Quarterback Keeper (Fall Lake Ballers #1)

Chapter Twenty-Nine

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

KYLIAN

I t was my first night back in my condo after recovering at Mom’s for a month, and already, the guys were shooting me wary glances.

“Join us.” Ares waved me over from where he and Liam sat in the living room.

After standing on the sidelines and holding a clipboard at practice, I’d stayed late to watch film and review a few findings about the opposing team with Coach. It was dark outside, and my stomach was trying to eat itself as I stood in the doorway to my room, having dropped my bag on the bed. “Sounds serious.”

They waited until I sat on one of the club chairs before pouncing on a reoccurring topic since they’d heard that Aurora had returned my ring.

“I know what she did about the ring sucks. Trust me, we’re team Kylian. But… we’re also team Aurora. She’s good for you, man, and I’m sorry if this comes across as harsh?—”

“You need a wake-up call,” Liam said.

Ares leaned forward, his mouth pulled in a disapproving slash. “We saw the way she looked at you, and that’s not all. She went to your mom’s and helped her—a lot.”

“It’s time to get over your hurt feelings and look at the bigger picture. So fucking what if she lied to you?” Liam huffed. “And before you say it, we know giving back the ring was shitty, but have you maybe thought someone else was making her? Or that it was based on guilt? You gotta get over the anger.”

I got dumped by the woman I loved and thought I would lose my future career at the same time. It had been a lot to process. Depression had hit me hard. “I’m not mad at her. Not anymore.” I ran my hands through my hair, wanting to push the guilt as far away as possible, but my roommates wouldn’t let me. Goddammit, I missed her. I missed seeing her smile, the way she smelled, how we argued about football—which team was better—and how she’d slowly begun to trust me. That was the best gift she could’ve given me, and I’d gone and fucked it up by agreeing to see Melanie. I knew it, but I’d become a machine trying to get well and stave off the depression of what I’d almost lost for my future and Mom’s. It had clouded what my endgame was. Not football, not really. It was Aurora.

“If she was reacting out of guilt, talk to her. If your dad got to her and threatened her directly, then do something about him. Blackmail him for a change. Something,” Liam snapped. “You’ve had six weeks to fix things with her, and you haven’t done a goddammed thing.”

“She hasn’t come around. She’s done with me.” Ever since she returned my ring, I hadn’t heard a word from her, more proof that she meant it when she said she didn’t care for me. It left an impression, and it had taken all I had to accept that fact.

“Can you blame her for running? It’s what she does, right?” Ares’s voice lacked heat, but that didn’t stop his words from hitting home. “And if your dad did something… you know how ruthless he is. You gotta find out and fight for her.”

I closed my eyes, for once, listening to what my roommates were saying. It wasn’t as if I hadn’t wondered the same thing. But throwing myself into recovery had been easier than picking at the raw wound after she dropped me, looking for a reason why.

“You need to snap out of it. Live again,” Liam said. “Football can’t be the only thing you let yourself care about in life. And it wasn’t taken away, not fully. Besides, the asshole who fucked you up is the one to blame, not Aurora.”

“Why do you care? You never date the same girl twice. Or not anymore.” I could understand Ares being mad at me. But Liam? I didn’t get it.

“First of all, don’t go there. This intervention isn’t about me.” Liam’s mouth twitched. “Second, she cooked for us. I want her back.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” I ran my hand over my mouth, struggling for words.

Ares cracked Liam in the back of the head. “She’s not your live-in chef.”

“I know.” Liam shoved Ares’s hand away. “But I liked her. And she was good for you.” A wide smile stretched his mouth. “And the food was a bonus.”

“Look”—Ares kicked his feet up on the coffee table—“we’re concerned because you haven’t reached out to Aurora to find out if she’s okay. What if that fucker isn’t dead? Have you considered that?”

I had to breathe slowly through my nose, fighting blind panic at the thought of that asshole laying a hand on her. “The detective promised he had cops watching the boat, where she’s still staying. Mom’s dropped off groceries and checked on her a few times. And they have DNA. They think he’s dead.”

“Why the hell is your mom doing what you should be?” Ares shouted.

“Because I’m doing my goddammed best to get my life in order. Do you think it’s easy to recover and return to the game despite the odds against me? Or helping Calvin Fucking Matthews be better while he’s in my spot, leading my team? Or being dumped by the girl I…” I couldn’t finish that statement. It hurt too much. “She doesn’t want me in her life. She made that clear the day she returned the ring to me.”

“We know, man.” Liam sighed. “It’s bullshit. All of it. As for the football, Calvin is not you, and he’ll never be, even with all the coaching in the world. You’ll be back at QB1 at the start of next year, then it’s on to the pros.”

“You know we’ll help you with whatever you need,” Ares said. “Being captain of the team and trying to help Calvin be better is a tough spot, not to mention the hurdles you’re overcoming post-surgery. Say the word, and we’ll step in and smack that dumbass Calvin around. He’s a useless waste of your time. No matter what you tell him to change to improve, he just doesn’t listen. He’s got too big of an ego.”

“Seriously.” Liam absentmindedly rubbed the scar on his left cheekbone he’d gotten from a fight freshman year with Maverick Davis, a hockey player who happened to be Calvin’s cousin. “I wouldn’t mind going toe-to-toe with Calvin, and maybe Mav will jump in again and defend his worthless cousin so I can have another shot at him.”

“No fights.” I felt a headache brewing.

“Or none that campus security can get word of,” Liam amended.

Ares grunted. “We’re getting off track. What’re you gonna do about Aurora? Because you need to do something. Ignoring what happened or what you guys had won’t help either of you.”

“I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but please, just stay out of it.” I stood, went into my room, and slammed the door behind me.

Thoughts of Aurora swam behind my eyes. Her laugh, that gorgeous smile, when she finally trusted me and leaned into me rather than away as if something startled her. Her generosity with Mom.

I leaned against the door, and my head thumped against it. Were they right? Did she break up with me because of guilt from what her ex did? Did my dad get involved and scare her away? Or did she show her true colors once she thought I could no longer play football?