What a fucking mess.
I take a seat in the front of one of the shuttle busses that take us from the airport to the hotel. I don’t feel like being social. Case plops down in the seat beside me, making me groan. “You talk to him?” he says, keeping his voice low.
“No. But he knows I want to talk the first chance he gets.”
Just then, Coach Neil climbs on the bus and takes the seat across from us. “When we get to the hotel and get everyone their keys, we’ll talk,” he says softly. I nod and sit back in my seat.
“You want me to go with you?”
“Nah, thanks though.” Case and I played in college together, and have been thick as thieves ever since. I know he’s always got my back, but with this, I have a feeling the fewer people involved, the better it will be. Sure, he knows, but I don’t want him heavily involved and have his contract compromised as well. I don’t want Bridgett to take him down with me, if that’s how this plays out.
Forty-five minutes later, I’m pacing the floor in Coach Neil’s hotel suite. I’ve just told him everything and he’s just sitting on the couch watching me. “Say something,” I say, running my hands through my hair.
“It’s bullshit. Joseph doesn’t let her have anything to do with the team. I can almost guarantee that he knows nothing about this.”
“Why in the fuck is she after me? And Emma? You’ve met her. She’s the kindest, sweetest person out there. I don’t fucking get it.”
“Landon, your contract is solid. You have a no trade clause.”
“I know that, but damn it, they have the Trojans legal team behind them. Who knows what kind of fucking contract violation she’ll try to pin on me.” He pulls his phone out of his pocket and taps the screen placing it to his ear. “What are you doing?” I ask, and he raises his index finger, indicating I need to give him a minute.
“Hey, Stamper.” He greets Mr. Stamper by his last name. “Coach Neil, when you get here, I’d like a word with you. In private. Call me.” He hangs up the phone. “He’ll call,” he assures me. “Joseph’s a good man.”
“I thought so too, I still do, but his wife is the Wicked fucking Witch of the West. What does he see in her?”
“I’m not sure, but they’re total opposites. We’ll get to the bottom of this, Landon. I assure you.”
I nod. “Okay. I guess all we can do is wait. I’m going back to my room. She said by Sunday, so the clock is ticking. I’m not worried about me. It’s the threat that she’ll make Emma hate me. I couldn’t live with that. I can handle giving up the game, but I won’t give her up.”
He nods. “I’ll take care of it.”
I don’t have much choice other than to believe him. “Thank you.” I leave without another word and slip into my shared room with Trent. He’s on the phone with Luna, and it's then that I remember I didn’t let Emma know we landed. Pulling out my phone, I see a message I missed from her. I’ve been so wrapped up in my anger I didn’t even notice.
Emma: I love you, Lucky. Thank you so much for bringing my mom here. I can’t tell you what that means to me. You’re incredible.
My heart expands reading her words. There is nothing that I wouldn’t do to make her happy. Nothing. I start to text her back and decide I need to hear her voice. Dialing the phone, she picks up on the first ring.
“Landon.” She sounds happy and for the first time today, I feel some of the anger slip away.
“Hey, freckles. Good surprise?”
“You knew it would be. I can’t believe you did this.”
“I told you we need to get her in the habit of visiting more often. Maybe we can even get her to love it and move closer.”
“I wish. How was your flight?”
“Uneventful.”
She chuckles. “Well, that’s always good I guess. You sound tired.”
“Yeah, I didn’t sleep much last night. I never do when I have to leave you.”
“There you go again,” she says softly. “Saying all those sweet words that make me melt.”
“I mean them, Em. Every single one of them. You’re the love of my life.” I feel like I’m laying it on a little thick right now, but damn it, I want her to understand. She needs to understand this is real for me. I should tell her. The words are on the tip of my tongue. I need to tell her, but not like this. Not over the phone, and not until we talk to Stamper. When I get home Monday, I’ll tell her everything while she’s in my arms where she can’t run or push me away. Fucking Case, I hope he’s wrong.
“Is that Landon?” I hear Caroline ask. “Tell him I said hello.”
“Mom says hi.”
“Tell her I said hello. What are the two of you getting into today?”
“We’re going to go to the beach. Grab some dinner. Just hang out.”
“You’re staying at my place, right?”
“Yeah, we’re here now.”
“Good. I need to get down to a team meeting. I’ll call before bed. Love you, Em.” I almost choke on the words.
“Love you.” Her voice is cheery as the line goes dead.
I need this ended. I hate this feeling of not knowing what’s going to happen. I hate that I’m so far away from her.
