She had no plans for the weekend except finishing unpacking and she was in no hurry for that. Especially since she may be moving again in a few months anyway. Mia knew she had avoided going home. The apartment was empty and time would drag on with nothing to keep her occupied but her own mind.
Saturday morning Mia slept until nine o’clock. It had been a long week. Between the move, the new job and Coach Reed, Mia was exhausted. Moving was always a hassle. No one understood what she was going through, which made it that much harder for her to leave. They couldn’t understand how someone she was not related to or dating or friends with could affect her so deeply. She could not talk to them about the guilt. It would be better to just start over, get away from the pain. Away from family amd friends. If she didn’t care for anyone, she could not get hurt again. Besides, did she deserve to be happy when Shantel was gone?
The new job was added stress. She didn’t want to socialize or talk about herself. Nor did she feel the need to pretend to want to get to know any of her co-workers. She didn’t care if they had kids or if they were happily married. Nor was she interested in their hobbies or what they taught. Reed was a pain, but at least she didn’t have to worry about making small talk. Small talk…that’s funny. We couldn’t have a conversation without yelling at each other if we tried.
Mia didn’t want to get out of bed, but she knew she had to find something to occupy her mind. It wasn’t like she was going to sleep more anyhow. If she stayed in bed she would relive every horrible moment. Get up. Run errands, clean the apartment, unpack… anything. You can’t just sit here and sulk. Busy work had occupied her life the last couple months. She didn’t come out of her apartment after it happened for over a month. She got lost in her mind. What could she have done differently? There had to be a way to save her. If she had just been there. Mia found that she could not be alone with her thoughts. She was always busy, had to be.
The phone rang at nine thirty. Who could be calling? Her parents? Mia picked up the phone, but didn’t recognize the number. Don’t people sleep on the weekends anymore? Mia no longer had any personal attachments. She had cut ties with everyone she had ever known.
“Hello?”
“Hey, it’s Nikki.”
Nikki?
“Nikki who?” Mia asked, her thoughts still lingered on the past.
“Reed. I didn’t wake you did I?”
Reed? Then it hit her. Ahh…Crap. What could she possibly need on the weekend?
“No, Why? What do you want now? And where did you get my number from?”
God, I can’t even get away from that woman for one day.
“I got it from the staff directory at school. Anyway, I was hoping we could go to lunch. Maybe we could talk more about the team.”
Mia wasn’t sure what to say. Why on earth did this need to be on my time off. It wasn’t enough that Reed had monopolized her days completely with athletes, but now she had to be bothered on the weekend. Mia didn’t want to get into another argument. If she did not at least try, Reed might have Richard give her more responsibility.
When Mia didn’t answer Nikki continued, “I promise to be on my best behavior.”
“Fine. I will meet you at…”
“Don’t worry I know where you live. Oh, got to go or I will be late for practice. I’ll see you around twelve thirty.”
Mia could hear the line go dead. Seriously? Of all the nerve. Calls out of the blue; without my permission gets by number and address from the school. Decides to take up my day off to talk about athletes that I didn’t want to get involved with in the first place. THEN SHE HANGS UP ON ME!!! What is it with this town? Why does everyone interrupt you? Trust me, this will be a short meeting indeed and the last.
Mia spent the morning cleaning, desperate to get Coach Reed out of her mind. What was she thinking? Irritating me during the week isn’t enough for her? Wonderful, just fan-frickin-tastic. She would have to pretend to be nice at work just so she didn’t lose her job, not that she had really done that. Now she had to be nice outside of work too. Mia had a feeling that Nikki would turn out to be a bigger pain in the neck than she had originally anticipated. Why me?
The harder Mia tried to put Reed out of her mind, the more she couldn’t stop thinking about her. Mia ranted, complained and grumbled. She couldn’t make sense of Coach Reed. Nor could she think of a reason why she couldn’t meet with her. A place to be or an excuse to give to get her out of the lunch. Mia knew she had nothing. She had no plans to meet friends or relatives. Worse, she didn’t know how to get Richard to release her from this, for lack of a better phase, prison sentence. Mia felt like she was bound to be tied to the coach and her team.
