Page 34 of There's No Us Without You
I bought that with my money, so Kent can deal with the fact that the number of pillows on the bed will be uneven.
On my way out, I grab the two photo frames sitting on the dresser—one of me and my dad, the other of my nanna before she got sick—and hold them against my chest as I take one last look at the unkempt room.
No more being controlled. I’m going to take what I want, and no-one is going to stand in my way. I’ll get that money—I just need to come up with a plan.
With fifty thousand already saved up, my mother had promised to match it so I could qualify for a bank loan.
Maybe I could sell pictures of my feet on the internet. That’s a thing people do these days, isn’t it?
I head back downstairs with my suitcase and the overnight bag in tow. It’s not much, but I don’t need anything else.
Not from Kent.
Speaking of the devil, he is still frothing at the mouth over the factEmerson de Silvais standing on his front porch.
With a smile, Emerson holds out his hand to take my suitcase. “Got everything, beautiful?”
Oh god. He called me beautiful.
I glance at Kent, who’s now scratching his cheek, then back to Emerson. “Everything I need.”
With my suitcase in one hand, Emerson holds his free arm out for me to lead the way back to the car, so I do, not once glancing over my shoulder at what my life used to be.
A cool breeze whips my hair around my face, and I suck in the freshness, closing my eyes for a moment as I wait for Emerson to put my bags in the car.
All the heaviness I felt earlier is almost non-existent, and I can only assume it’s because of the man standing next to me.
Maybe I’ll figure my life out after all.
NINE
Emerson
“De Silva, get over here.”Coach motions for me to join the group of men standing before him in a semicircle.
They all glance my way, so I acknowledge Coach with a wave before shoving three ibuprofen tablets into my mouth and downing half my water bottle.
Mornings are when the pain is the worst, and getting out of bed these last couple of days has had me cursing more than usual. Once I’m walking around, the pain subsides. Although, by then I’ve taken some pain meds and forgotten all about it.
Or at least attempted to forget.
But today, it’s giving me grief.
With just under eight weeks until finals, there’s no way I’m letting a little knee injury take me out of the game. I’ll suck it up for now, keep taking the anti-inflammatories until the season is over and then I’ll get a much-needed break to recover and prepare for next season.
When I reach the group of men, Coach lifts his chin, nodding towards Eden sitting in the stands where I left her.
“De Silva, why’d you bring a distraction?” he says, raising an eyebrow. “I thought we had an understanding when it came to women.”
The boys all have a good chuckle amongst themselves at my expense.
To think my conversation with Coach would have remained between us is laughable. These fuckers always make everyone else’s business their own.
Arseholes.
“It’s not what you think. She’s my new housemate.” I lift a shoulder and grab a fluorescent-green bib from the gear bag next to Coach’s feet.
“And when you say housemate, you mean...” Coach’s voice trails off, and he blinks at me slowly, his face an expressionless mask of whatever it is he wants to say to me.
