Page 141 of For the Boys
And then, it was time to go back to work.
Had they not been knee-deep in the playoffs, Brent would’ve let his depression eat him alive. As it was, his teammates were counting on him, and so was the city of Detroit. He couldn’t let them down, no matter how bad his heart was hurting.
So he bottled it all up and put on a brave face for practice after two days of sorrow. The sleepless nights, excessive alcohol, and lack of real food had turned him into a zombie. If anyone bothered to comment on it, he would tell them to fuck off.
At practice for the next week, he gave his teammates everything he had, which, at the moment, was woefully short of his usual self.
He didn’t have it in him to care.
In the locker room after practice, four days before Berkley’s graduation, Brent sat in his stall, unmoving.
“Late night with your girl, Jean?” Mitch asked with a smirk.
“Something like that,” Brent said. His teammates were going to find out about him and Berkley eventually, but he certainly wasn’t going to be the one to break it to them.
Especially not when he refused to accept it himself.
He changed without showering and rushed to get home where he could nurse his heartbreak in peace.
Mitch caught up with him in the parking lot. “Come get lunch with me.”
It wasn’t a question.
Brent sighed and nodded. He followed Mitch to a diner near the river, one they had frequented after practice on hundreds of days just like today.
Once they were seated and had coffee in front of them, Mitch said, “What’s going on, Brent?”
Brent realized he should have seen this coming. Mitch was an expert at reading people, and Brent had never been particularly good at hiding his emotions.
“What makes you think something is going on?” Brent asked, feigning nonchalance.
“For starters, you haven’t exactly been there at practice. I mean, your body is, but it’s pretty obvious your mind has been a million miles away.”
“Berkley and I broke up.”
“You what?” Mitch asked, incredulous, even though Brent had a feeling he already knew.
“Actually, she broke up with me. Told me she’s too insecure for our relationship, and that she’s not the girl for me, and that she couldn’t be with me anymore.” Brent paused, choking back tears.
He was wrecked emotionally, but he’d be damned if he cried in a crowded restaurant, in front of Mitch no less. “She thinks I want someone and something different. But I don’t. I only want her.” Slowly, he raised his watery eyes to Mitch. “She’s the love of my life, man.”
Mitch nodded solemnly. “I know, bro. I know.”
Brent buried his face in his hands. “What do I do?”
Mitch laughed, and Brent’s gaze snapped up. He leveled a glare at Mitch. “I’m sorry,” Mitch said. “It’s just…you’re Brent Jean. The king of the grand gesture. You can’t honestly tell me you’re going to take this lying down.”
“Mitch, she straight up told me she can’t be with someone who uses his money and fame to get what he wants. She…” Brent stopped. No, he wouldn’t repeat that. Frankly, it was too embarrassing. And it was embarrassing because Brent secretly, in the deepest, most insecure parts of his heart, knew she was right.
“She what?” Mitch asked. “C’mon, Jean. If you want my help, you have to tell me everything.”
“I didn’t ask for your help,” Brent snapped.
Wow, he thought.Is this how Berkley felt our entire relationship?
Mitch sat, hands curled around his coffee cup, waiting.
“Fine. She asked me if I thought I had to buy her affection.”