So she did the only thing that would clear her mind. She turned the radio way up and tried to get lost in the music. She didn’t think it would work, but at least the reggaeton was loud enough that she couldn’t hear herself think over it. She swept, dusted and vacuumed, all the while dancing to the music. The apartment was spotless and she was sweating. Before she knew it, Reed was due in a half hour.
Racing to the shower, Mia grabbed jeans and a green shirt. The shirt swooped low in the front and had a built in tank top with lace on the top. As she waited for the water to warm up, Mia realized how nervous she was. What was there to be nervous about? The woman got under her skin but why would that make her nervous? She almost felt like she was going on a date. NO! It was nothing like that. She didn’t date. Couldn’t, not anymore. Nor would she ever have considered going out with someone as arrogant as Reed. Surely it was because she was gathering her strength for the fight that was sure to ensue. She would take a nice hot shower and hopefully calm her nerves. Maybe the woman wanted to apologize. Yeah, right, and I am going to win the lottery. Reed doesn’t even notice how she treats people. Completely oblivious to the world around her or how she effected the people in it.
Now out of the shower, Mia was dressed and ready for whatever happened. Just a few minutes left. Mia was so nerve racked that she thought about getting a drink. Not that it would help. Instead she turned on the TV and waited. Ten minutes went by, no Reed. Okay, she just got stuck in traffic. Maybe she was trying to find parking. Five more minutes, no Reed. After Twenty minutes Mia got up, grabbed her jacket, and walked out the door. If she thinks I’m just going to sit around waiting for her all day, she has got another thing coming.
“Come on girls. Push it. Dig into it…move, move, move.” Nikki was motivated.
She needed to be out of here on time and wasn’t sure that was going to happen. The team was tired. You could see it in their faces.
“Take a break. Get some water. Stretch it out.”
She knew she was driving the girls hard, but she didn’t want to leave part of the practice out just because she had plans. It wasn’t fair to the team. She was trying to concentrate on practice. If she didn’t stay focused, she would never get to leave. However, all through practice her mind kept drifting back to Mia. As the girls were getting water and catching their breath, Nikki couldn’t help but get side tracked. She found herself speculating as to what Mia’s feelings might be. Is she nervous? Is she happy? Will her face light up when she sees me? Yeah, right, I will be lucky if she doesn’t slam the door in my face.
Nikki knew she had to make it up to Mia. But how? What could she possibly do or say? Just because they don’t see eye to eye on one topic doesn’t mean that there is no hope. Does it? Sure, Mia was probably a little irritated at the moment. Hopefully today would change that. Today she would finally get to see Mia smile. What a smile it must be, to keep it hidden the way she does. It wasn’t just when Nikki was talking to her. She had watched Mia all through lunch. Never once did she smile. She was polite to everyone, listened intently when spoken to and always professional. But she never looked happy.
“Nikki…Are you alright? This is the second day in a row you have seemed distracted. It is very not like you.”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just have a lot on my mind.” Pay attention o
r you will never get out of here.
“Anything I can help with? Sometimes all you need is a shoulder to cry on. Or snuggle into.”
“No, really, I’m okay. There isn’t anything wrong. I am just having a hard time focusing.”
Sam didn’t seem hurt by the dismissal. I hope she doesn’t think I am distracted because of her. The last thing I need is to encourage this flirtation.
“Alright girls, on the line.” There was a sigh from everyone in the room. “Come on hustle. The sooner we get these in, the sooner you get to enjoy your weekend. We are going to run one suicide. Push yourself and we will be done. Let’s get it right the first time.”
She watched the girls, dripping sweat and dead tired, straining to push harder.
“Ladies great job, all of you. Today I watched each and every one of you push yourselves above and beyond. I’m sure you all noticed that today was a lighter practice than usual.”
