Faking the Play (Hot Mess Harems #2)

36. Amelia

Chapter thirty-six

Amelia

I jerked out of a fitful sleep to the sound of someone knocking on my door.

“Please open the door.” The young man on the other side sounded desperate. “I’m gonna be late for work. I can’t just leave these here because they said I had to actually hand them to you and I really don’t wanna piss these guys off.” The knocking resumed. “Please, Miss Fine. Open the door.”

With a sigh, I rolled out of bed and staggered to the door, yawning as I went. I probably looked like a mess, but my head was too fuzzy to remember why or even care. I barely remembered to check to make sure I wouldn’t flash the guy, but when I was satisfied that my clothes were in place, I opened the door.

And found myself staring directly into the eyes of a giant stuffed panda.

I let out an undignified squawk and stumbled back a couple steps.

“Sorry.” The guy lowered the panda enough for me to see his face. “Are you Amelia Fine?”

“Uh, yes?”

At the uncertainty in my voice, his eyes narrowed. “Are you sure?”

“Who are you?” I asked, trying to rub the sleep out of my eyes.

“Caleb.” He shoved the panda toward me. “This is for you.”

“For me?”

“There’s a note tied to its neck, and I didn’t open it.” When I made no move to take it, he tried again. “Please take the panda. I really do need to go to work.”

I sighed and took the panda. “Thank you, Caleb.”

“Will you please tell them that I did a good job?” he asked before turning and practically running away.

As I turned to close the door, I caught a glimpse of several open doors and curious people looking my way. Now thoroughly embarrassed, confused, and a little annoyed, I set the panda in the middle of the floor and yanked free the ribbon holding the card Caleb mentioned.

My heartbeat quickened when I recognized the handwriting on the envelope and, for a moment, I seriously considered just throwing it out, but then everything from last night came rushing back. The game. The guys getting hurt. Waiting for hours for some news on their condition. Falling asleep not knowing.

I tore open the envelope and moved over to my bed as I unfolded the paper and began to read the brief, but pointed, message.

Amelia,

We’re assholes. And we’re so sorry for believing the worst. We should have trusted you and believed you. We know there’s no reason for you to ever forgive us, but we’re begging you to come to the next game. All three of us will be there and afterward, we’ll take you out and we can talk. And by talk, I mean the three of us will grovel.

Please, tell us you’re coming.

We miss you and we’re so sorry.

Logan, Ethan, Ryan (aka the biggest assholes in the world)

I stared at the letter for a full minute before tearing it up. That still, however, left the giant fucking panda sitting in the middle of my room, staring at me like I’d done something wrong.

“What the hell am I supposed to do with you?” I asked. “I can’t take you anywhere without everyone staring at me, because I’d be carrying a giant-ass panda.”

If a stuffed animal could look reproachful, this one managed it.

My phone buzzed with a text and I reached for it without thinking, but paused when I saw the name on the screen.

Ryan.

I started to toss my phone down on the bed when the image of what happened last night flashed into my head, bringing back the absolute horror I’d felt when I watched that player slam into Ryan’s back. The need to know if he was okay overrode the hurt I still felt.

I opened the message.

Caleb said he gave you the stuff. Think you’re gonna come to the game next week?

I wrote, deleted, and rewrote my response a dozen times before I was finally happy with what I had.

I’m sorry, but I can’t. Are you and Logan okay?

I’d considered not asking how they were doing even though it might’ve made me look like a bitch, but I couldn’t do it. No matter how angry I was at them, what happened at the game worried me.

I stared at the three dots as they appeared, disappeared, and then appeared again. It took nearly five minutes for him to get what he wanted to say, and at first, I assumed it was due to him trying to get the words right, something he’d always struggled with, but when I finally read what he sent, I wondered if it took him a while because it was just hard to write.

I got a bad bruise and it’s gonna hurt like hell but I just need to take it easy a day or two. Logan’s not so lucky. Busted his leg up bad. Blew his ACL and a bunch of other stuff. His career’s done. Doc says with work he’ll be able to walk okay. Maybe run a bit.

My hand went to my mouth, covering the pained sound I couldn’t help making. No matter how furious I was, I didn’t want this for Logan. Honestly, there were very few people in this world I’d ever wish to have their dreams be destroyed like that. Not trusting me didn’t put the guys on that list.

But it didn’t mean I could stomach the idea of meeting with them. Not yet. Maybe not ever. That wound was still too raw.

Will we see you after the game?

I dashed the tears from my cheeks with the heels of my hands and steeled myself to refuse again. This time, I decided on some brutal honesty.

It hurts too much .

Leaving my phone on my desk so I didn’t have to deal with more messages asking me to come see them, I gathered up my shower things and headed down to the showers. I passed a few people as I went, but kept my eyes straight ahead, not wanting to prompt anyone to talk to me, either about the guys, the game, or the giant stuffed panda. I breathed a sigh of relief when I reached the bathroom without having to stop, and I allowed myself the indulgence of a shower that was a little longer than usual, letting the heat ease the tension in my muscles and the white noise fill my head.

