by Ana Shay
Chapter 29
Trudging down the hall, my legs felt like trees trying to root into the ground, and my shoulders ached from the weight of the mascot costume. I couldn’t wait to get this thing off. After a full day of setting up, I had to take the fish reigns again and work my butt off in the Catty costume for over six hours. When the game was through, I thought I’d finally be able to relax, but Mary forgot to mention that Catty had a photo session set up with some of the younger fans. It’s not like I can reasonably say no to a child.
All I wanted to do was take a hot shower and let the warm liquid ease my tired bones, but even that still felt miles away. Walking towards the ladies' locker room, I was just about to turn a corner. But then I stopped. Two distinct voices were arguing.
“I told you not to come here.” That familiar voice sneered, and my heart started beating wildly. Tate was angry at someone. But who? I wanted to walk away, pretend I hadn’t heard or interrupted anything, but something about his tone stopped me.
“Did you really think I’d miss your big game?” Although the voice was lighter, I was still able to hear her flirtatious undertones. Sweat prickled over my forehead. He was arguing with a woman.
I should let them have this private conversation. As my feet started moving, “You weren’t invited.” Tate’s words stopped me. I needed to know what was happening for my own sanity’s sake. I slithered over to the side, resting my back against the wall, and tried my best to bend down and hide behind the water fountain. I don’t think a giant human fish hiding behind a tiny fountain is very inconspicuous, but there was no one else around, so I figured this would work for now. “How did you get in the building?” He asked.
The woman let out a gasp. My mind was working overtime, trying to figure out who he was talking to. It sounded too young to be his mom, plus I knew he loved her with all his heart. Could it be his sister? “What do you mean I wasn’t invited?” She asked incredulously. Her nasal accent peaked with annoyance.
I leaned over the top of the fountain because there was sudden silence between them, and I thought they might have walked further down the hallway.
“Look,” Her voice comes out, calmer than before. “I know we’ve had some difficulties in the past, but I didn’t think this was over between us.” Over between them?
“You’re engaged!” Tate yelled, annoyed. “I thought we’d moved on.” My back slid down the wall until my butt hit the floor. This can’t really be happening, can it? I must be dreaming. I was supposed to be going to his tonight for dinner.
“It was all a lie. The papers were reporting false stories.” I closed my eyes. This definitely isn’t happening. My tired and confused brain is just playing out my worst nightmare.
“What do you want, Sam?” He ground out, and I tried to bring my hand to my mouth so they wouldn’t hear my heavy breathing, but the stupid costume got in my way. The lack of clean air and darkness was getting to me while the claustrophobia settled in. He said her name. He was talking to ex-fiancée. She was here for him.
“I want to know why you stopped calling me all of a sudden. I’ve missed you. And then when I try and call you, you don’t answer.” My toes were curling, wondering what she defined as recently because Tate told me they ended over a year ago. Wait a minute. That day I told him I didn’t want to see him anymore; he had missed calls from Sam on his phone. Is that what she’s referring to?
I couldn’t hear Tate’s response over my heavy breathing. Color was blotching my vision. I knew I needed to get out of this costume soon. I considered removing Catty’s head, so I could hear the rest of their conversation, but the embarrassment of getting caught eavesdropping was too great. I kept it on.
“What?” Sam’s shrill cry echoes down the hall. Any privacy they thought they had was well and truly out of the window now. I’m sure Pam heard that all the way in accounting. “Are you cheating on me?” Why did I stay here to listen to this? I should have turned around and kept walking, like a good little mascot. Instead, I’m hiding behind a dinky water fountain, trying my hardest not to faint while the neon green blotches in my vision get bigger.
“I can’t cheat on you if I’m not dating you.” I perked up when he said that.
“Are we really going to go over this?” I was hanging off every word, wanting to get more of the story, when someone tapped me on the shoulder. I had to whip my head around to get the tapper in my tunnel vision. “You dumped me in the heat of the moment…” was all I heard because a parrot and a kangaroo were looking down at me. Can panic attacks cause visions or mirages?
