34. Matt

Iroll onto my back and stare at the ceiling, my chest deflating as I let out a deep sigh. It's already time to get up, and I feel like I haven't slept in days.

Memories of what happened last night lance my brain like the sharpest razors. I never wanted Anna to talk to Zak. I figured she'd have been hanging out in the waiting room while I was in the chapel. So, when she told me what she did, it pissed me off.

But I mean, of course, she'd do that for me. It's the kind of person she is, one of the reasons why I love her. She's got the biggest heart of anyone I know. And even though I broke hers, she still wanted to help me put the shattered pieces of mine back together.

So, I didn't tell her I was pissed. And when I heard his reaction, it only sank me further into a deep, dark sinkhole of regret, remorse, and disappointment…in myself.

Sleep never really came last night. Instead, my mind was plagued with a whole lot of "what-ifs"—not only about Zak and me but about my family.

Maybe Anna is right. I leave because I can't process. If I stuck around and tried to figure things out, maybe they'd turn out differently. Maybe I'd feel like I had more control over them, control to change them.

I got an earful about that from her. She wants me to be happy because she's a frigging saint. I want to be happy, too, but if it means living a life without Zak in it, I'm fucked. Because there's no "happy" in that.

I grab my phone and squint at the screen, my eyes adjusting to the bright light.

Shit. It's ten o'clock already?

A text from Brett Travers grabs my attention. I click into it and narrow my eyes at the screen.

"Your ass is mine now.I'm gonna drive you into the fucking ground so far, you won't ever claw your way back out."

What in the ever-loving fuck?

My insides are plunged into a deep freeze.

Fuck my life, does he know more than I think he does?

A knock at my door makes me shoot straight up in my bed. Panic rises in my chest.

I scramble to pull on a pair of basketball shorts and a T-shirt, then dart to the front door. Something inside of me flickers to life, and I hold my breath as I press my face to the peephole to see who's standing outside.

I stop with my hand on the door handle. For a hot second, I hope and pray it's Zak, which is ridiculous and stupid, but the thought consumes me.

Maybe, just maybe?—

When I fling open the door, I don't think I could be anymore shocked.

Summer and Missy stand in the hallway, big grins on their faces and large suitcases behind them.

"Matty!" they exclaim.

I pull them in close for a tight hug, and then, we wheel their luggage inside while I try to work out why they're here to surprise me.

"You guys, what the hell are you doing here? You came all by yourself?"

Then, in the middle of my shock, a sudden freefall situation happens inside of me. My gut drops to my feet. "Shit, something happened at home, didn't it? Why didn't you call? Are you fucking nuts for taking that trip by yourselves?"

Summer puts her hand on my arm. Like that's gonna calm me down.

"Relax, Matty. We left super early for a good reason. And Mom drove us to the bus station. She said she was going to call and let you know."

I scrub a hand down the front of my face then stare down at my phone. I scroll through the notifications. Missed call, missed call, missed call.

Fuck.

Ringer's off.

I shut it off when I went into the chapel last night and never turned it back on. I guess since I already knew I wouldn't hear from the one person I wanted more than anything to talk to, I wanted to shut myself off from the rest of the world.

And at no time during my fucking pity party did I even think about the shit show back in West Virginia.

I stare at my sisters. They look a little tired but happy. Excited, even.

"Did something happen? Is that why you're here?"

Summer shakes her head. "No. Mom just thought we should come and visit for a while since we're off from school for break."

I rub my chin. After the last conversations we had, Mom really changed her tune. She was so resistant to sending the girls away, taking them from Dad.

What the hell changed?

I make the girls breakfast and leave them in the living room with huge bowls of cereal and Netflix before I head into my bedroom to call Mom.

She answers on the first ring, her voice tense. "Matthew, why didn't you take any of my calls last night?"

This probably isn't the time to come out and tell her I was in a hospital chapel pining for the man I love, so I go with another approach.

"I was at an event with Anna and shut off my ringer. Forgot to turn it back on when I got home." I sink onto my bed. "You could say I was a little surprised to see the girls at my door this morning, especially after our phone call before the game on Sunday."

Mom lets out a sigh. "I know. And I thought about everything you said. You were right. The girls' safety is most important."

"Are you going to let me keep them? Because having them stay out of the line of fire for a few weeks isn't going to protect them forever, especially if you're not gonna get Dad the help he needs."

A long pause follows.

I ball up my hand and pound the mattress. "This is nothing more than a vacation for them if you don't do something, Mom. I can help you get him set up in a facility. I can make sure you have a new place to live, one that's safe. Let me do this, okay? I want to?—"

"Matthew," she snaps. "We can handle this. You don't need to throw your money around at a solution. Your father knows what he can lose if he doesn't change his ways."

"Yeah, but does he care?" I shoot up from the bed, a stress knot popping up at the base of my skull. "Because for years, he's taken the money without a second thought and pissed it away on things that can hurt everyone he supposedly loves."

"I will handle this. We appreciate your help and always have. But you're not the parent here."

"I'm the only one who seems to be thinking like one," I grumble.

"I'm sorry you feel that way," Mom says coldly. "I sent the girls to you as a precaution, just like you asked."

My stomach knots. I believe that as much as I believe the moon is made of fucking cheese.

Something happened, and she's not telling me about it.

She sent the girls here because she knows there's a risk to them, and the guilt finally ate into her enough to fucking do something about it.

"I'm glad you did," I say, my throat tight. I know my mother. She shuts down when she feels like she's being backed into a corner, and she's just hit the wall. "I'll take good care of them."

We say a civil goodbye, and I fall back onto my bed, covering my face with my hands.

Jesus Christ, how much more shit is going to be shoveled over me today?

Missy runs into my room, holding out her phone.

"Matty, you and Anna broke up? We didn't even get to meet her!"

I spring up and grab her phone.

There's a picture of us from the event. She's in tears, and I'm standing near her, looking away, my expression hard and completely unfeeling.

The headline is, "The Crusader's Final Play."

I scan the words, my heart stopping dead when I see it.

Missy obviously didn't read the article before she brought her phone in here.

"First-string kicker,Matt Harrison, reportedly ended his relationship with actress Anna Taylor after his first preseason win against the Carolina Raptors on Sunday. Neither could be reached for comment, but speculation is that it has something to do with the brewing bromance between him and Crusader owner, Zak Kacey. After Kacey was rushed to the hospital after a car accident that night, Harrison made a beeline for his bedside with Taylor in tow."

Brett's textfinally makes sense.

And it can only mean one thing.

"Son of a bitch," I mumble, handing Missy her phone back. "I gotta make a call."