39. Emerson

I rolled onto my back and blinked up at the ceiling, instantly feeling off. Lolling my head to one side, I took in the empty space beside me. Gi was already up?

I tossed the blanket back and stood.

"Gi?" I called. But I was met with silence. After a quick lap through the empty apartment, I searched for my phone. Finding the living room and kitchen empty, I headed back to my room, only to find it on my dresser, next to a neat pile of clothes I'd worn last night.

A pile I hadn't put there.

With a tap on my phone's screen, I squinted at the time. Eight fifteen. My heart plummeted. Fuck. Her meeting started in fifteen minutes. She was in New York.

I ran a hand down my face and cursed again. I'd planned to set an alarm and walk her to the train, but my mind had been singularly focused on holding her last night. I'd upset her. I knew it. She hadn't said a single word after I told her not to love me, and the silence had crushed me, leaving my heart in shards. With a hand pressed to my aching chest, I lowered my head and closed my eyes. Every moment after that one felt like the beginning of the end.

One that I'd created and now had to live with.

I'd just set foot in the locker room when Tom Wilson appeared in the doorway of his office and sent me to Hannah. Shoulders drooping, I'd turned on my heel and headed her way. Regardless of what she needed today, I didn't have it in me to be her dancing monkey. There wasn't an ounce of fun, happy Emerson accessible at this moment.

"Rough morning?" Hannah asked as I stalked into her office.

I shrugged, brushing a serious question off in a way I was far too good at. "What's up?" I wasn't in the mood for a game. Waking up alone this morning had been the most painful experience I'd had in a long, long time. Gianna still hadn't replied to my text, but she'd viewed it.

So what the hell did that mean?

She spun her computer monitor toward me. On the screen was the picture of Gi and me that Hannah had taken last night.

The shards of my heart crumbled further. We looked so fucking happy in that moment. My arms around her. Her hand on my chest. I wanted to go back in time. Soak in that sensation.

"I wasn't sure how you'd want to respond."

"To what?" I asked, squinting at the image again.

She hummed and adjusted the screen a little. "Did you read any of the comments?"

I shook my head and angled over her desk so I could focus on the words. The first comment had my jaw locking.

"What the fuck?" I snapped as I skimmed another. One after another, I read them, my body winding tighter and tighter until I was ready to snap. Although some were typical comments about how hot I looked in a suit or genuine comments about their love of the Revs, they were mixed in with hundreds of nasty comments. The trolls attacked Gi for not being the type of girl a professional athlete would want. Some saying she'd better up her game or I'd lose interest. Some outright calling her fat.

"So we can ignore it," Hannah said, "or say something. I'm happy to help you work it out. But I wasn't even sure you two were together." She tilted her head, scrutinizing me knowingly. "Although by the rage on your face, I'd say you are."

"Send me the picture," I gritted out through my teeth. "I'll make my own statement."

My hands shook, and my heart pounded as I pulled out my phone. Had Gi seen this? Was this why she'd gone radio silent?

My phone buzzed as the picture landed in my inbox. A second later, it was downloaded, and I was clicking over to my own Instagram. From there, the words poured out so easily. Naturally. But when I was done, I didn't feel any better.

Choking back the outrage growing inside me, I stood. "Did you need anything else?"

Slowly, Hannah shook her head. So I turned on my heel and stormed back down to the locker room. On my way, I called Gianna, but she didn't pick up.

Me: Hey, I don't know if you're upset or mad at me, but just call me. Please.

I slammed through the door and stomped to my locker. Once I got close, I tossed the phone inside.

"So…" Kyle spun the chair next to my locker and dropped into it.

"What?" I snapped. I had zero patience to deal with anything right now. No, that wasn't true. But the only thing I wanted to do was go to fucking New York and track her down.

"You just posted some heavy shit."

I nodded, hit with a wave of unease. Until this moment, I hadn't even considered how the guys would react. And I hadn't thought about Chris.