“Are you okay?” The parrot squawked. “I can hear your breathing from in here.” It was pretty loud, wasn’t it?
I tried to slow it down while I stood up, simultaneously doing my best to listen to Tate and Sam. “I’ve only ever wanted you, Tate.” I couldn’t unhear that, my breath laboring now. The kangaroo tried his best to take my head off; his arms were a little too short to reach my shoulders, thankfully. No one wants to see the hot mess express that is going on under here. “I’ve been waiting for you to come to your senses and take me back. I love you, Tate.” I could hear the subtle patter of their footsteps as they walked away while the Kangaroo and Parrot stared at me. The air was too thin, and the words too much. I couldn’t handle it, so I let the green flying blobs take over. That’s all I remember before everything went black.
“Cali?” The voice was distant; a white light made it hard to see. Was that the good Lord calling me home? Is this what death feels like? Soothing, disorientating, and slightly damp? Wait a minute. If this is death, why is my head pounding like someone drove over it with a scooter? “Cali, I can see your lips move. Are you awake?” The light dims, and I frowned. Am I that accident prone that I had to bring him to heaven with me?
“Phil?” With my eyes still closed, I tried my best to pull myself up. “What are you doing in heaven?” I grumbled. Don’t get me wrong. I liked the guy, but not enough to spend eternity with him.
His hands rested on my shoulder, pushing me to lie down again, and he chuckled. “This might be where dreams are made, but you’re not in heaven.” One eye squinted open, the colors blurry, but as my senses came back, I knew exactly where I was. The first-aid room.
“What am I doing here?” I asked and gasped when I touched my forehead. “What the hell happened?” Fabric bandages were wrapped tightly around my head. When I could finally see, I stared at Phil, waiting for an answer, but got sidetracked by his clothes. I’d never seen him in jeans and a t-shirt before. Does Phil work out? My hands started twitching, wanting to squeeze his muscles, but I stopped myself. I think I was delusional.
“I wasn’t there.” He turned around to get some tool out of his drawer. “But according to the Plano Parrot and Kansas Kangaroo, you had a panic attack in your costume and fainted.” So, they weren’t just in my mind. They were actually there with me.
“How does fainting equate to the giant bandage on my head?” He flashed the light in my eye again, looking between them. I had no idea what he was doing, but it wasn’t helping my throbbing brain.
“No, that’s to do with the water fountain you whacked on the way down. Do you remember anything that happened before you fell? The mascots said they found you cowering next to the water fountain, and when they tried to help you, it was already too late.”
I moaned; the memory of everything coming back, and I wished for just a second that I was still concussed so I wouldn’t have to remember all the things I heard. Tate was talking to Sam. She wants him back, and I didn’t hear him argue against it. He walked away with her and out of my life. I should have trusted those magazines. He was always in love with her. Waiting for her to make the grand gesture. I guess she finally made it.
“Yeah, I remember. I was boiling, trying to get the head off so I could get a drink and calm down.” I lied because it was less embarrassing than the truth.
“You were in there a long time today, weren’t you?” He handed me a glass of cold w
ater and gestured for me to open the other hand, dropping two white pills in my palm. “For your headache. You’ve suffered a mild concussion and will need to rest the next two days. Your parents were listed as your emergency contact, so I called them.”
After swallowing the pills, I hung my head in shame. Why am I so embarrassing and pathetic? And hopelessly in love with my favorite ballplayer? “Thanks. What time is it?”
He checked his watch. “Nearly half-past ten. You’re lucky I was still here when this happened. I was just about to leave. May have had to cancel a date to tend to you.” He laughed.
“Make me feel worse why don’t you.”
He shrugged. “It’s okay. I rearranged for tomorrow night. No game means no injury for you.” His laugh was infectious but didn’t seep down to my toes like when Tate laughed. He placed another water next to me while I closed my eyes, rehashing the conversation I overheard again and again in my mind.
