Page 57 of Ace My Heart

“Stink! Did you hear what happened to your ex?” Joel exclaimed as I opened the door. I took a step back and he moved into the apartment, stopping dead when he actually caught sight of me.

“Fuck, Mel, you look like shit!”

I rolled my eyes, then wished I hadn’t, clutching at my head. “I might’ve had a few too many cocktails last night,” I admitted, shuffling back to the kitchen and popping a couple of paracetamol.

Joel snickered. “Yeah, I got a message from Brad saying not toexpect you for training this morning. Thought I’d better come and check that you hadn’t asphyxiated on your own puke.”

“Thanks for the visual,” I grunted, sitting back down at the kitchen table. Joel sat opposite me. His mouth was turned up in amusement, but his eyes weren’t smiling.

“What happened to my ex?” I asked, picking up my water glass and tipping it, only to find it empty. Joel stood, taking it out of my hand and turning to the tap to fill it for me.

“Turn on Wolf Sports – you’ll hear all about it.”

I hobbled to the lounge and flicked the TV on.

“Breaking news from New South Wales this morning. Eastern Sydney Cockerels player Grant Johnson is in hospital in a serious but stable condition after being stabbed in a bar room brawl in Bondi in the early hours of the morning. Johnson, who was celebrating his buck’s night, was rushed to Saint Bernard’s Hospital to be treated for a stab wound to the shoulder.

“Police are calling for any witnesses who have not yet come forward to contact Sydney Metropolitan Police on …”

I turned away from the TV in shock.

“Yeah, that was how I looked when I heard too,” Joel said as he collapsed down beside me, passing the water to me.

I burst into tears.

“Hey, Stinky, what’s wrong?” Joel asked, taking the glass away before slinging an arm around my shoulders. I shook and his arm tightened, pulling me against his chest.

“I don’t know!” I sobbed against his shirt. “Last night I … I kind of had a breakdown about Grant. We saw Susie on her hen’s night and it was a bit … triggering.”

Joel’s warm breath stirred my hair as he sighed, his hand smoothing the tangled waves away from my face.

“It’s just … weird,” I continued, “that last night I was … I told them – Brad and Amanda – how he broke me, and now, someone’s tried to breakhim.”

Joel’s muscles tensed. “This is not your fault, you know that, don’t you, Stink?”

I shook my head. “Of course it’s not, but …”

“No buts! He got in a drunken fight with some louts, this is whathappens to arseholes like him who think they’re tougher than they are. Nothing to do with you at all. Don’t you waste any of your energy on that dickhead. You are not broken – he is.”

I hiccuped, the sobs dissipating as quickly as they had begun. I pushed away from Joel’s chest, unable to meet his eyes.

“Sorry I cried all over you,” I mumbled. Joel looked down, as if just noticing that his shirt was completely drenched.

“My shirt is always available to soak up your tears, Mel,” he murmured, before jumping up and heading to the kitchen.

“I’ll make you some toast,” he said, before I had a chance to process what he’d just told me.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Tension …

“Let’s just call it what it is, Joel – a lucky fluke,” I said as he unlocked the door to our villa. Joel snorted.

“What’s with the negative attitude, Stink?” he asked. “You’re in the final! You’ve gotten too far into this tournament for it just to be luck.”

I shrugged. I’d been in a bad mood the whole time we’d been in Indian Wells. Ishouldhave been on top of the world – I was in my first ever final of a WTA Premier tournament. That was something to be ecstatic about. And I’d managed to beat out a few much higher ranked players on the way.

Well, Iwashappy about the place in the final. Happy and terrified. I’d never felt so much pressure to perform in my life. But that wasn’t what was making me grumpy.

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