Page 72 of The Coach

Chapter Twenty-Four

Andy

I'mthe last one at the field tonight. Surprise, surprise. When we have the semis tomorrow, I need all the mental preparation I can get. I just need to have a quick shower before I get out of here for the night.

I texted Brad, and he's already in the parking lot waiting for me. He hasn't been around much this week for practice, as he has been told to keep his distance for now, but he has dropped me off and picked me up every day. Just to make sure I'm safe. I'm not taking any stupid risks.

My team has recovered from his shocking exit on Monday, and so far, no blame has landed on me. The club made some bullshit excuse, and that seemed to keep everyone happy enough. We also haven't received any further threats or communication at all from my stalker. What is there to threaten us with now, anyway? Brad's convinced it's his ex-wife trying to get revenge, but she's disappeared, he hasn't been able to get hold of her all week. That in itself is strange. So maybe it really was her.

I turn off the water, dry myself, and pack my bag. I push open the door, and as I do, the lights flicker off. Fuck, not again. My heart kicks up a notch instantly. I'm already on edge with everything that has happened lately and the game tomorrow.It's probably nothing, I try to tell myself so I can calm down and don't start having another panic attack. I'm sure it's just a power outage, but my body still reacts with the panicky feeling. My chest tightening, my breathing becoming harder. I'm thankful I at least have clothes on this time. I cling my bag to my chest and dash for the door. Just as I get there, someone switches the light back on. I stop dead when I see who…

"Darcy, are you okay? You scared the shit out of me," I stammer, clutching my chest.

She stands in front of me, staring straight through me. She looks weird. Her eyes are all glazed over, and she is staring just past me in a daze. I take a step closer to her because she hasn't answered me. I reach out to her arm and give it a squeeze. "Everything alright?" I ask her again. "You gave me a fright." I laugh.

She shakes her head slowly from side to side. "No, Andy, I'm not okay."

"What's going on? Has something happened?" I try to comfort her, but she shrugs me off.

"Don't you touch me."

"Okay," I say, hurt by her animosity. I have no idea what I've done to piss her off. She has been so moody lately, it's hard to know what exactly it is this time. "You know you can talk to me about anything, right. If something's not good for you at the moment, I can try and help you."

"You don't get it, do you, Andy."

"Get what? What's going on with you, honey?"

She reaches out for me, cupping my face. I blink back at her, not sure what she's doing. She pushes my hair over my shoulder and stares back at me, her eyes glassy. "I'm in love with you, Andy," she whispers.

I blink back at her in total astonishment. I don't believe the words coming from her mouth. None of this is making any sense at all. What do I even say back to her? "You're in love with me?" I stutter, the words hard to get out. We all have a lot of love for each other, but I'm notinlove with her.

"Yes, and I thought by breaking you and Brad up I would be able to have you all to myself, but you're still in love with him, I can see it every time the two of you look at each other."

She's right, we are. But right now, I need to focus on her and getting her to a better place. This Darcy is scaring me. "I care about you so much, Darcy, I don't like seeing you hurting like this, but I had no idea that this is how you felt."

She looks at me, her expression angry. "You did. We've been super close this year, you knew where it was going. Every time you hugged me or looked my way, you knew what I was thinking. You had to."

I shake my head in total shock. Does she think we've had something going on all year? "I…"

She interrupts me. "You did this to me. You constantly led me on, made me fall for you. Now what am I supposed to do? You're going to go off and live your life with him. And I'll be left here with a broken heart, and you don't even care."

I want to help her, but I'm not standing here while she abuses me for something I knew nothing about. "I don't understand your anger toward me."

"Yes, you do. The weekend before you and Brad hooked up, you were in my bed. After years of being so into you, I thought you were finally into me as well."

Oh, my God. That night she's talking about was just a fun weekend for me. I thought it was the same for her. She hasn't brought it up since. I really should have known better than to get involved intimately with a friend, but I thought we agreed. We had way too much to drink after a game and it all kind of just happened. I've been with other girls before and so had Darcy. We both knew this about each other, so it was just a bit of drunken fun.

"That was a fun night, but it was months ago." And then there was the night in the club when I met Brad. She picked him for me. It was the week after. This makes no sense at all. "Darcy, it was your idea for me to go after Brad that night. Why would you even suggest him if you felt like this?"

She runs a hand through her hair, then pulls on the ends. "I didn't think you would actually end up together. It was just supposed to be a fun game. And now I've had to stand by and watch you two fall for each other. It makes me sick. He's not your type. He's too cocky, too conceited."

"You said nothing to me. All this time, I didn't know."

She glares at me. "You knew, you had to. I want you to break it off with Brad so we can be together."

I blink back at her. She's now asking me to end it with him for her. "I can't do that, Darcy."

"Yes, you can, you just won't."

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