Tate and I never really went official. Even though he was willing to fight for me, I kept pushing him away. I came up with every excuse in the book on why we couldn’t work. Slowly, he removed every obstacle and made me realize I was scared. Scared of being hurt and falling just as hard in love with my favorite player as the team he plays for. I didn’t tell him that I was having a change of heart yet. I planned on doing that tonight at his place. I chewed my bottom lip. Maybe he took that as my answer. I thought getting dirty via text would have told him all he needed to know about where my head was at. Even after that, I was coy. I also didn’t give him a definitive answer about having dinner with him tonight. Perhaps I made it easy for Sam to walk right in and take what I thought was mine.
“Cali?” My brother’s voice broke through the loudness of my thoughts. He rushed over to help me sit up.
A whirlwind of red hair came rushing into the room. “Are you okay, Cali?” Mary asked, pushing Penn out of the way, and studied my bruises. Those pills better work soon because, with every move, my whole body would scream in pain.
“She’ll be fine,” Phil interrupted Mary’s freak out. “She just needs a couple of days to rest, and the swelling should go down.” Swelling? How big was that bump? “I’d keep the bandages on, though. Just in case.” Now I was curious to know what the heck happened to my forehead.
I felt for bumps under my bandage, only making the pain worse. Turning my attention to Penn, I asked, “Where’s mom?”
“She asked me if I could pick you up because she was making dinner for Dad.”
I looked over at Mary, “And what are you doing here?” Her cheeks pinkened as her eyes darted between Penn and me. My head throbbed more with the implication.
“Penn was at mine when he found out you were hurt. I offered to drive him.” My mouth shut instantly, and I tried to think of anything except what they were doing. “You can stay at mine until you’re better if you want? I’ve got a spare room.”
My upper lip curled at the thought, and I had to force it to straighten into a smile. “Thanks for the offer, but I think I’ll just stay with my parents.” Sleeping in the same house as Penn and Mary. No thanks.
Penn draped my arm over his shoulder and helped me walk out of the room. Each step and movement hurt. I suspect I had more than a bumped head and bruised ego. My broken heart was radiating pain all over my body. “Did you want me to call Tate?” Mary asked, shuffling behind us.
“No,” I said shortly.
She raised her hands, “Woah, okay. I was only asking.”
I mumbled out a half-hearted apology, which I knew she’d accept. Right now, I needed less things that made my brain hurt, not more. “Can we just get home? I’m tired and need to forget this day.”
“At least this time your accident wasn’t recorded and isn’t being replayed on TV.” Like I needed a reminder of that right now.
“Uh huh,” I half-assed.
“Have you got everything you need?” I thought about my phone sitting in my locker and Tate’s lone message that I have yet to respond to. I really didn’t want to deal with that right now.
“Yup. I’ve got everything.” With that, I let Penn lead me to his car and take me home. I did my best to ignore any new outlets, just in case Tate and Sam got secretly
hitched in Vegas. It’s a long shot, I know, but My little broken heart wouldn’t be able to handle anything about Tate and Sam.
Chapter 30
2 hours earlier
“Are we really going to go over this?” Sam stared at me in disbelief. I don’t know who was angrier, her or me. “You dumped me in the heat of the moment…” My jaw was tense, and I was gripping the strap of my bag so tight, my knuckles were going white. “I was waiting for you to come to your senses and come back to me.”
She’s insane. It’s the only explanation for her reasoning. I could see a parrot and kangaroo mascot in my periphery walking down the hall. I grabbed Sam’s shoulder, pulling her away. “We can’t talk here.” I gestured my head to the exit, and she followed me. I can’t trust her anymore. I had a feeling she set something up to record our conversation. TMZ would love a Baseball meltdown.
I dragged her to the parking lot and looked around, checking there was no one there. It was late, and the only people left in the stadium were players and staff. None of which were in here. Luckily. Now I could finally have a private conversation with her.
She chewed her lip, “Why did you bring me out here?” She asked, playing with the buttons of my shirt.