Everyone laughed. “Okat, I know every practice is a little hard, but you are all improving so much. You never gave up and kept trying to better yourselves. The roster will be posted on Monday at three. Get some rest tomorrow. Ice if you need to. Monday will be a batting practice since we have a scrimmage on Tuesday. As always, see me if you have any questions or concerns. Good job.”
Sam said a few words, but Nikki was not able to focus on anything but getting to the shower. Everyone was dismissed and equipment was quickly picked up. Nikki looked at her watch, five minutes behind schedule. That’s not bad. I can still make it.
“Coach?”
Nikki turned towards the voice, “Yes Madison?”
“I was wondering if you could tell me what I am doing wrong. I’m having a hard time keeping my curve ball in the strike zone. I thought maybe you could give me some advice so I can work on it this weekend.”
Shit. How do you say no to that? Looking at Madison’s face she knew there was no way to avoid it. I’m gonna be so late.
“Of course, grab a catcher and warm up.”
Twenty minutes later Nikki was jumping in the shower. Come on. Gotta hurry. Just wash and get out. Five minutes tops. Her hair would be wet, but she didn’t want to take the time to do it. That would make her over an hour late. She had dressed quickly and snuck passed Sam, so as not to waste more time. After racing through town she was now outside Mia’s door. The apartment complex was just outside of town. It was a larger complex, almost twenty buildings. At the end of the road, the buildings made a square around the parking lot. Mia’s was located in the far left corner. It was an old building with a brick base and gray siding. The building was two stories high. There were only a couple smaller trees to on the property, including one on an island in the center of the parking lot. Clearly the owner didn’t care to tend to the landscaping and leaf removal.
As she knocked on the teal door, she tried to catch her breath. When no one answered, she knocked again. When Mia still didn’t answer, Nikki called her house number. The ringing could be heard through the door, but no one picked up. There was no noise at all. I know I’m late, but is she just going to ignore me. Nikki then dialed Mia’s cell. There was no noise from the apartment, then Mia answered.
“Hello?”
“Hey Mia, its Nikki.” When there was no answer she continued, “I am standing outside of your door.”
“Well, coach, I’m not home.”
More than a little confused. Nikki tried to recall their conversation. She was positive it was the correct time. Sure, she was, perhaps, a little late.
“Why not? I thought we were meeting here.”
“We were forty five minutes ago. Since you decided not to show, I decided not to wait.”
“Where are you, maybe we could still grab a bite to eat?”
Nikki could barely keep up with the conversation. She never imagined Mia wouldn’t be here.
“I already ate and I am not waiting for you to be late getting here too. I will see you on Monday.”
Mia hung up before Nikki could explain why she was late. Shit. This was going to be harder than she thought.
As Mia closed her phone she felt a small victory in having the last word. She really had nothing planned for the day, but went into town for a bite anyway. Afterward she would pick up some supplies for work, groceries, and maybe even get a small plant for the apartment.
Nikki, more than a little confused as to how her plan had gone so wrong, was not going to admit defeat yet. She ran back to her truck and headed towards town. If Mia really was in town, there were only a couple restaurants open at this time. Most did not open until dinner time. She wasn’t sure which one she was headed to, just driving aimlessly in town. It would look kind of desperate if she went looking inside each and every restaurant. She would have to pick and hope to see Mia. If only she knew what kind of car Mia drove. Nikki was so busy trying to find Mia that she didn’t even think about what she would say or consider what to do if Mia sent her away. As she drove down First Avenue, she saw Mia leaving Monahan’s. Nikki couldn’t believe her luck. “Hey stranger,” Nikki yelled out her truck window as she slowed to a crawl next to Mia.
She heard the voice but didn’t believe it.
“You have got to be kidding me. Are you stalking me? Did you put a tracking device on me? You magically have my number, my address and show up here out of nowhere.”
“Well, I was trying to catch you before you finished lunch. Guess you were right, I didn’t make it. Would have helped if you told me where you were, but there are not that many options in town. I took a chance. What are you doing today?”
