rolled her shoulders and tried to literally shrug away the muscle tightness before she took the plunge and opened his messages.
She’d seen the press conference recap when she woke up this morning and knew down to her marrow that Ben wasn’t the type of man to “hit it and quit it” as some of the reporters covering the story had crassly put it, but the whole experience had left her feeling rather raw. She hadn’t been prepared for the type ofemotional turmoil that went along with having her boyfriend’s reputation dragged through the mud. And in the public eye, no less.
She took a steadying breath and started to read through his missed texts.
Ben:Hi, Melody. I’m not sure if you’ve heard yet, but I’ve been accused of impregnating a one-night stand and then ignoring her. It’s all over the news. I’d like to think you would know this, but just in case you don’t, the allegations are completely false.
Melody couldn’t help but cringe as guilt overtook her. When she’d first heard the news, she’d had a brief moment of doubt, questioning whether it could be true. She’d quickly dismissed it as highly unlikely, but she had doubted him. If only briefly. Call it a casualty of his profession.