I clasped her hands and moved them down to her sides. “I brought you out here because I didn’t want to humiliate you when I rejected you.” She gasped in surprise. Honestly, she was a terrible actress, but she did seem genuinely shocked. Probably more at my tone than anything else. I’ve had enough of her, though, and all I want to do is see Cali. Naked if she’d let me.
Her eyes pooled; the little game she played wasn’t going to fool me this time. “I missed you.” The wistfulness in her voice was almost believable. If I hadn’t heard it a million times before, I might think she was actually remorseful.
I shook my head, knowing little wisps of water from my just showered hair would hit her and not caring. She’s the one that invaded my space without asking. “Cut the crap. There are no reporters out here. This conversation is only between you and me. Be honest, or I’ll leave.”
Her shoulders slumped, and upper lip curled, completely changing her facial expression. The facade was finished. “You spoke to the press.” She said flatly, annoyed.
Chuckling, I knew I did something to inadvertently get her attention. “No, I didn’t say a word to them. My publicist did because I was tired of you using me to get your face on magazines.” And inadvertently cock-blocking me with Cali. Not that I would mention that. Sam would love that side-effect, I’m sure. My eyes narrowed, studying her. “Why are you messing with me anyway? Aren’t you engaged to Theo?” Surely, she’s his problem now, not mine.
Her lips thinned, and her left eye started twitching. “Not exactly.”
I wished I hadn’t asked. This was too much information from an ex I didn’t care for. “Sorry to hear that. Are we done?” I pointed between us and turned on my heel to walk around the car.
Her pointy nails dug into the side of my arm. I winced at the pain. “Tate.” She pulled tighter. “Come on. Don’t be like this.”
“Be like what?”
“Like this!” She raised her voice, hoping it would get some kind of rise out of me, and was disappointed when she got nothing. “You’re acting like we meant nothing.” She hung her head, the curled blonde locks looked fried on the ends, and a couple of her nails were chipped, a reminder that no matter how hard she tried, she was never going to be as perfect as she believed she was.
“You cheated on me with a football player. We didn’t mean anything,” I kept my voice and face stern. It’s amazing when you’re not around someone how much easier it is to see through their games. Thank God she cheated on me; otherwise, I never would have met Cali.
Her head still bowed, she wiped her heavily lined lashes and sniffled. How did I not see how manipulative she was before? “You don’t mean that.”
“Yes, I do.” I shook my arm free of her claws, staring down at her. “Now, if you could let me know what the hell it is you want so I can leave.” When her eyes met mine, I couldn’t help but compare them to Cali’s. Both were blue, Cali’s were full of depth and warmth, but Sam’s were piercing and ice cold.
“I want you.” I stared at her blankly, waiting a few beats for her to finish that sentence, so it made any kind of sense. I want you to mow my lawn. I want you to be my maid of honor. I want you to let me borrow your yacht for the weekend, so I can get drunk and fall overboard, only to ultimately meet my demise by gaters. All of these would have been more plausible options than leaving that statement wide open.
I stifled the laughter, looking up to the ceiling. I’ll never forgive myself for agreeing to go on a date with her. Damn my horny 18-year-old self. I scrubbed my hand across my face before looking at her again. “If you wanted me, why were you going to the press making up false stories about us?”
“You were ignoring my calls. I figured the more flagrant the stories, the more likely you’d be to contact me.”
Her face showed no signs of any emotion, except nonchalance. It was like she thought that was the usual way to act. “Sam, I don’t say this often, but I think you need help. Help that Theo can pay for.”
“But Tater Tot.” I grimaced at the use of that stupid nickname she gave me. What kind of man wants to be named after tiny, deep-fried balls? The other players loved it when they found out. “It was always supposed to be you and me.”
She was draped across my car; I should have thought about this before dragging her out here. I needed to try a different tactic. “Sam, I think it’s time we moved on. Theo’s crazy about you, and he can take care of you just as comfortably as I could.” I leave out that I’m making 5 million more than him a year since I got my new deal because that’s just petty, and I’m not bitter. Her only response was sputters of a whimper. “I think it’s best for all of our future relationships if we didn’t talk anymore.”