Breaking Down (The Breaking Series Book 4)

by Juliana Haygert

  “All right, let’s jump right in.” She sat straighter and looked up at me, a slight smile on her lips. “I think I found a girl to play polo with you.”

  My mouth fell open. What did she mean? “But … one girl? No team? No club?”

  “Well, yes.” She flipped her ponytail to the side. “I know one girl isn’t much, but I thought it could be a start. You two can join forces and go after two other girls and a sponsor together. Wouldn’t that be great?”

  Bom, when she put it like that … “Sim, yes, it would.” I frowned. “But who is she?”

  “She’ll be here in a few minutes,” was all she said.

  Promptly, the waiter came back with her coffee and my water. “Anything else?” he asked. We both answered that we were good. “I’ll be around if you need anything.” He stepped back and retreated to the wall.

  Meanwhile, Brittany sipped from her coffee, watching the club with a pleased gaze. And I simply sat there, counting the seconds until said girl, who I didn’t even know, appeared.

  “Ah, there she is,” Brittany stood again and smiled to someone behind me.

  I glanced over my shoulder. A beautiful, tall Black girl with long and thick black hair approached us with a smile of her own. Like everyone else, she was dressed up in fancy pants, a dress blouse, and sandals.

  “Sorry I’m late,” the girl said.

  “It’s okay,” Brittany said. She looked at me. “Gabriela, this is Kelsey Murray. Kelsey, this is Gabriela Fernandes.”

  We shook hands.

  “Please, call me Gabi,” I said.

  Brittany smiled at us. “I know you two have a lot to talk about, so I’ll leave you to it, but don’t hesitate to call me if you need anything, okay?”

  “Thanks,” Kelsey said, still smiling.

  I nodded. “Sim, thanks.”

  Brittany walked away and Kelsey took a chair for her. “So, you’re the girl Brittany told me about.”

  Frowning, I sat back in my chair. “What did she tell you?”

  “She told me you play as well as your cousins and brother.”

  “You know my cousins and brother?”

  “I do play polo, and everyone who plays polo knows who the best in the world are.”

  “I guess that’s true.” Hope tickled my gut, but I pushed it down. This was too good to be true. My path hadn’t been easy so far, and it wouldn’t start being easy now. “So, you play polo. Where? And for how long?”

  “I always loved horses and, thankfully, my parents were able to afford lessons for me since I was about eight years old. I learned about polo soon after, but, like you know, it’s hard to find a female team, and they don’t let you play on the male teams, so I quickly let that go. However, we were living in Canada during my high school years, and some girls from my high school played polo for fun. So I joined them. But we moved back to this area before I graduated high school and I was never able to find another girls’ team around here. I still ride, but to be honest, I haven’t played polo in two years.”

  The hope faded from my gut. Two years? That was a long time. If she was a prodigy like Leo, then I believed she was still good at it, no matter what, but what if she was like the rest of us? What if she was average? Then two years without playing was a long, long time. If she was good at it before, it was probable she wasn’t good at it anymore.

  “Oh,” I finally said, trying to erase my shock. “Hm, that’s great. That you still ride and that you still like polo, but …”

  “You’re worried I can’t play anymore, right?” The question caught me by surprise and the words didn’t come. “I get it, believe me. You’re probably a great player and you want to put together a great team. I get it. But I was a good player and I like polo way too much. Please, give me a chance. Play with me a couple of times, let me shake the rust off, then you decide if we can start our own team or not.”

  “That sounds … fair, I guess.” And it brought hope back to me. I had a big love and hate relationship with hope. “All right, we can schedule a few practice games to see how you are doing.”

  “That’s great!”

  I tilted my head. “What do you say about meeting me here tomorrow morning at eight thirty?”

  As agreed, Kelsey met me at the club at eight thirty sharp. We trudged to the field and started stretching.

  “So, they will get here and you’ll just tell them I’m practicing with you all?”

  I nodded once. “Sim.”

