#Player

by Cambria Hebert

  “What the hell happened, man?” Braeden finally asked.

  I tucked a cold pack under my arm and motioned with my jaw toward the living room. “Out there.”

  Braeden picked up the three boxes of pizza and a couple waters and followed me out into the living room. Murphy was asleep on the couch, so I sat on the other end and slid one of the loose pillows beneath my arm. I hoped the meds kicked in soon because it hurt like a bitch.

  I propped my feet up on the coffee table and set the open water bottle nearby. B offered me a slice of pizza right out of the box, and I took it.

  He sat down in a chair opposite the couch and waited.

  I talked as I inhaled the pie, telling him about everything. The rose. The note and the way I found Rimmel. I even told him about the lawn mower.

  “A fucking lawn mower?” Braeden muttered.

  “If it hadn’t actually happened, I’d think it was ridiculous.” I agreed.

  Braeden frowned. “That guy is a lot more messed up than any of us realized.”

  I nodded. “Yeah, he’s seriously screwed up in the head.”

  “They’re gonna eat him alive in jail.”

  I shook my head and leaned forward for another slice. “My dad doesn’t think he’ll do slammer time.”

  The look on his face was incredulous. “Are you fucking joking with me right now, Rome?”

  “Does it look like I’m joking?” I spat. “He thinks he’ll get off on an insanity plea and go upstate to some swanky treatment center.”

  “Well, he is insane. Least he’ll be locked up.”

  I lowered the pizza from my face. “It’s not fucking good enough,” I growled. “You should have seen her hanging there. Her mouth gagged and her body tense. It was like watching a helpless fly struggle in a web while a tarantula stalked it.”

  The muscle in Braeden’s jaw tightened. “So what are you gonna do?”

  “I can’t do anything right now. My father is going to see what he can do. We’ll know more when Zach is arraigned. Until then, they’re supposed to keep a guard at his door.”

  “How’s she doing?” Braeden asked, motioning toward the bedroom.

  I could hear the shower running, so I knew she was out of earshot. “You tell me.”

  Braeden’s eyes met mine. His gaze was steady. “You accusing me of something?”

  I stared at him for several long seconds. “If I was accusing you of something, you wouldn’t be sitting in my house.”

  “She’s my family now, Rome. I’m gonna be there for her.”

  “I think she’s still in shock.” I wasn’t going to challenge B about his relationship with Rimmel because the truth was she needed more than me in her life. She needed someone she could trust, and I knew Braeden was trustworthy and loyal. Sometimes to a fault.

  He nodded. “She just kind of melted down,” he admitted. “I didn’t know what the hell to do, man. Tears freak me out.”

  “She hasn’t cried in front of me yet. Not since we got to the hospital.”

  “She’s worried about you.” He glanced down at my arm. “I gotta admit, Rome, I’m a little worried too.”

  I blew out a breath. The doctor’s news had been positive. It was basically a green light to heal and get back on the field. The timing of this injury was the worst, but there wasn’t anything I could about that now. I wasn’t going to give up my dream. I wasn’t going to let Zach steal that from me.

  “I’m not down for the count. Give me a couple days to recoup, and then let’s talk ball. I got some training ideas. If you’re game, I can use someone to help me.”

  “I’m down,” Braeden said.

  I finished off the slice in my hand and listened again. The shower was still running. It seemed like she’d been in there forever. Rim wasn’t usually a girl who lingered in the shower.

  “What’s up with Moms?” Braeden asked, drawing my attention.

  I grunted. “She told Rimmel her father killed her mother.”

  “What the what?” he asked in a falsetto voice.

  I smiled. “Yeah, as if being accused of plagiarism, her scholarship and education on the line, being tortured by Zach, and then being admitted into the ER wasn’t enough, my mom had to throw one more devastating piece of info at her.”

  The amount of pissed I felt at a lot of people in my life right now was nothing short of record breaking.

