I was on the plane with the guys. Usually, we would be laughing and cheering about our weekend in Vegas. But this time we all had something different on our minds. I had Emma sitting two seats behind me with Sophia, who the previous day had come up to our room and said that she’d managed to change the flights so that we could all go back together. This wasn’t exactly what I had in mind. I wanted to spend time with Emma. Not them. Mason was next to me and he was quiet as a mouse. My best friend was screwing my sister and it should have bothered me. There was a code, and a line had been crossed, but now just didn’t feel like the time to discuss it. I had gone from wanting to be on my own to being with Emma and finally realizing how lonely I’d been all the time. Sure, I had people round me. I sometimes called my mom every hour to make sure she was okay until eventually she turned her phone off. I felt lost. One minute I had been with Emma surrendering myself to her and the next we wer
We stood like little kids not knowing what to do as we waited for our bags. We’d left the plane like robots. Once in a while we would look at each other and smile. I didn’t know what to say to him. “Hey Sebastian, it was great but we’re back home now, so no more bumping and grinding. Okay?” Kent and Paul made all the noise. They were like little kids that had taken too much candy. They got excited about every little thing. Whereas Sophia was quiet. She’d spent most of her time sleeping on the flight. Then as we landed and needed to get off the plane, she used me as a balance so that she wouldn’t break her neck as she tried to walk in her three-inch heels. She was apparently even more tired than I was. We should have had a little girly chat, but I assumed that she wasn’t in the mood for it. I knew that I wasn’t because I’d started to feel anxious about everything, including Sebastian. I would glance at him, but he would avoid my stare.Finally we collected our bags and it was time t
“Hey.” I smiled at him as I entered the room. I had every x-ray and blood test booked for him today. We hadn’t spoken since we’d landed in JFK and left the airport like strangers. I’d sent him a text telling him about today and he replied back saying, he would be here. And he came. Just like he had said he would. I should have been happy, glad that he kept his promise. But I felt completely lost, because I didn’t know how to behave now and by his shyness, avoiding eye contact as I walked through the door, I had a feeling that he felt the same. “I thought that you would be here when I got here,” he whispered as I drew closer to him as he lay on the examination bed. “I just came in to make sure that everything’s set up for you. I just organized the tests, and besides, Wendy’s capable of doing them herself. I don’t need to be here.” I was rambling and looking down at the floor. Pathetic!“Besides Wendy explained everything, right?”He corrected me. “You mean Sheryl.”I nodded. I w
“Hey little bro, how you feeling?” Sophia smiled as she walked into the room. That was the thing about my big sis; she always had a smile on her face. No matter how I was feeling, she had a way of making me feel better. “So-so.” I tried to wave my hand, but between the blood tests, radiography and everything else that Emma had organized for them to do today, I was exhausted. “That good, huh?”I nodded. “Where’s Emma? I’ve been looking for her everywhere.”“Dunno.”“Oh,” she said sadly. “So, did you guys talk?” I shook my head. “Well, I think that you guys should talk.”She was the fixer, the one that tried to solve everyone’s problems. I used to wonder as a kid if she had some magic wand that hid how she was really feeling inside. She must have felt sad occasionally. No one could be happy all the time. Or maybe I took all the miserable genes and she had only the happy genes. Sheryl stepped in and my heart skipped a beat. Part of me had hoped that it was Emma coming in to say so
I couldn’t believe it. Dad had just phoned to say that all his problems were over and thanked me a thousand times. Thanked me for what? That was what was on my mind. I was exhausted, having been through every one of Sebastian’s injuries and procedures over the years. I didn’t want to miss anything. I wanted to make sure that the conclusion was right, and that he could play next season. Sure, I had gone a bit overboard and the consequences had I found something had run through my mind. There was nothing worse than finding out that another doctor had done a procedure incorrectly and being forced to flag it. It would have hurt not only their reputation, but mine too. I could be seen as an underdog and the sports-medicine business was already so damn political. I did find a couple of red herrings, but after digging deeper. I found nothing to be wrong with his treatment and his after-treatment, which was just as important. He had gone to the right number of physiotherapist sessions and
“Hey,” he must have said about twice. I had the reports in my hand. Ready to show them to him and give him a piece of my mind about him calling my dad and sorting out the debt. Now, I felt a different type of emotion, one that didn’t sit well with me. I started to just let it rip until he said addressed the pretty blonde that was standing by his side: “Okay Zoe, if your mom needs anything then let me know.” She nodded and smiled; she did the same with me too as she left the house. “Emma, are you okay?” he asked, and I felt stupid. Like a little kid I said, “Oh you got a new one already?” I hovered around the door. Not wanting to go in, but just to give him a piece of my mind. But I couldn’t. I didn’t say a word as I stood there with one hand on my hip ready to give it to him. He’d used me. I thought that he cared. Shit, I even thought about my career and giving it up for him and in the space of one week he had found a replacement.I really was a fool. He looked behind him and as
She was scared—it was clear to me now. Zoe had come over to get her brother’s ball. I suspected that either he had kicked it over or she had, just to get my attention. One hour later we were still in my garden later just trying to figure out which bush it was hiding in, and Emma showed up at the door. She had fire in her eyes when she saw Zoe. I should have told her then that it wasn’t what it seemed, but some part of me thought that she deserved it. I had been calling her every day for over a week.Not one phone call back. The funny thing is that she actually thought that I was with Zoe. She didn’t have a clue what she did to me. I wanted Emma, no one else. I hadn’t wanted anyone else since I first saw her in the dorm. No other girl had made me want to commit. I didn’t sleep around, but as soon as I heard the words, “Are we dating?” that was when I dropped them like a ton of bricks. But Emma was different.I couldn’t get her out of my mind. Her dad had already called to tell me t
“God, I can’t remember the last time that I was this happy,” I said as I grabbed my sister. Mom was having a barbecue to celebrate her being cancer free. I offered to do it at my house, but she wanted to do it at home, With the family. I could tell that Emma and Mason being invited made them both feel part of the family. Then again, Mason comes to every damn family event. People used to laugh and ask if he was my girlfriend; he was the only person that would come with me to an event that I would show up with more than once. Every girl I did bring, and there were very few, only came once or twice and then no one saw them again. No one bothered asking if they were coming back. I had a reputation and not a very good one. But, I had a feeling that they knew Emma was different. Besides, handing in her notice hadn’t gone down very well. I felt like a shit, making her do it. I wanted to go with her, but she said that it wasn’t a good idea, that it would mean that she could probably never