  “What if they say no?”

  I rolled my eyes. “They won’t say no. I bet they will be happy for me, for us, and they will like having you around. Besides, this makes the game even. Three to each side.”

  She smiled wide, her nervousness showing through her slightly shaking hands. “That sounds great.”

  “They will be here around nine, so I thought we could get ahead of them in some stretches and exercises.”

  “Good idea.”

  As we stretched and worked out, Kelsey told me a little about herself. She was twenty like me and lived with her mother. Her parents divorced when she was starting her senior year of high school. That was why she moved back from Canada—her father still lived there. Her mother was originally from Los Angeles, but Kelsey had moved to Toronto when her mom came back from Canada. Kelsey was attending college for pre-med because that was what her mother expected of her. Though she wanted to work with horses. If she had a choice, she would be a riding instructor on a small ranch, earning a miserable salary, just enough to pay cheap bills, as long as it meant she was doing what made her happy.

  That made me even more hopeful. She loved horses, like I did, and she needed the money. It would be awesome if she played really well, and we could put a good team together, find a sponsor, and get more than a miserable salary for her.

  It was eight-fifty when tio João Pedro arrived.

  “Bom dia,” he said, his mate in his hand and his bag slung over his shoulder.

  “Oi, tio.” I smiled at him, barely containing my excitement. “Tio, this is Kelsey Murray. She used to play polo. I invited her to practice with us today. I hope you don’t mind.”

  Tio João Pedro turned to Kelsey. “Oi, Kelsey, nice to meet you. I’m João Pedro, Montenegro’s coach. Glad to have you for practice today.”

  Kelsey beamed. “Thank you, sir. I’m the one glad to be here.”

  We got ready to play and while we warmed up, a new idea came to my mind. I needed to research how it would work if I wanted to sponsor a team. All businesses started with a little investment. Maybe I could invest in my own polo team.

  I would be the first player, and Kelsey could be the second.

  The coffee machine beeped. With my eyes still on the laptop’s screen, I stood and reached to the counter behind me, grabbing a clean mug from the drying rack.

  “What are you doing?”

  I yelped and almost dropped the mug. “Credo …”

  “Sorry,” Tyler said as he stepped into the kitchen. He glanced to the laptop and the mug in my hand. “What are you doing?”

  “Hm, I was gonna get some coffee and continue my research.”

  He grabbed a clean mug for himself. “Researching?”

  I poured myself some coffee and sat back on the stool with a sigh. “Colleges that offer polo as one of their sports.” I had called colleges before to see if any players wanted to join a team, but I hadn’t thought about applying to them as a student and getting to play.

  He got some coffee and stood behind me, watching the screen. “And?”

  “First, it’s hard to look for the word polo and college because most of the stuff that pops up is water polo. Second, the few colleges I found are too far away. Like, across the country far away.”

  “I see.” He grabbed a glass from a cabinet and filled it with cold water.

  I didn’t know what else to do. I had given it more thought since meeting Kelsey and first coming up with the idea of sponsoring our own team. I had researched even, and it was no good. A
t least not yet. I still didn’t have a green card, and to have my own business, or team, I had to wait for my green card.

  At least that was moving. Earlier this week, I had received a letter from the government with a time and date for my interview. Tyler and I still had some time to nail down every little detail about our fake relationship.

  “Ugh.” Frustrated, I opened my social media app and started scrolling down my feed.

  Hilary had posted a pic of Gui and her during the weekend, Ri had posted a picture of a glass full of whiskey, and Leo had posted a picture of Hannah riding Argus at the ranch. Pedro had posted a picture of him during yesterday’s practice, and Bia posted a pic of Garrett and her on date night—at a Brazilian restaurant in L.A.

  Besides that, my feed was full of pictures of my friends from Brazil. At parties, weddings, get-togethers, girls’ nights out. Always having fun and smiling and kissing their partners.

  Speaking of pictures and partners …

  “Ty, come here.”