By the time I left the bathroom to go back to my room, I was more relaxed than I had been in a while—since before that last time I’d been with the guys when everything had fallen apart.

I was halfway down the hallway when I noticed a handful of people standing near my door. Still toweling off my hair, I approached the group and politely asked to be let through. When the people in front of me moved, I finally saw what had caused the group to gather.

Piled up in front of and next to my door was…well, a hell of a lot of stuff.

A basket with my apples-and-cinnamon scented shampoo, soap, and lotion.

Two unopened boxes with my name on the top.

A vase full of daisies.

Lots of chocolate.

A hardcover anniversary edition of The Princess Bride that the guys and I had talked about last month.

Heat flooded my face and I quickly slid my keycard through the electronic lock and went inside.

“I’m going to get this stuff in a minute,” I said to the people staring at me. Then I closed the door and took a minute to gather myself.

What the hell were they doing? I knew Logan had money from his parents, but I’d never cared about that. Except, as I quickly opened the door and pulled things inside just to get them away from prying eyes, I realized that the things they’d sent were personal. Reminders of how well they knew me.

Which still didn’t explain the giant stuffed panda.

Except…as I started finding places to put all those things, I realized that I did understand the panda. When we were in fourth grade, we went on a field trip to the Denver Zoo, and I was upset because we weren’t able to see pandas, so Logan took the money his parents gave him and bought me a large stuffed panda. Not as big as the one currently staring at me, but big enough to make an impression on everyone.

And I still had it.

When we had our falling out back then, a few things had been too precious for me to throw away, no matter how much it hurt to see them, and that panda had been one of them. Right now, it sat in a plastic tote in my childhood closet.

I pulled myself out of the past and focused on the things they’d given me now. Each one had a note with the same words.

We’re so sorry. We were so wrong.

What none of them said was what had changed their minds.

I supposed that what had happened to Logan and Ryan could’ve made them rethink their lives, but these weren’t “we might’ve been wrong and we should talk” notes. Every bit of communication from them made it sound like they now knew that I hadn’t slept with Jason.

The door opened and my shoulders slumped as Megan walked in. She hadn’t really been around much over the last couple weeks, which I appreciated, but I didn’t feel like dealing with her any more right now than I had before. But then I saw the expression she wore and it gave me pause.

She was pale, her face devoid of makeup and her hair looking like she’d barely brushed it. She wore sweats and a hoodie that had the sort of rumpled look that came with clothes having been slept in.

“Can we talk?”

I closed my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose. “I’m really not in the mood to go over everything that happened, okay? I don’t give a damn that you slept with Jason.”

“It’s not about that,” she said. “And I’m pretty sure you’re never going to forgive me for this.”

Opening my eyes, I saw an expression of such guilt that my stomach twisted ominously. “Sit and talk.”

She perched on the edge of her bed, waiting until I sat down in my desk chair and turned to face her.

“Jason told me that Logan, Ethan, and Ryan were responsible for getting him expelled and he needed to find the proof so he could get the decision reversed.”

I had a feeling I knew where this was going, but hoped I was wrong.

“I took the key to their apartment that they’d given you and had a copy made. I gave the key to Jason.” Megan sniffled as her eyes welled up with tears. “I swear I didn’t know what he was going to do until he told me yesterday. When we were watching the game and the guys got hurt, Jason was so happy, and I realized that only a really horrible person could be happy about something like that.”

“Yeah, Megan. And Jason’s a horrible person,” I said tightly. “He posted those pictures of me online. He lied about me sleeping with Dr. Isenberg. He lied about me stealing from him. He’s lied about everything he says he did in college.”

“I know,” she said quietly, not bothering to wipe away the tears that spilled down her cheeks. “I know all of that now because he told me. He thought I was so in love with him that I wouldn’t care. Actually, I think he thought I’d be impressed.”

“What do you want from me, Megan?” I asked, suddenly exhausted. “You want me to forgive you for helping Jason ruin the best thing that’s happened to me in a long time?”

She shook her head. “I don’t expect you to forgive me, but I’m trying to make things right. That’s why I went to the hospital this morning and told the guys about what Jason did.”

I looked over at the panda, suddenly understanding. They hadn’t come to the realization that I hadn’t cheated or lied. They “believed me” now because someone else had told them the truth.

“Okay, well, now everyone knows the truth,” I said. “Your job is done.”

“You should give them another chance,” she said. “The looks on their faces when they realized what’d happened…they were destroyed.”

“Now they know how I feel,” I said softly. “I can’t be with someone who needs proof to believe that I’m not a cheater or a liar.”

“Amelia—” she began.

“No,” I snapped. “Now, if you really want to do something for me, leave me alone.”