Page 86 of First Down Promise

“No, I don’t need to hear it,” I cut her off. “All this time…fuck. Every time you turned your location off or paused it or whatever the fuck, you were with him.” I shake my head. “You’re fucking my sister. Oh my God.”

“I’m not going to end it because you don’t like it,” Josh finally says.

I stand up from the couch. “I have shit to do,” I say, brushing past them.

“Pete,” Abby says again, but I head straight for the door without looking back.

She’s a traitor too.

Lying. Sneaking around. Taking advantage of me and going to away games. Josh sleeping over at my house when he was too drunk to drive.

I slam my car door. “Fuck you, Josh!” I scream as loud as I can inside the car.

I force myself to take a deep breath. I need to be the composed leader of this team. The face of the Iron Stallions. Personal trauma will have to wait. I reverse out of his stupid driveway without bothering to see if cars are coming.

I make it to the main road, already too late to prepare for this stupid interview. How am I supposed to talk about connecting with Josh on the field?

That bastard has been connecting with my sister for most of the season. I shudder against the seat. Keeping one hand on the steering wheel, I pick up my phone to text my assistant to bring Pepto to the facility.

Oh, shit!

Was that light red?

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Abby

“What if he doesn’t make it? What if I lose him the same way I lost my parents? It’d be my fault all over again. Josh, I can’t.” My voice cracks, and my cheeks are soaked with tears. But I can’t stop the vicious loop of anxiety.

“Abby, he’s going to be okay. We just need to wait for the doctor,” Josh replies, gripping my hand a little tighter.

“It’s my fault.”

“No, don’t put this on yourself. I promise he’ll pull through. He has to.”

The chairs in the emergency room’s waiting room are stiff under me, but I’ll sit here for as long it takes to get an update on Pete’s condition. I close my eyes, but memories of Pete’s G-Wagon, crushed like a can, won’t stop. The driver’s side and front end were demolished in the T-bone. Pete was immediately rushed to the hospital, but the other driver was okay.

“I shouldn’t have been at your house. I should have been at yoga.” I cover my face with my free hand and rub my forehead into my palm. “He wouldn’t have run the red light.”

“Abby, don’t do this to yourself.” Josh plants a kiss on the side of my head. “He could have ran that light, regardless. We don’t know what happened in the car before the accident.”

I lower my hand and meet Josh’s chocolate eyes. “He wouldn’t have been anywhere near there. We held him up. He would have already been at his interview…” I trail off.

“Please stop beating yourself up. I know it’s easier said than done, but there’s always more to the story,” Josh quietly adds.

I wipe the underside of my nose with my sleeve. “My parents would still be here if they hadn’t stopped at the dry cleaners that night for my dance uniform,” I whisper.

“They could have detoured that way or been in a crash, anyway.” Josh squeezes the back of my neck, his thumb brushing beneath my hair. My stomach twists anyway, guilt burrowing deeper into my chest.

“I won’t have anyone else if he goes.”

Josh brushes his thumb over my engraved bangle. “No, you have me. Always and forever, I promise.”

Footsteps approach us, and I lift my eyes to see Head Coach Murphy coming toward us. I try to pull my hand away from Josh’s, but he grips it tighter to stop me. I sit up straighter in my chair, glancing between Josh, our joined hands, and Glenn.

“Coach,” Josh greets.

“Mackenzie,” Glenn says, his gaze sweeping over me. “Any news on Pete?” he asks and takes a seat across from us.