Chapter 93: Trey: Fuck All

TREY

"Coach missed you so much." Nash sits on the bench, grinning up at me. "Wouldn’t shut up about you at practice this morning."

I push my water bottle into my locker. "He just spent ten minutes giving me shit. Could’ve saved us both the trouble and kept missing me."

"Two-faced bastard." He laughs and gets up. "I’ll catch you later. Got a class, and—"

My phone vibrates in my pocket. I pull it out, missing whatever else he says when Lindsay’s name fills the screen.

I breathe out and let it keep ringing. More than ten unanswered texts, and she’s decided the problem must be that she hasn’t tried calling. It apparently hasn’t occurred to her that I’ve seen every message and chosen to leave them alone.

She manages my public image. That doesn’t mean I owe her an account of every hour I’m not standing in front of a camera. I’ve got classes, practice, and things to deal with that don’t need her approval.

She’ll hear from me when I have time.

The ringing stops, followed almost immediately by a message.

Lindsay: We need to manage the Dixie situation. Any chance we can bring Sadie on board?

Lindsay: Stop ignoring me.

I scoff. On board with what? Clearly, ignoring her hasn’t helped. She’s had all that time to think, and somehow her ideas are getting worse.

I’m still pissed at myself for taking Sadie home. Most of the visit was good. We had fun, she got along with Grandma, and then Celia had to remind me why I can’t fucking stand that house.

Now, Sadie keeps brushing it off. Celia slapped her, but according to her, I’m supposed to be satisfied that she answered back. She’ll tell me what she said to Celia. Ask what Celia said to her, though, and suddenly the conversation needs to end.

I know that woman. She didn’t drag Sadie away from me just to tell her not to visit again.

On the drive back, I could barely get more than a word out of her. She kept looking through the window, which wouldn’t have bothered me if she’d also been talking. Usually, she can do both without any assistance.

If that doesn’t say something happened, and I’m not telling you, I don’t know what does.

[I thought you were prepared for every situation,] Trex sneers. [You should never have let her go alone.]

"Were you hibernating when Grandma insisted?"

I shove my phone into my pocket and snatch my jacket off the bench.

*****************

The worst part of waiting for Sadie after this class is knowing Ezra will come out too. I don’t mind waiting for her, but I’d appreciate being able to do it without that bastard showing up.

Five minutes of anticipating his face is irritating enough. He has the same effect on me as peanut butter: I don’t want either near me, and somebody always seems to think that’s unreasonable.

A glance at my watch tells me I’ve got about four minutes left.

[Focus on Sadie,] Trex says.

My stomach tightens because that’s the other problem with waiting. I’ve got nothing to do except wonder how she’ll be when she comes out. Whether she’ll smile when she sees me or give me another version of I’m fine that I’m supposed to accept without asking anything.

I want her to come straight over and start talking before I’ve even asked about class. Complain about an assignment. Tell me something she thinks I should know. Anything that doesn’t leave me feeling like she’s working out how to keep me out.

It pisses me off how much that matters. One smile from her, and I’ll probably forget half of what’s been bothering me. She doesn’t even have to try.

The noise inside the hall rises, and I straighten as people start filing out, looking past them for Sadie. A few slow down to stare, and I hold their eyes until they keep moving.

A sweaty guy outside a lecture hall can’t be the most interesting thing they’ve come across today. Keep fucking walking.

Sadie comes through the doorway behind a few others, and I push away from where I’ve been waiting, lifting a hand as I head toward her.

"Sadie."

She turns, but there’s no smile when she spots me. For a second, I’m annoyed that getting her attention is all I’m getting. Then she squints, her face drawn in a way that makes me forget about it.

I quicken my pace, slipping through a gap before two people can close it. Someone stops in front of me, and I step around them without taking my eyes off her.

She stays where she is as I reach her, looking up at me with that same strained expression. Up close, I can’t put it down to her shutting me out. My eyes move over her face, trying to work out what’s different.

"You look like shit. What’s wrong?"

"I... I..." Her lips stay parted as she struggles to continue. "I don’t feel..."

She closes her eyes. I’m leaning closer to hear her when her body tips toward me, and I catch her before her knees reach the floor.

"Sadie?"

Her weight keeps sinking. I bring an arm around her back and draw her against me, taking a step back to steady myself. Her cheek settles against my chest without any attempt to straighten.

"Hey. Sadie, look at me."

I lower my head, trying to see her face, and her eyes stay closed.

My hand slips from her arm as I reach beneath her knees. I miss the angle, adjust, then lift her, holding her back firmly so her head doesn’t fall away from me. Panic has me pulling her closer even after I’ve got her secure.

She’s burning up. I can feel it through the arm supporting her, against my chest, everywhere we’re touching.

I look toward the lecture hall, then at the people gathering around us. Somebody asks a question, but I can’t get past the fact that she isn’t opening her eyes. I don’t know what the fuck I’m looking for until Trex speaks.

[The clinic.]

I turn, pulling her closer as I start running.

"Move."

Someone steps across my path. I turn my shoulder into theirs and push past, keeping her body clear of the collision. Her head shifts with the movement, and I bring the arm supporting her back higher so she rests more securely against me.

"Get out of the fucking way!"

People look around. A few step aside immediately; others hesitate until I’m almost on them. I take the gaps without slowing, checking her face whenever the path clears enough to let me.

"Sadie, come on."

Her eyes stay shut, and every stretch of the route feels longer than I remember. My heart is hammering, but I can barely hear it over my own breathing.

The clinic entrance comes into view in less than five minutes. I take the last few steps without slowing and push through the door with her in my arms.

"Emergency!" My voice fills the reception area. "Get a doctor!"

The receptionists look up. One reaches for the phone while the other gets to her feet, and I stand there holding Sadie, staring past them toward the doors.

"She passed out. She’s burning up. Where’s the doctor?"

Two nurses hurry out with a wheeled bed, Julian following close behind but seeing a familiar face does fuck-all to settle me.

"Put her here," one of the nurses directs.

I bend over the bed, lowering her onto it. Getting my arm out from beneath her shoulders takes a second because I don’t want her head dropping, and the nurse moves in to support it.

Even after she’s lying down, my hand stays against her arm. I keep watching her face while they gather around her.

"What happened?" Julian presses two fingers to the side of her neck as the nurses start wheeling her farther inside.

"I don’t know." I follow beside the bed, trying to keep out of their way without letting go of her. "She’d just finished class. I called her over, and she said she didn’t feel good. Then she passed out. She’s burning up, too."

"Has she eaten today?" Julian asks.

"I don’t know. I came straight from practice." Fuck. Another thing I can’t answer.

"Did she mention feeling unwell before this?"

"No. She’s been off since we got back, but I thought something was bothering her."

"Got back from where?" he asks.

"Home. We visited my family." I look down at her. "She didn’t say she was sick."

We reach a doorway, and Julian turns toward me.

"Trey, wait here. We’ll handle this, okay? Just wait."

My hand slips from her arm as the nurses push the bed through. I want to follow, but Julian is already turning away.

"Julian—"

The door closes behind him.

I stand there with my hand still half-raised, then drag it through my hair. What the hell just happened?