  He glanced at me. “What?”

  “Just come here, please.”

  Frowning, he walked up to my side. “What?”

  “Look at this.” I pointed to some small text on the screen. He bent on the waist and leaned forward, getting closer to the screen. And to me. Quickly, I pulled up my cell phone and kissed his cheek—while snapping a selfie.

  Tyler pulled back, his eyes wide. “What was that for?”

  I shrugged. “Bom … I was looking at my social media feeds and everyone was posting pictures with their boyfriends and husbands, and I thought, why not post one too?” My cheeks flamed. “I mean, they do think we’re together, right? And we haven’t taken as many photos as we should, and posted them online, in case the immigration office decides to investigate us.”

  The frown was back. “In that case …” He settled down his mug. “Let me see that picture.”

  “You’re going to erase it.”

  “Why would I do that?” Wary, I handed him my phone. “It’s blurry. We should try it again.”

  I reached for my phone. “Let me see.”

  “I’ll take the picture. Ready?” He leaned over like before without waiting for my answer. I stared at his profile, still wary of whatever was going on. “Any day now.”

  I rolled my eyes but conceded. I leaned into him, and closing my eyes, puckered my lips to kiss his cheek. Then, his lips pressed against mine. Before I could process what was happening, his hand cupped my face and his lips moved. A zap of desire surged through me and I started melting into him, rejoicing in the pressure of his lips on mine.

  I snapped out of it and pulled back. I opened my mouth but nothing came out.

  “I think this picture is better, don’t you think? Here you go.” He handed me my phone.

  I stared at the phone, our picture taking over the screen. A picture of his lips on mine. Slowly, I reached over and took the phone from him. “Hm, yeah, thanks.” I cleared my throat and lifted my gaze to his. “For the picture.” My cheeks flamed.

  One corner of his lips tugged up. “You’re welcome.”

  His cell phone rang, cutting through whatever spell had bewitched the entire kitchen.

  He glanced to his phone and the frown settled between his brows. “It’s from the hospital,” he whispered, straightening. “Hello?” he answered. I could hear a woman’s voice from the other side, but couldn’t make out the actual words. But whatever she was saying couldn’t be good as Tyler’s shoulders tensed and his jaw popped. “I’m on my way.”

  I stood. “What is it?”

  His eyes met mine and I saw pure anguish in there. “He’s not doing well.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I need to go.” He walked past me like a robot on a mission—all action and no thought.

  “Wait.” I slammed my laptop shut and went after him. “I’ll drive you.”

  He shook his head. “No need. There’s nothing to be done th—”

  I caught his arm and squeezed gently. “Tyler, I want to go with you.”

  He stared at me for a moment, as if searching for an answer in my eyes. However, what was the question? Finally, he let out a loud sigh and nodded. “Fine,” he grumbled.

  I rushed to my room, where I grabbed my purse and a jacket and slipped on my boots, and met Tyler at the front door.

  I unlocked the door and glanced at him. “Everything will be fine. You know that, right?”

  44

  Tyler

  Everything would not be fine.

  Gabi knew my father was dying, that any moment now could be his last, so why would she say something like that to me? I sighed and tried to relax in the passenger seat of her Grand Cherokee.

  With everything going on in my life? It wasn’t easy to relax.

  I glanced at the girl by my side. Her hands were tight against the wheel and her eyes fixed on the road. She looked beautiful, as she always did. Damn, I had no idea what had come over me and why the hell I had kissed her like I had earlier. I just knew that, if she hadn’t pulled away, I would have kept kissing her. I would have pressed my mouth on hers, until she parted her lips and I could deepen the kiss.

  I shook my head and glanced out of the window.

  What the hell was I doing?

  This was a damn deal. In less than two years, she would be gone from my life. I spied at her again. Or would she? Did I want her to be? What if … what if this could actually work? What if I showed her how much she enticed me, how much I thought of her and wondered how our relationship would be if we actually stopped pretended and surrendered to our feelings—to my feelings. I had no idea if she felt the same or not, though there were times when I thought she did.

