Page 14 of Broken Love (Love 2)
"My teammate is a complete asshat. One of the few guys I don't care much for, but he was still my teammate. There's supposed to be some respect there. Limits, you know? I need to get out of this fucking house. Can we go somewhere? Please?"
"Where do you want to go?"
"I don't fucking care. For a drive. Anywhere."
"Okay. Let's go."
I grab the keys for my SUV and rearrange the seats so Pike can sit in the way back and keep his leg straight out, get him loaded up, roll the windows down, and take off.
Cade
For the first hour at my parents' house, I hand out candy wondering where Palmer is. Wondering why she didn't show or why she didn't call. Soon, I get sick of all the cute little costumes and cheerful smiles and just put a bowl full of candy out on the front porch and turn off the lights inside the house.
I eat my chili and cornbread in the dark and stare at my phone, willing her to call.
After another hour, I'm praying she's okay.
After the third hour, I'm just plain pissed, but when my phone rings, I answer it without even looking to see who is calling.
"Cade," a voice says--one that is not Palmer's.
I check the caller ID and see it's Marty, the studio attorney leading the contract deal I've been working on. I am not in the mood to talk to him, but fuck it.
"We can't go a penny higher," he continues.
"Marty, you know Gracie Stevens sells. She'll be gorgeous on all the movie posters, dolls, trinkets, and other merchandise you are going to bank on. She'll push it because of her popularity. She is your Warrior Goddess. You know you want her. Have you even seen how many followers she has on social media? Her app alone has two million subscribers a month. She can do live feeds straight from the set. Talk about free advertising to your target market. She could sell shit to teens if she told them it tasted good."
"She's a risk. A loose cannon. Partying and out of control." Which is a true statement. She's young, has too much money and freedom, but she's also an incredibly gifted actress.
"You're filming in the bum fuck desert. How much trouble can she get into there, really? She'll be the perfect modern-day Athena. And she'll bring in your target audience, Marty. Stop fucking around and pay us what she's worth." I'm being a dick. Marty and I are actually friends, but I'm taking my frustration and hurt out on him anyway.
"Are you really going to say no to the kind of money that's already on the table?"
"She's fifteen. She was nominated for a freaking Academy Award. She's a great actress. She has numerous other offers on the table but, for some reason, your script appealed to her the most. That's why we're in negotiations now, Marty. We're talking about a point off the top. If you keep dicking around with me, I'll make it two."
Marty sighs. "Fine. One point."
"And I want the accounting for that point crystal clear."
"You'll have the offer in the morning, Cade. What's up your butt anyway?"
"Nothing, Marty. Just sick of fucking around."
I hang up. And realize I told him the God's honest truth. I am tired of fucking around. I want Palmer and only her.
What the hell am I supposed to do now?
She totally blew me off.
Fuck it.
I make a quick decision to get the hell out of town, so I can think. Figure this all out. So, I call Cash. "Hey, I'm headed up to Tahoe tomorrow. Can you handle my clients for the weekend?"
"Of course," he says. "Anything pressing going on?"
"No, I've got everything pretty well buttoned up. Just call me if anything serious comes up, but otherwise I'll be back on Monday."
"Sounds good. By the way, Ashlyn and I are hoping we'll get invited to go skiing up there once they get some snow."
"You know you can use the new house anytime you want. I've got to finish getting it furnished, but I'm hoping to convince Mom and Dad to celebrate Christmas up there this year."
"That would be a lot of fun. Take care and have a good weekend!"
"You too, bro. Thanks."
I hang up, turn the lights back on, bring the empty candy bowl back inside, and wait for my parents to get home.
Palmer
Pike and I drive around for hours, listening to Game Three on the radio. He seems to be in a better mood when we get home, even though his team lost again.
He thanks me for getting him out and goes to bed, while I clean up the glass, stand the table upright, and move it out of his path. Then I look around at my house more critically and rearrange all the furniture, making bigger, clearer paths so that Pike can more easily maneuver around in the wheelchair.
I drop into a chair in my room and suddenly realize I completely forgot about meeting Cade. I run back out to the garage, grab my purse, and take my phone out.
I have a couple missed calls from him and a few texts.
When I call him back, it goes straight to voicemail.
Shit.
I send a text.
Me: I'm so so sorry, Cade. I got home and Pike was upset. It's a long story, but . . . I'm sorry.
He doesn't reply.
November 1st
Palmer
"What would you think about going up to Tahoe with me?" I ask Pike as I'm cooking breakfast. Normally, I'm not up this early, but I heard him rolling around at four-thirty and decided to just get up. "I'm going to fly to Reno early this evening then drive over to the house."
"I'm not sure I'm up for all that travel. If I'm being honest, the car ride last night wore me out, and I'm sore."
"Then I'll cancel my flight and stay home."
"I saw that you moved furniture around. I appreciate that, Palmer. I'm sorry I was such a jerk last night."
"It's understandable. You've been through a lot in the last couple of days."
"I was thinking about Dad last night. You were right. He'd tell me to dust off my uniform and get back out there, so that's what I'm going to do."
"What do you mean?"
"I'd fly to the games in Florida if I thought I could handle the trip, but if the team comes back to L.A. for Game Six, I want to go to the game and be with my team. So until then, I'm going to do everything the doctor says. Get my rest. Keep my leg up. Let it heal."
"So then we can just hang out and watch movies all weekend, like we used to do when we were kids."
"No, Palmer. You're going to Tahoe. I'm staying here."
"You're kicking me out of my own house?"
"Pretty much," he grins. "I'm going to sit my ass on the couch, cheer for my team, and order take out. Seriously, sis, just letting me stay here is enough. I don't expect you to change your schedule for me. And I could honestly use some time alone. To reflect. Get my shit together. I've had a lot of requests for interviews and need to figure all that out."
"I'll only agree to it if you are okay with Tory stopping in to check on you a couple times a day. And if you will text me and let me know you haven't, like, fallen and can't get up."
"Deal," he says with a laugh.
"Question for you," I say. "When Bethany left here, where was she going?"
"Back home, I assume."
"To your home? What about your stuff, Pike?"
"She wouldn't, would she?"
I stare at him. "Cash, jewelry, watches, your National Championship ring?"
His eyes get huge, and he slams his hand on the kitchen table. "Shit. Grab me my phone, will you?"
I wait while he makes some calls. When he's done, he says, "I don't know where the hell everyone is, but I've called the house phone, the housekeeper, my agent, and my neighbors. No one is answering."
"What about someone from the team?"
"They'll be getting ready for Game Four today. They don't need to worry about my shit."
"Is there anyone you know who is going to be in town for the game? Someone that could maybe run over there?"
"Carter Crawford," he says with a nod. "He'll be there."
"You should call him."
"
Shit, you're right."
Pike
I call Carter, explain the Bethany situation, and ask if he'd have time to go to my place and get the locks changed.
"Do you think she's there now?" he asks.
"If she was able to get a flight last night, it would probably would have been the red eye, which would have had her landing at seven this morning. So I suppose she could be, since it's close to eight o'clock there."
"Give me the address. I'm at a hotel downtown. You're out on Davis Island, right?"
"Yeah, I am."
"Perfect, that means I'm close."
I give him my address and the security code.
"I'll go on one condition," Carter says.
"Anything. Just name it."
"When you're feeling better, I want you to have a drink with me--"
"Of course, I'll have a drink with you."
"--and my brother," he adds.
"Ah, fuck, man."