Rather than give me shit like I expected, Kyle did the damnedest thing. He stood up and wrapped his arms around me. My body went rigid, but it only took a second to relax and allow myself to sag against him.

Fuck, I was tired.

He patted my back twice and pulled back.

I took a deep breath and roughed a hand down my face. I hadn't realized how much I needed a hug. "Thanks," I said.

"I'm not going to touch the other shit yet." He pulled back. "But, uh, you're really not sure about playing with us next year?"

"My agent hasn't heard anything." I sank into my chair with a shrug.

"I thought the media was just stirring shit up." Kyle scratched his head.

The locker room door flew open and banged into the wall behind it. "What the fuck is this?" Chris demanded.

Heart lurching, I blinked at the phone in his hand.

Kyle took two steps back, holding both hands up as Chris stalked across the room.

"What the fuck is this?" he asked again, looming over me.

With a sigh, I ran a hand over my face. "I know you asked, and I know I said nothing was going on between us, but…" I swallowed and tipped my head back to meet his eye. "It's not nothing."

Chris worked his jaw back and forth, then blinked twice and dropped into the chair next to me. "So what is it?"

Damn if I didn't want to tell him everything. But I had to talk to Gi first.

"A mess," I said, dropping my elbows to my knees. "And I know you don't think I'm good enough for Gi?—"

"What?" Chris spun in his seat so he was facing me head-on. "Why wouldn't you be good enough?"

I snapped up straight, at a loss for how to respond to that question.

"Dude, you're my best friend. One of the best damn people I know. You're loyal. You're caring." He shook his head. "Fucking hell. If you put half the effort into a relationship with my sister as you do our friendship, you'd be better than every other guy she's ever dated put together. You're beyond good enough."

I blinked and forced air into my lungs to keep my emotions tempered. "You told us to stay away from her…"

Chris frowned. "No, I told Streaks to stay the fuck away."

My heart stuttered. "So you don't care if Gi and I are together?"

"Are you?" His brows rose high on his forehead.

I shrugged, lowering my head again. "I don't know."

"What the fuck?" he muttered, kicking at my foot to get my attention.

"She doesn't want a serious relationship since she's going back to New York."

Eyes narrowing, he leaned forward. "What do you want?"

I dropped my focus to the post still called up on his phone.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Chris sat back and crossed his arms. "Tell her."

I shook my head. "Dragon." I cleared my throat, willing my voice to stay steady. "I don't even know where I'll be next year. I can't drag her all over the country."

He glanced past me for an instant, then studied me with a look more earnest than I was used to seeing on his face. "We'll come back to that. Let's focus on Gi a second."

I cracked my knuckles and looked up at the ceiling. "She's all I focus on, man."

"Let me ask you something, then," he said. "If you could do your job from anywhere, would you follow her?"

My spine snapped straight. "Anywhere. But how could I ask her to leave her life behind and come with me?"

Lips pressed together, he nodded. "A few months ago, Avery thought they might trade me. And she didn't hesitate to come flying in here, screaming that she was going with me."

It was a pretty epic moment, and since the media was here, it turned into a big thing they spent days talking about.

"Some things in life are replaceable. A job. A house. Some things you can't live without. And when you find the person you can't live without, rearranging plans to be with them isn't a sacrifice." He shook his head. "It a joy."

My heart lurched, because he wasn't wrong. But?—

"You won't know if you don't ask her," Chris said. "I love my sister. She deserves the best." He leaned forward and placed a hand on my knee. Shit. That move choked me up. From him, that was the equivalent of the biggest hug. "And I can't think of anyone better than you."

My phone buzzed, and I jumped up to grab it.

Gi: On the train back to Boston. We'll talk when I get there.

I shut my eyes and sagged against the wooden side of the locker. Because that didn't sound like good news.

"Tell her how you feel. It could change everything." Chris clapped my shoulder, then he was gone.

And I dug deep, searching for the courage to do just that.