by Ana Balen
I knew my brothers were showing Jason the video of Mindy coming out of his hotel room by the silence. I sent it to them, because it hurt too much to talk about it. The one time I told Max what happened almost undid me, and in the end, I wasn't careful enough and opened the door to Niles without checking who it was, because I was so desperate to get out of there. Listening to the silence, watching in my mind as Mindy walked nearly naked down the hall, I was no longer just tense. Every muscle in my body turned to stone. At that point, I didn't know what hurt the most, my bruised body or my shattered heart. So, I took hold of the thingy the nurse explained that with one push would send the medication coursing through my body if the pain ever got to be too much to handle, and I pressed the button on top. I needed relief. Not from injuries, but from my heart shattering over and over, because that damn footage kept playing on a loop in my head.
“That's not what it looks like!” Jason shouted. “Someone set me up!”
“Sure, sure,” Max muttered, disbelief ringing all around. “Still, you're not going in there. She doesn't want to see you.”
I don't know how long Jason stayed in front of my hospital room, arguing with my brothers. The drugs started to pull me down, and I fell asleep. He came to the hospital every day in an attempt to see me, and when I got home, he came to my apartment, checking up on me, bringing food and sweets, sometimes flowers, other times coffee, and always asking if he could see me. When he was denied access to me, he would stand in that hallway, waiting.
There was one thing I didn't get. How did Niles find me? Jason's address wasn't a known fact. Sure, he had a lot of women knocking on his door, but that was only because guys kept bringing them there. I doubt one of them would tell anyone where he lived. Not because they respected his privacy. No, because they didn't want competition. Besides, none of them knew I was there that night.
That answer came later that first night in the hospital, when Logan came to see me, almost as frantic as Jason was. Standing by my bedside, my brothers scowling at him from the opposite side, he broke down and started crying.
“Hey,” I whispered, patting his hand. “I'm okay, just a few scratches and bruises. I'll be all right.”
But he just bowed his head, begging me to forgive him, hunching over our hands on the bed, his shoulders shaking between his ragged breaths.
“What for?”
I didn't get it. Why would I need to forgive him? He was the one who kept warning me Jason would do something like this. And when he did, Logan was the one who alerted me of it and prevented me from becoming a fool who would have everyone laughing behind her back.
“The video I sent you,” he started when his remorseful eyes found mine. “It was a setup. Mindy wasn't with Jason even a full minute in that room. Two seconds after he got inside his room, he threw her out. I just waited until later to send it, so it would look like she was in there a lot longer after you two hung up.”
“Why did you do that?”
“Curt,” he shrugged, looking away, and I watched as shame washed over his face. “He told me if Jason took one of the deals that were on the table, I would be able to get a better deal from the Thunders. Get more money, better sponsors, and more offers. Jason's the star of the team; everyone knows it. The rest of us? We just grab any leftovers from the sponsors we can get. And watching everything be presented to Jason and listening to him while he bitched and moaned that it was all a distraction from the game, then shoving all that money aside, living in that tiny house, I was jealous. I wanted it all. So, when Curt came and told me he would make it happen for me if we got Jason out of Denver, I went for it. I didn't let anything stop me. Not even standing by his side at the elevator and listening to him tell you he loves you. I just didn't think something like this would happen.” He looked back to me, swallowed hard, and whispered, closing his eyes. “I am so sorry, Rory. I'll do anything for you to forgive me.”
I was so lost in the relief that coursed through my body, acting like a balm to all my aches and pains, that I frowned in confusion when Chace asked, “How did Niles find her at Jason's?”
I didn't get how Logan could know.
“Curt told him. He was hell bent on getting Rory out of the way, so he made his mission to know where both of them were at any minute of the day. He was paranoid that Rory would take him to Sebastian and help Jason get signed by him.” He grabbed my hand and shook it. “I found out this morning. I promise you, if I knew what Curt was doing or what Niles wanted to do, I would have warned you. I would’ve stopped Curt. I wouldn't have gone through with his sick game.”
I asked Logan to tell all that to the police. He did, but unfortunately, Curt claimed he had no idea who Niles was and that he thought he was just a guy from work, so when he told Niles where he could find me, it was only because Niles said it was work related and he couldn't get me on the phone. Since there was no evidence that what Curt did was in fact done fully knowing and understanding the situation, he was released. Though I heard he was losing clients and was not in such a good position. I was also ashamed I so easily believed in Jason betraying me. I wanted to tell him I was sorry, I missed him, and that I loved him.
But I didn't want him to see me like this.
And besides, we clearly didn't work. I had trust issues, over which I just couldn't get past. It was better that we broke up and went on with our lives. He didn't deserve me questioning his every move. He needed someone who believed in him a hundred percent. He just wouldn't hear any of it, or give up.
“Yeah, he spent an hour sitting in the hallway, waiting for you,” Max picked up the bags of chips when I came near the couch, not looking away from the TV. “He would still be out there if he didn't have to go to the game.”
I knew Max was right, since he sat in my hallway every day, most of the day. The bruises were fading, and with makeup, they were barely visible, so I was running out of excuses not to see him. I just feared that if I did, I would cave and wouldn't be able to let him go.