  “Why would she make up something like that?” Braeden wondered.

  “Yeah,” I echoed, my tone thoughtful. “Why would she?”

  Our eyes connected and unspoken words passed between us.

  “Well, fuck,” Braeden muttered.

  The shower was still running.

  Maybe she was hurting worse than she let on.

  “I’ll be right back.” I pushed off the couch and strode into the bedroom.

  “Rim,” I called out, but she didn’t say anything.

  When I reached the bathroom door, I didn’t hesitate to walk right in. The humid air from the long-running water hit me immediately. The spray from the showerhead cascaded down, splattering everything around it before being pulled into the drain.

  But Rimmel stood there, on the outside of the shower, the curtain crumpled in her grip, as her naked body visibly shook and the sound of her chattering teeth filled the room.

  Chapter Seven

  Rimmel

  Water cascaded from ceiling to floor.

  It is astounding how such a simple, harmless thing could be anything but.

  The sound of the drops raining against the shower wall, trickling down the drain, and splashing up along the sides of the tile would normally be beautiful. Relaxing even.

  To me, it was the sound of hell.

  My hand tightened around the shower curtain, hanging on to that bit of fabric like it was a lifeline to my sanity. Anxiety, clear and sharp, stabbed me like the sharpest blade I’d ever known.

  As I stood there and stared, unable to wrench my gaze from the horrendous sight of the pelting water, everything in my vision tinged pink. That awful color of diluted blood.

  I felt my chest heave as I grappled with what was real and what was only torment swirling through my mind.

  But the lines between the two were blurred. The break between reality and nightmare had been breached far too many times, and something in me caved, unable to escape or assimilate the truth.

  A rogue drop of water splattered against my chest, and I jerked like a bullet plowed into my skin. I gasped and used my free hand to wipe it away.

  There was so much water.

  So much water.

  I felt the icy spray blast me in the face and then drag down my hair. I couldn’t scream because my mouth was bound. Gagged with some type of thick fabric that soaked up the water faster than the driest sponge.

  What would happen when the fabric could hold no more?

  Would the water force its way down the back of my throat and slowly choke me? Would it fill up my lungs and drown me?

  Images of my mother floating facedown in the pink-tinted water assaulted me, and I remembered how bloated she was when they finally pulled her out.

  Is that what I would look like?

  I tried to scream again, but it only resulted in an icy rivulet of water slipping down the back of my throat.

  My nose burned from the water that forced its way inside as I heaved for precious air and fought against the drowning sensation stalking my body and mind.

  I felt myself shaking against the fear and the cold, and everything in me began to go numb…

  Then a solid, warm familiar feeling of safety enveloped me, and I smiled. My tired body sagged back against it, and it wrapped around me farther.

  “Rim, baby,” Romeo said beside my ear. I opened my eyes as he lifted his arm and shut off the shower. “What the hell happened?”

  I blinked. Reality pushed its way back into my head, and I took in the water splashed outside on the wall and floor.

  Romeo gently pried my hand off the cur
tain and folded it across my middle beneath his own arm.

  “How long have I been standing here?” I wondered.

  “A while.”

  I tilted my head back and looked up at him. “I don’t think I feel like showering right now.”

  Shadows danced in his eyes, and he nodded. “You and water just aren’t very good friends.”

  “I thought I was going to drown up there,” I confided. “I know it wasn’t a pool. I wasn’t submerged, but the spray was so rough. I felt it going into my nose and down my throat.”

  Romeo hugged me close. “You’re safe now,” he whispered.

  “I probably smell,” I mumbled against his chest.

  Laughter vibrated through him. “You expect me to notice how you smell when you’re pressed up against me, completely naked?”

  That earned him a giggle.

  “You give me too much credit, Smalls.”

  The worst of the moment had passed, so I pulled away and reached for my clothes.

  Romeo pulled the curtain closed and turned to watch me dress. “Don’t do that on my account,” he quipped.

