Page 81 of Blocked Shot
She shakes her head, trying to piece together the fragments of her thoughts, but they slip through her fingers like sand. She was supposed to talk to him. To fix things. To?—
She sways slightly, and Theo moves like he might catch her, but then stops, awkward and unsure.
“I’m sorry,” he says, hazel eyes flicking around the room like he’s searching for an escape. “I thought he would’ve told you.”
A sharp, bitter laugh escapes her before she can stop it. “Why would he? He doesn’t owe me anything.”
Theo shifts on his feet. “I’m sure he wanted to. Everythinghappened fast. Like, really fast. I came to pack some of his stuff for him. They sent this trainer Greg to pack his stuff, but he did a really shitty job. I can’t find this book he really wants…”
She barely hears him. A lump forms in her throat, thick and unbearable. She bites the inside of her cheek, hard, but it does nothing to stop the sting behind her eyes.
She should’ve come sooner. Should’ve said something before it was too late. Now he’s gone, and she never got the chance to tell him.
Blinking back tears, Natalie realizes Theo is watching her, waiting for a response.
“I’m sorry, what?” she asks, her voice unsteady.
“I said, do you know where else he keeps his books? He really wants this specific sports psychology book, but I can’t find it.”
“Oh, um…” She shakes her head, but something stirs in her memory. The first time she was in Jake’s apartment, she noticed an old, worn paperback on sports psychology. Could that be the one?
“Performing Under Pressure?” she guesses.
Theo’s face lights up. “Yes! That’s the one. You know where it is?”
Natalie steps inside, carefully maneuvering around an open suitcase in the middle of the floor, its contents thrown inside haphazardly. She resists the urge to kneel down and fold everything, and crosses to the bookshelf beside Jake’s flatscreen, reaches behind a row of neatly arranged books, and pulls out the tattered paperback.
She holds it out to Theo, then hesitates and snatches it back. “Wait.”
Her fingers fumble at the clasp of her mother’s necklace. She unhooks it, carefully nestling it within the pages before grabbing a pen from the nearby counter. Hands shaking, she scribbles a note inside the cover, pressing the ink deep into the paper.
Without another word, she hands the book to Theo.
His brow furrows. “What was that?”
Natalie steps back, swallowing against the tightness in her throat. “Don’t tell him I was here.”
CHAPTER 39
THEO
Found the book. You should definitely read it again. Carefully.
JAKE
Alright, thanks man.
THEO
Good luck in San Diego, bud. Give them hell.
JAKE
Thanks again. Keep an eye on Mitchell for me. He needs you.
JAKE
Stepping off the plane, Jake squints against the burst of California sunshine streaming through the terminal windows. It’s warm, golden, almost mocking in its brightness—so different from the biting cold he’d left behind in Hartford. He adjusts the strap of his duffel on his shoulder and exhales, forcing himself to take in the moment, to appreciate the clean slate this trade has gifted him. A new team, a new city. A chance to prove himself all over again.