“Maybe you should...” Carter started to say.
They were trying to get me to talk to Jason for the last week, figure things out, and get back with him. From the moment they heard Logan's words in my hospital room, they started doubting the video. Then they went to him and demanded the truth. Since then, they were trying to help him however they could. Still, I stood my ground. It wasn't the fact that they were slowly but surely chipping away at the wall I built, all four of them, that had me tuning Carter out. It wasn’t even the fact that a close up of Jason, in his standard position, head bowed, nodding, his eyes trained on the ground, hands on his hips as he was taking a step onto the field, was on TV. It was the fact that I couldn't see the blue strip snaking up his leg.
“I'm going to kill him,” I growled, not looking away from the screen and putting down the bowl with the dip a little harsher than was necessary, sloshing the stuff over the edge and all over my hand and table.
“Who?” the three men sitting on my couch asked, but I didn't answer. I went right up to the TV and squinted.
“Please don't lick the screen. Please don't ruin the game for me,” Chace groaned.
I ignored the big baby, turned around, and went to my bedroom then to my bathroom. Right to my box of tampons.
“Fucker, oh I'm going to kill him,” I muttered to myself as I pulled out the four passes from the box.
I planned to surprise my brothers with them, take them to a game and to meet all the players and tour the place. Something they’ve never done. In all that's happened, I just didn't have a chance, and I didn't want to come face-to-face with Jason. On my way back to the living room, I snatched my coat and bag and marched out, right to the door.
“Let's go,” I barked to the three, who were trailing me with only their eyes.
“Where?”
“The game's about to start!”
“Are you serious?”
I didn't answer the questions that were fired at me in rapid succession, just flung the four plastic
cards over my shoulder and left them dangling there, holding the blue and red ribbons. I could hear all three jumping to their feet and the sounds of them moving around, gathering their things.
“It's not that I'm complaining, because I'm totally not,” Carter was the first one to catch up to me, and he tried to snatch the passes away. “In fact, I think you’re the best sister there ever was,” he said in a sweet tone, trying to get me to give him the passes. “But what happened to change your mind about seeing him?”
I was so furious I was barely able to get the words out of my mouth. He knew he needed to do it; I went to great lengths to teach him how to properly do it. And I explained the risks, in great detail, of what would happen if he didn't do it. And still, he ignored me.
“The fucker didn't tape his ankle.”
Chapter Twelve
Jason
“Sit your ass down back on that bench,” the little growl I could barely hear over the roar of the crowd made my heart stop for a second.
I tried to look in the direction where it came from, but with coach yelling in my face and the doc shouting his questions in my ear, I couldn't see a thing. Shaking my head to clear it, I tried to pull my focus back to where it belonged. In the game. But, as it was for the last three weeks, nothing could hold my attention anymore, not even my career. I didn't care for anything, couldn't think of anything except the fact that Rory didn't believe my and that she left me. How the fuck had I managed to be stupid enough to fuck everything up so royally?
“Harris, are you even listening to me?” the coach hollered in my face.
I gave him an automatic nod, just so we could get this over with.
“I'm going to fucking kill you.”
There it was again.
Her voice.
It was filled with so much anger that I could barely recognize it. God, did I missed her so much that I was imagining her being angry with me?
“Why in the fuck did you think it was a good idea for you to sprint to the end zone? Haven't we discussed this shit already?” The coach was now looking at me like I was a moron who couldn't even tie his shoes.
“You didn't even tape your damn ankle. If you have a repeat injury, I'm going to break your neck, you idiot!”
What the fuck? I knew she told me the biggest risk came from repeat injuries, but to actually imagine her giving me a lecture now was a little bit over the top, even for me. God, I missed her so much. Nothing made sense without her. I didn't want anything if she wasn't by my side. I didn't care about anything except her. Not even football. That was why I didn't do something Rory tried to drill in my brain. I didn't tape my ankle, and I started sprinting the moment the receiver caught the ball. I just wanted the game to be over so I could go back to her place, sit in front of her door, and beg or wait for her to give me a chance to explain. It was only when my cleat was pulled off my foot and my leg shifted to lie on someone’s leg that I looked down, prepared to tell whoever dared to manhandle me to back the fuck off. The sight of her hair all over the place, her cheeks flushed, her mouth in a straight line while she was twisting his foot, was beyond my wildest dreams.
“It took me almost two hours to get here the city is so full,” she kept with the growling, her sole focus on my foot as her frantic hands put the tape on my leg. “And then you did something this moronic before I could get here.”
I reached out and covered her hands, “Baby, stop.” She looked at me.
If she could, I was sure she would spit fire right at that moment. I have never seen her so angry. And then it penetrated that she was here. She thought I would hurt myself, and she rushed to get to me. She was so beautiful, even with the bruises still slightly visible under her makeup. I reached out and gently touched her cheek with the tip of my finger, pushing down the rage that erupted when she flinched away. If I could, I would kill Niles for what he did to her. I did however beat the shit out of Curt, so at least he did get some kind of revenge for what happened to her, and I whispered still not believing it was true and not a mirage, “You're here.”
