Page 106 of The Trade Deadline

---

good luck

got a place downtown

(Picture of a view from high up overlooking the city)

??

saw some stuff on insta from the crabs

You growing a beard?

almost playoffs

Getting an early start

miss you

same

There were others sprinkled in. Pictures and memes Ryan thought Lars might like. Comments about games and practices, the new team. For every one of Ryan’s that made it to him, there were a dozen unsent ones from Lars.

I can’t stand going to Rangoons without you

I tried reading that book you left at my place.

It’s awful. You have terrible taste.

Tanner dropped off a box of your crab-themed clothes

they’re really ugly which is kind of fantastic

I saw the highlights from your game yesterday

you were fucking fantastic

I wear the shirt you gave me every night to bed

because then I can pretend you’re still here

I’m not the only one who misses you

the guys talk about you all the time

don’t let the trade make you think you weren’t part of this team

I’m going to wear your crab bowtie tomorrow

think anyone will notice it’s yours?

i don’t know what to do with everything i feel about you

you’re gone, you’re not coming back

this can’t work, right?

Even in his unsent messages, they both very obviously avoided the two most obvious things they should talk about: their relationship and Anders.

Fuck Anders. Lars didn’t want to feel like shit and analyze his own part in his misery. He couldn’t afford to hold a grudge against Monroe or the Crabs, and, honestly (ew, honesty), the trade did seem to be in the Crabs’ and Ryan’s best interests. They didn’t know about Lars and Ryan, didn’t know that they’d complicated things and made Lars miserable.

---