  “How’s your arm?”

  “Feeling good.”

  I gave him a look that called him on his lie.

  After grabbing my brush to quickly brush out the tangles in my hair, I tied it up into a messy topknot on my head.

  His shirt fell to my knees, so I didn’t bother with a pair of pants. Instead, I pulled on the slipper boots, and we left the bathroom.

  Before heading out in the living room, I filled my arms with pillows from the bed and carried them to the couch.

  Braeden was looking down at his phone screen when I dropped them all on the cushions. “You two are the talk of all Alpha U social media,” he informed us.

  “My life is complete,” I muttered.

  “Pizza,” Romeo said, motioning toward the open box.

  I made a face. “Is there actually any pizza under all those piles of meat?”

  “Does it matter?” Braeden asked and snagged another piece.

  Romeo laughed and pulled out the box on the bottom and opened the lid to reveal an all-cheese pizza.

  “Sit.” I motioned to the couch. When he was sitting, I carefully piled some pillows beside him, creating a soft tower for him to rest his arm on.

  But when I tried to direct his arm, I frowned, noticing the sling was keeping it against his side. “How are we supposed to elevate it for the swelling with that thing wrapped across your chest?”

  Romeo reached up and pulled the Velcro apart to release the sling.

  Gently, I tucked the loose ends of the straps beneath a pillow as he propped it up. The cold pack he had lying nearby was sitting ignored. I grabbed it up and crushed it around in my hand to break up whatever was inside. Cold burst against my palms, and I gently placed it near the splint.

  “Can you even feel that?” I asked, frowning at the plastic wrapped around the break.

  He nodded. “Thanks, baby.”

  I handed him another slice of pizza before getting one for myself (sans the bucket of meat) and curled up as close to the pillow tower as I dared.

  Braeden turned on some movie about two guys who liked to drive fast cars. One of them sort of reminded me of Romeo.

  Once my stomach was full, my body finally relaxed beneath a blanket and I rested my head on the edge of Romeo’s pillow tower. His fingers played with the ends of my hair, and the background sounds of racing cars and Romeo’s breathing caused my eyes to grow heavy.

  I don’t know how long I was able to sleep until a dream interrupted my peace.

  My face felt hot and my head was heavy. I rolled onto my back, feeling the hard, cold concrete beneath me. Confusion broke through the pain, and I blinked, trying to see where I was. Everything around me was blurry and the lighting was low.

  “She’s waking up!” someone hissed, and I felt the rough tug of something being wound around my hands.

  “You didn’t hit her hard enough!” the chilling voice intoned.

  My eyes sprang open as I desperately looked around.

  Zach was towering over me, a look of crazed hollowness in his eyes.

  “No, please,” I whispered. Why was he doing this?

  “Hurry up,” he spat, and the rope around my wrists was pulled taunt. I cried out at the way it cut into my skin.

  “This is wrong. She didn’t do nothing,” interjected the voice that was not Zach’s.

  He jerked forward and shot out his fist. The sharp slap of knuckles against flesh and the grunt of pain made me cringe.

  “Stop it!” I yelled.

  “Get me a gag!” Zach growled, and then he lifted his fist to me.

  “No!” I screamed and jerked upright. I moved so suddenly I rolled off the couch and landed in the narrow space between the couch and table.

  A string of curse words floated above me, and Romeo’s hand slid under my arm and lifted. “It’s all right, baby. We’re at home.”

  A tremor ran through my limbs as I sank back onto the sofa. A dream. It had seemed so incredibly real.

  “Come here,” Romeo said softly and shoved all the pillows I’d arranged for his arm onto the floor.

  I didn’t argue because I was still trying to shake off the leftover panic I felt from reliving that moment with Zach.

  It hadn’t just been a dream. Just a few hours ago, that was my reality.

  Awake, I’d been able to keep the thoughts—the memories—at bay, but in sleep, they came. They reminded.