“Of course, I'm here,” she yelled at me, her face getting red. “You're acting like an idiot and putting yourself at risk.”
She went back to work, and I burst out laughing. If I knew that was all it took for her to come out of her hiding place, I would have done it weeks ago. Fuck, I would purposely twist my ankle again if I knew it would get me a minute of her time. I reached out and gently cupped her face, aware of her bruises, and pulled her up until she was on her knees, so I could kiss her lips. With my lips still against hers, I opened my eyes.
“You're here,” I repeated, unable to believe it even though I was touching her. It was a good possibility that someone tackled him, and I had a concussion. “You came.”
We were so close that the only thing I could see were her stunned eyes, and I vividly watched as they started to go gentle. I felt under my palms when all her anger and fear melted away, and she relaxed her face.
“I'm here,” she whispered.
“I'm so sorry, Rory. I'm so sorry for what he did to you,” I rushed on to say, hoping she will let me talk. I didn't know how much time I had before she disappeared on me again, and I needed her to know the biggest regret I would ever have in my life was that I left her unprotected. And in my goddamned home. “And I promise you, nothing happened with Mindy. I threw her ass out the moment I entered my room,” I knew if I didn't get it all out now, I wouldn't get a second chance to explain.
Maybe it wasn't the right time or place, but I needed her to know everything, so that we could move on. I was also living in a hotel. I put my house on the marked the moment I came back to Denver. Going so far that I got Dylan to take out all my stuff, because I couldn't go in there and see the place where Rory got hurt. I didn’t trust my reactions, and if I saw what the place had looked like after Niles was done with her, I probably would have ended up in prison. Also, I absolutely refused to buy a new home without her. So, hotel it was. She once told me about her dream home. A farmhouse with a white picket fence, a huge lawn, and lots of trees. And I wanted to give it to her. To do that, I needed to guide us back together so she could pick out our future home.
“I know,” I could feel her biting her lip under his.
“You know?” I pulled back and looked at her. Something in my gut started twisting again, and it had nothing to do with this urgency I felt.
“Yeah, Logan came to see me and told me everything,” she said so low I had to read the words from her lips.
“Then why did you refuse to talk to me? Why have you left me?”
“At first, I didn't want you to see me all broken,” she looked to the side, gulped, and then looked back at me. “And after some time, I knew I fucked up again. I didn't believe you. Didn't believe in you. And you deserve someone who believes in you.”
“But I only want you.” How could she not see this? If it meant proving that to her day in and day out for the rest of my life, I would gladly do it. I didn't need her to believe in me anymore; I just needed her to give me the chance to prove it to her. “I don't care what you think I deserve. Nothing else matters but you.”
“Yeah, you demonstrated that tonight,” she tried to shake her head to admonish me, but with my palms still at her face, she couldn't, so she settled for a stern look she couldn't quite pull off with the small grin on her face.
“Rory, I love you,” I all but yelled so she could hear me.
“I love you too, Jason,” she shuffled on her knees to come closer to me.
“Promise you won't leave me ever again.”
I wanted to tell her everything. About how I sold the house, the papers were signed just two days ago, about her needing to get out and find the house she wants, so I could buy it for her. I was still on rocky ground with the team; they weren't very pleased with the stunt Curt pulled trying to get me released from our contract, and I got called into a meeting again where they informed me they were thinking about doing just that. I have to admit it
was disappointing to hear that after our initial meeting. But, I didn’t object. They needed to do what they needed to do. I didn't think about it; I just thanked them for letting me know and left the office. I didn't even look at any of the offers. I didn't care. If they released me, it would mean the end of my career. So be it.
My life was in Denver.
Rory was in Denver.
And that meant I wasn't going anywhere.
I would simply find something else to do.
And even if it took me years, I would live in that hotel room, waiting for Rory to forgive me, and then take her to find us a home. For us. For our future family. I didn't have time for all of that right this second, so I made sure she knew I loved her, hoping it would be enough for her to stay until the end of the game, so that we could talk.
“I promise,” the words barely left her mouth before I leaned in and kissed her. It wasn't a light peck on the lips. I went whole hog. It was slow and wet. It was also hot as all hell.
“Thunders, huddle!” Dylan roared so everyone could hear, standing behind his back.
My teammates jogged to where we were, Rory still kneeling, me sitting on the bench and they circled us, giving us their backs. As one, they all extended their arms back together, each holding a helmet in his hand, and one by one, the helmets clicked in place, right above our heads hiding the two of us.
“What's going on?” she asked, looking up to the helmets that hovered over us.
“The Thunders huddle,” I explained, still holding her face. I looked up smiling and was glad to see even Logan's helmet hovered over. Logan tried to talk to me, but I still wasn’t ready. I could barely stomach seeing the man on a daily basis and not give into the urge to kill him, since he was the one who helped with breaking Rory and me up. Swallowing the bitter taste that only thinking about it left in my mouth, I looked back to my girl. “They're giving us privacy, baby. In the last place you can expect to have it.”