Nikki said looking awfully happy with herself.
“I have errands to run. And before you ask, no I don’t need an escort to find anything.”
A little disappointed, Nikki tried to find some way to stay with Mia.
“Okay, what about dinner? I’m free anytime.”
Mia stopped walking towards her car. Turning to look directly at Reed.
“I’m not. Why on earth, after this afternoon, would I even trust you to be on time? Besides, I think you have taken up enough of my day already with this conversation.”
Nikki was more than a little shocked that Mia would dismiss her so easily.
“Are you even going to let me explain about this morning?”
“No, I’m not.”
Nikki thought Mia was being unfair. How could she not let her explain? There was a perfectly good reason. She should at least try to make an effort for work purposes.
“I don’t care why you were late. There was traffic; you had a flat tire; the dog ate your homework. I don’t care. I’m not your spouse, your teacher or your boss. I do not have to care. Now if you excuse me, I really do have places to be.”
Mia took the opportunity to leave Nikki sitting in stunned silence.
Mia was smiling as she got into her small eco-friendly car. On the one hand, she knew she would probably have hell to pay with Richard for not being a “willing participant” and “cooperating”. On the other hand, it was totally worth any backlash to put Reed in her place. While Mia acknowledged she would have to, at some point, start to work with Reed or possibly speak to her about any problems with her players; there was no reason she would need to see or speak to her outside of a school setting. Mia felt herself relaxing for the first time today. The day was all hers and looking brighter by the minute.
Nikki watched Mia walk away for the third time and get into her little blue Rav 4. Unsure how things had gone so awry. Nikki started towards home. Feeling rejected is not something she was accustomed to. She had never had such a hard time talking to anyone. People tended to flock to her. She was not used to the constant misinterpretation of her intent. What was her intent? She did need to speak to Mia about work, but she could have waited until Monday. Nikki felt an overwhelming need to figure out Mia. Like she was a puzzle and the pieces didn’t seem to fit. So now you have yelled at her, went behind her back and made her feel as if her privacy had been violated. Real smooth. How on earth
are you going to fix this? Then a plan started to form in her mind. This time she would have to find a way to get through to Mia. She just couldn’t give up, not when Mia was just out of reach. More like on another planet.
Chapter Five
Mia finished her errands and was home in just a couple hours. Glad to be done with the day she poured a glass of wine and sat down to watch TV. Everywhere Mia went, she kept worrying that Reed would show up. She hadn’t felt this much on edge, not since Philly. Don’t think about Philly! It won’t do any good to reflect on the past. There’s nothing you can do about it now. She flipped through the channels. Knowing it was Saturday and there would only be movies on. Clueless…she is clueless…no. PS I love you… no death movies. She settled on Runaway Bride. And sat for the next hour watching Julia Roberts until her stomach reminded her that she did not plan dinner. She really didn’t want to eat out again, but did not see many other options.
She heard the jangling of the doorbell. Not expecting anyone Mia assumed it was a sales person and continued watching TV. Then came a knock. After a couple minutes they will leave. When the knocking persisted, she turned off the television and went to the door. Mia was ready to tell the solicitor just where to shove his product. Clearly they did not get when someone doesn’t come to the door, they don’t want to buy anything.
She opened the door and nearly fell backwards when she saw Reed standing there. Mia had not paid attention to what the coach looked like before. She was always focused on what was coming out of Reed’s mouth. Yet, as Nikki stood in the door jamb wearing jeans, a navy blue polo and a black leather jacket with her hands behind her back; Mia couldn’t help but notice the small breasts in her shirt, the slim waist and long legs hidden by dark blue jeans. Mia could not fathom why Reed was here and was more than a little tongue tied at the sight of her leaning in the doorway. Suddenly aware of how long it had been since Mia had been on a date; she wondered why all the gorgeous women had to be full of themselves.
Trusting Again Page 4