  I laid my head in Romeo’s lap, my cheek pillowed on one of his strong thighs. The softness of his sweats made me want closer. Because of the swelling on my cheek, I had to lie so I was looking at his stomach. His free hand stroked through my hair, and I sighed.

  “It was about him.” he said, his voice flat.

  I didn’t answer. Everyone in this room knew who my nightmare had been about.

  Braeden stood from his chair. “I think it’s time for me to bounce. Give you two some alone time.”

  “You don’t have to leave because of me,” I said, sitting up and turning to face him.

  “I know,” he replied and leaned over the coffee table to hold out his fist to me. I smiled at it before bumping mine against his. “I’ll see you later, tutor girl.”

  “Thanks for everything tonight,” I said.

  Romeo started to get up, but Braeden waved him back down. “Stay with your girl.”

  “Appreciate it, man.”

  Braeden shrugged and held out his arms. “I’m a saint.”

  Romeo grunted and yelled after him. “Keep telling yourself that!”

  The front door shut, and Murphy, who’d been staring at me since I fell off the couch, stretched, then jumped down to strut out of the room.

  I felt Romeo’s stare and turned to study him. “I think it’s time you tell me.”

  “Tell you what?”

  “What happened at the field before I got there.”

  Chapter Eight

  Romeo

  “It’s over. There’s no reason to go there,” Rimmel said, weariness in her tone. She lay back down, her head in my lap and her knees pulled in toward her chest.

  “I need to know. And you’re going to keep having dreams like that until you get it out.”

  She didn’t say anything for a long time, but her hand curled around the hem of my shirt and held tight.

  “Damn this broken arm,” I cursed.

  She sat up immediately, her hazel eyes going wide. I was so used to seeing her with glasses that looking at her this much without them made her seem even smaller, more vulnerable somehow. She chewed her lower lip and scanned the right side of my body before asking, “Should I call your doctor? Does it feel worse?”

  “My arm is fine,” I growled.

  She was so goddamned perfect. Everything about her, including the way she automatically thought of me before herself. It drove me mad, but it also charmed the shit out of me.

  “I don’t unders
tand…” Her forehead crinkled as she tried to get the gist of my words.

  “I can’t hold you the way I want to,” I explained. “I can’t wrap myself around you like I should. How am I supposed to make you feel safe if I can’t even hold you?”

  My name fell from her lips. A broken whisper turned sigh. The sound rushed up my spine and tingled the back of my neck, and her eyes grew soft.

  “It isn’t just your arms that make me feel safe,” she confided. The way she looked down at her lap when she spoke was more telling than her actual words. She didn’t look at me because she was revealing some of her deepest¸ most personal thoughts. Rim held a lot inside; it was just her way.

  It was my way to try and coax those things out of her.

  When I succeeded, even a little, I felt like a superhero who cracked some secret code to save the world.

  “It isn’t your muscles or the way you tower over me when we stand so close.” She continued. “It’s the sound of your voice. The way your eyes always hold so much devotion, so much promise with every single glance. It’s the way your body rotates just slightly toward mine when I enter the room. It’s your awareness of me, Romeo. Your intuition. You could be all the way on the other side of the room, and I’d still feel more protected—more loved—than I ever have.”

  I swallowed past the thickness in my throat. The energy between us was so thick, so electric that it was almost uncomfortable. I felt so much and so deeply for her that it terrified me. I never in a million years thought someone could burrow so deeply inside me.

  I knew in that moment I would do anything for Rimmel.

  Anything.

  I’d walk through fire.

  I’d kill.

  I’d give up my career.

  But it wasn’t any of those things she wanted.

  All she wanted was my love.

  And by God, I’d fucking love her with every cell in my body.

  I had to bring the tension coiled up inside me, sucking all the air out of the room, down just a notch. Just enough so we could both breathe.

  “Admit it, though,” I said with a lopsided smile. “You like my muscles too.”