Page 135 of Fake Out Hearts

“Hey, how’s Becca? Is she okay?”

Reese freezes with his back to me, but eventually turns around to face me. He gives me a worried look. “She’s not doing great, I won’t lie. She seems wrecked.”

Worry spikes in my gut. “Is she eating? Make sure she’s eating! I don’t want her passing out again.”

“I know. We’ve got that part under control.” He strides over to rest a hand on my shoulder. “Callie and I care about her too. We’re doing our best to look out for her.”

I let out a shaky breath, feeling sick. “Thank you.”

He nods solemnly. “Callie has been a good support for Becca, I think. She has someone to talk to, at least. She’ll get through this. So will you.”

I think I say something in response, but I’m not even sure. My chest feels like it’s caving in at the thought of ‘getting through this.’ I don’t even know what that means. What that would look like. Does getting through it mean getting to a point where I’ll be able to imagine my life without Becca? Where I won’t feel like I’m drowning without her every single day?

Because I can’t picture ever getting through this, if that’s the case.

Reese gives me another sympathetic look and then leaves. One by one, the rest of the guys file out of the locker room until I’m all alone with my elbows on my knees, drifting in the wreckage that is my thoughts. But the bench creaks, and I glance over to find Sawyer sitting beside me. I didn’t realize he’d stayed.

“Hey. I’d ask how you’re holding up, but I have a feeling I already know the answer,” he says with a small smile, and I chuckle roughly.

“I appreciate the self-awareness.”

“Well, you know I’ve been in your shoes before, so I have some experience. You want to tell me what really happened? You don’t have to.”

I shrug, blowing out a breath. “I’m gonna have to tell everyone eventually anyway, so no point in delaying the inevitable.”

My teammate listens as I spill everything, from the nitty gritty details of what went down with Shawn all the way to how Becca and I broke up—and why. Sawyer lets out a long exhale when I get to the end and how Becca told me she couldn’t have kids.

“Damn, man. That’s rough. Really fucking rough.”

“Yeah, tell me about it. It’s a complete dumpster fire. I want to talk to Becca more than anything, but there’s this huge divide between us now. I’ve tried calling her more times than I can count, but she won’t answer.”

“So what are you going to do about it? Are you going to go through with the divorce?”

I sigh and grind my fists into my eyes. I’m so tired, so depleted. I haven’t been sleeping since Becca left. How could I?

“I don’t know. Part of me feels like I should just let her go and move on if that’s what she wants.”

“But the other part of you feels, what, exactly?” Sawyer asks, and when I glance over at him, he’s studying my face as if he’s looking for something. He must find it because he smiles. “That’s what I thought.”

“What are you talking about?”

“From one divorced guy to another, we both let our first marriages end because when shit got hard, it wasn’t worth fighting for. So we let it end.”

“Yeah, and?”

Sawyer’s smile deepens. “That’s why you can’t go through with the divorce this time. You still think it’s worth fighting for, you’re just too scared to admit it to yourself.” He nudges me with his shoulder, lifting a brow. “So I’ll ask you point blank: you think Becca’s the one worth fighting for, don’t you?”

The one worth fighting for.

Something burns in my chest as those words replay in my mind, and my throat goes tight as a sudden rush of emotions fill me.

I’ve been a fighter my whole life. I’ve fought on and off the ice, gaining myself a reputation as a bad boy of the NHL. But I haven’t been fighting for the thing that matters most to me.

Becca.

I nod slowly, dragging in a deep breath. “She’s theonlyone worth fighting for,” I tell Sawyer, my voice raspy.

He chuckles, as if he knew that was exactly what I was going to say. “Then what the hell are you doing here, man? Get your ass out there and fight for her.”

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