Page 13 of Broken Love (Love 2)
"Your father is on line two," my assistant says from the intercom on my phone.
"Hey, Dad."
"Do you have any plans for Halloween tonight, Cade?"
"Not specifically, why?"
He lets out a huge breath. "Well, thank goodness. Could you please come over and hand out candy here?"
"Uh, sure. Why?"
"Your mother and I have a retirement party for a very dear friend of mine, and she won't go if no one is here to hand out candy. She says it's a tradition. And that woman is stubborn. It was fine until Chloe just informed us she won't be home. Your brother is out of town, and Ashlyn and Cash have plans. You're my last hope, son."
"Sure, Dad. I'll do it."
"I'm rewriting my will as we speak, and you're getting everything." Dad chuckles. "Actually, your mother says there will be chili and cornbread in the warming drawer for you."
"That sounds great. See you soon."
I hang up, press the intercom, and say to my assistant, "Can you cancel drinks tonight? I have a family thing."
"Sure thing, boss," she replies.
I push the contract I was going over to the side of my desk.
I can't stop thinking about Palmer.
I'm glad we're friends again, but I want us to be more.
I decide to go with the friendly route.
Me: Happy Halloween.
Palmer: You too. You trick or treating tonight?
Me: No, going to my parents to hand out candy. They have some event, and Mom was freaking out that no one would be there to answer the door. Carter is in Tampa for Game Three, Chloe has some party, and Cash and Ashlyn had plans, too.
Palmer: That sounds fun.
Me: Would you want to join me?
Palmer: I can't really leave Pike.
Me: I thought you said Bethany was there.
Palmer: If Bethany had her way, she'd have him swinging naked from my chandelier.
Me: Now that sounds like a party.
Palmer: Ugh.
Me: It's probably hard having both of them in your house.
Palmer: Pike's fine. She's driving me nuts.
Me: All the more reason to get out.
Palmer: Good point. I'll be there.
Pike
I'm sitting outside near the pool, trying to pretend I'm on vacation and not stuck here. It's only been a few days, but I feel like the walls are closing in on me. I'm not where I'm supposed to be. I'm pissed at myself for getting hurt. I'm pissed at Bethany's shitty attitude and the fact that she's out shopping.
I'm pissed at the fucking world.
My phone buzzes with a text.
Cameron: How's the invalid?
Me: Pretty shitty, honestly.
Cameron: I suppose being stuck in a wheelchair is driving you nuts. You're used to always being on the go.
Me: I'm going crazy.
Cameron: What did the doctor say about going out?
Me: It will be easier to go out once I have a cast.
Cameron: When I get back, let's do drinks. You can even bring the girlfriend. I promise I'll play nice.
Me: It's a date then.
My phone buzzes again. I expect it to be from Cameron, but it's from my catcher and good buddy, Rob.
Rob: I hate to tell you this while you're recouping, but that girl you've been seeing. . .
Me: What about her?
Rob: I've been trying to decide if I should tell you or not, after everything that's happened to you. But I think you should know. Just don't kill the messenger, okay?
Me: Who did she sleep with?
Rob: Craig.
I slam my phone down in outrage. That fucking little bitch.
I immediately call the credit card company and turn off the card I gave her for travel expenses. She never uses it for that, though. She mostly racks up big bills for clothing in every city we go to.
It's a good thing I'm in this wheelchair, or I'd fucking kill her. I momentarily envision knocking her to the ground and running over her repeatedly with the wheelchair. But who am I kidding? All that would do is piss her off.
A few minutes later, I get a text from her.
Bethany: Babycakes, my credit card isn't working. Can you call and fix it?
Needless to say, I don't reply.
Instead, I go inside and stew about it for nearly two hours until she comes storming into the house.
"I had all these amazing things picked out at Neiman's, and my credit card got declined! I sent you a text and told you to fix it. But you didn't!"
"I didn't see your text," I say flatly.
"Bullshit! I called the credit card company myself, and they said my card had been cancelled! How does that even happen? You should be outraged!"
"You could have just put it on your own card, if you needed it that bad."
"I couldn't afford it."
"You're right, you can't. And I'm sick of you spending my money."
"What the fuck is going on? Is it because I went shopping instead of sitting around here and waiting on you?"
"I would think if you cared about me, that's exactly where you'd want to be. And your card got declined because I cancelled it."
"Why the fuck would you do that?!"
"Why the fuck would you sleep with Craig?"
Her eyes get big. "Who told you that? Whoever did is lying! I would never--"
"Save me the lies, Bethany. Pack up your shit and get the fuck out."
"Fine. I don't want to be with a fucking washed up has-been. And that's exactly what Craig says you're going to be, because your career is over!"
She storms into the bedroom, tosses shit around, and then marches out the door with her suitcase.
I wheel myself into the kitchen to get a drink, slamming my leg into the wall on the way, which sends a shockwave of pain through my body, causing me to shudder.
"Fuck!" I yell, backing up, only to bump into a table behind me.
The table tips over, everything on it spiraling to the ground and breaking with a loud crash.
"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck this leg. Fuck this table. And fuck my fucking life!"
Palmer
I
walk into the house with a bounce in my step, carrying the candy I stopped and got on the way home from my studio meeting. I'm excited to see Cade. I know it's just handing out candy, but--
"Fuck!" I hear Pike yell out.
Then there's a loud crash and, "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck this leg. Fuck this table. And fuck my fucking life!"
I run through the breezeway and into the kitchen, worried about him. I find him sitting in his wheelchair next to a tipped over decorative table, the vase that was on it shattered into pieces across the floor.
Pike's head is buried in his hands, and he's crying.
I put my hand to my chest, tears filling my eyes.
"Pike, are you okay?"
"No! I'm not fucking okay!" he cries. "I can't fucking move without running into something, and Bethany fucked my teammate."
"She what!?"
"She fucked my teammate, because he said I'd never play again. That I'd be a has-been."
I drop to my knees in front of him, not worrying about the glass. "Pike, you've had a long, successful career. No one will ever think of you that way, whether you play again or not."
"Why did this have to fucking happen to me? Why?"
"I don't know, Pike. But bad shit happens to people all the time. It's how you deal with it that shows the kind of man you are. And our father didn't raise you to feel sorry for yourself. He taught you to give back as much as you get."
"He'd be embarrassed to see me like this, wouldn't he?" he says, breaking down further.
"No, you're human. You were playing in the biggest game of your life. It's normal that you'd be upset. Who are you more upset with though, Bethany or your teammate?"