  The car stopped and I shook my head, surprised we were already in the hospital parking lot.

  Gabi glanced at me. “Are you okay?”

  I looked at her and started to nod, then gave one short shake of my head. “I don’t know,” I confessed.

  Gabi reached across the seats and took my hand in hers. She squeezed it gently. “I’m here for you, okay. Anything you need.” Her eyes, her beautiful blue eyes, showed me she was sincere, and it made me even more emotional.

  “Thanks,” I muttered.

  She offered me a tight smile, then pulled her hand back, and hopped out of the car.

  Gabi and I entered his private room—perks of finally having some cash and paying out some of the fifty thousand bills I had—and found him sleeping. He had monitors hooked up on him, and in my non-medical opinion, his heart seemed a little too slow for my taste.

  He looked even more like a mummy than his usual self. White, pasty skin, sunken eyes, and too fucking thin. A jolt cut through my chest and it was suddenly too hard to breathe.

  Gabi stepped into me. She wrapped an arm around my back and rested her temple on my shoulder. “I wish there was more we could do for him.”

  Deflated, I leaned into her. “Me too.”

  She stood on tiptoes and kissed my cheek. “Can I do something for you?”

  I glanced at her, at those big eyes fixed on me. Could she do something for me? More than she had already done?

  A knock echoed from the door and I took a step back, as if it had been wrong to be standing so close to my fiancée—to my wife.

  It was just pretend.

  The door opened a sliver and nurse Annie peeked in. “I thought I saw you arriving.” She stepped in and closed the door.

  “How is he doing now?” I asked, focusing back on the man lying in the bed.

  She sighed. “He’s stable. We were able to get his blood pressure back to a more acceptable reading, but … he’s too weak. The doctor will come in later and talk to you about it.”

  My insides chilled. “What do you mean?”

  She shook her head once. “Dr. Hansen is with a patient now and it might take a while. You should get comfortable. He’ll stop by when he can.”

  She left the room without further explanation, and I stared at the door as if it was a joke. She was com
ing back and telling me more, right?

  “Ty?” Gabi’s soft whisper jolted me and I turned to her. “Do you want to talk?”

  I moved past her and leaned my ass against the closed window, on the other side of the room. “No. I’m fine.”

  She stared at me with those knowing eyes. Damn it. Those eyes. I had a fucked-up love and hate relationship with them.

  She stood there, in the middle of the room, for a long time, staring between my father and me. What did she want me to do? To tell her that I was scared? That I wasn’t ready? That I didn’t think I would ever be? This man raised me alone. He had been the best father a boy could have. And for reasons I still didn’t understand, he was being taken from me too soon. Too fucking soon.

  I glanced out the window, lest Gabi saw the tears welling in my eyes.

  “I’m gonna …” she started, but she didn’t finish. Moments later, I heard the soft click of the door closing.

  With a sigh, I plopped down in the nearest chair and let one single tear fall. Just one. I wasn’t ready for more. Not yet.

  45

  Gabi

  I hated hospitals with all my heart and soul. Though I understood that hospitals saved lives, all I could think about was the many people who came here to die.

  Trying not to look much around the corridors or at the patients and family and friends waiting to hear about their loved ones, I took the elevator back to the first floor where I found the cafeteria. I bought a coffee to-go cup, but ended up sitting down at one of the tables overlooking a courtyard in the middle of the hospital.

  I had done all I could, right? I mean, not directly, but I had made the deal with Tyler. I had already given him one third of the cash I promised him. With that, he had paid the most important bills and was now paying for a treatment for his father. But money wasn’t everything. Even with all the money in the world and all the treatments, some illnesses couldn’t be cured.

  Why then did I feel so guilty? So useless? Even when I tried helping him, tried comforting him and talking to him, Tyler shut me down.