Page 64 of The Fantasy League
“Anything.”
“Will you tell me about the girl who came to your house that day you kicked me out?”
Abel’s face fell.
That wasn’t what I’d been expecting him to do, yet it was also somehow… worse.
“I can’t.”
“You can’t?”
What thehelldid that mean? He couldn’t or he wouldn’t or he didn’t want to? My last eye exam said I had twenty-twenty vision and I was pretty confident there wasn’t someone holding a gun to his head right now.
He shook his head and slumped his shoulders.
My focus jumped down to the ground beneath me, where I pulled up blades of grass to avoid making eye contact with him. So maybe I was lying about what I said earlier… being in silence with someone suddenly felt excruciating, awkward, painful… just to name a few.
“Hey hey hey, I need you to know that it’s not because I don’t want to tell you. Right now, I just… can’t.” Abel sighed deeply. “Please trust me, Red, when I say that, when I can tell people, you’ll be the first person to find out.”
“I don’t understand why you can’t tell me. What’s the difference between today and a few weeks from now…”
“It’s complicated. There’s family involved and it’s just…”
“Complicated,” I finished for him. “I got it.”
I didn’t say a word for a long while as I plucked more fistfuls of grass.
“You’re thinking really loudly over there. Care to share what’s going on in that pretty little head of yours?”
“Nothing. It wasn’t my place to ask anyway.” I brushed it off. “So, what teams do the other guys play for?”
Abel knotted his brows and squinted his eyes at my change of subject. What else did he want me to say?
Thankfully, the director called Abel over to pick shooting back up again. I gave him a smile and a wave goodbye before packing up the blanket into my tote again and calling a car.
I trusted Abel, I really did.
So, if he couldn’t give me any answers right now, there was obviously a good reason as to why, right?
Only time would tell,I thought to myself.
* * *
I spentmost of my late afternoon back at the house, working from the comfort of the covers while finalizing the recipe I was posting on the blog this week and sifting through the photos I was going to use for the next one.
The final rays of sunlight retired below the horizon when a light knock at my bedroom door startled me.
I kept the door half-open to hear when Abel came home, but the door creaked open fully and I looked up over the rim of my laptop to find him leaning against the doorframe.
How long had he been there? And when did he come home?
“I have a surprise for you.” He beamed, making his way over to me. “Follow me?” He held out his hand, which I willingly accepted, and he helped me out of bed. His grip on my hand stayed firm while he guided me out of the comfort of my suite and down the stairs.
“Where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise,” he said mockingly, leaning over so his hot breath brushed my ear which sent a shiver down my spine. “Shoes.” He looked down to where my sandals lay on the floor next to the bottom step.
“Cover your eyes.” I did as he commanded and felt his hands wrap around my waist. He led me forward and I heard a door open and the smell of salty air as I stepped outside.
