Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 80197 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 401(@200wpm)___ 321(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80197 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 401(@200wpm)___ 321(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
Dressed in a black sweater, black leggings, and black chunky boots, I stride out into the afternoon. The wind whips my hair, but I don't bother trying to smooth it. Nothing superficial matters. I already feel as though I'm in mourning for what Travis and I have started to mean to each other and all the days, weeks, and months that we could have shared. I'm in mourning for the man Travis was becoming and desolate to see him return to the closed-off person he was when he returned from Germany. It's like witnessing a butterfly fold its wings and curl back up inside its chrysalis.
Elias is the first to leave the locker room, with Dornan close behind. Their smiles are wide and welcoming, but they must see my dark expression.
"What is it?" Elias stops in front of me and drops his bag to the floor. I collapse into his embrace, sobbing as all the pent-up worry overspills the moment that I'm close to him.
"Travis is leaving."
"What?" Dornan's voice is a confused boom, and he tips my chin, forcing me to look at him. "Why?"
"His ex-girlfriend says she's pregnant with his child. She told him he has to go back to Germany now, or he'll never get to see his kid."
Elias stiffens against me. "What the fuck?"
"She's horrible. A terrible, toxic person. And he's considering it. He's really considering it."
"Does he believe it's his kid?" Dornan tucks loose strands of my mussed hair behind my ear. He stoops to hear my raspy reply.
"He doesn't know. He says he always used condoms, but they're not one hundred percent reliable. She cheated on him, but she says the other guy had a vasectomy and used condoms, so there's almost no chance it's his."
"That sounds shady as fuck."
I release Elias and do my best to wipe my eyes without smudging my makeup. I feel like a mess of frayed emotions. Everything I want is slipping through my fingers like sand. "It does, but Travis's mom told him he needs to go, just in case it is his baby. She thinks he'll struggle to get access to see the child if he doesn't."
Dornan cups the back of his neck with his big hand and stretches back. "She might be right, but this is fucked up. He's just got himself settled here."
"I know. And she's such a bad person. She gave me the creeps."
Elias shakes his head, and by his sides, his hands flex into fists. There's no fight here. Not a real one, anyway, but he's ready for one on Travis's behalf.
"He shouldn't go. This sounds like the desperate grasp of a toxic woman."
"He can't risk it." Dornan sounds genuinely pained. "His mom's right. When it comes to kids, everything else goes out the window. If she's as bad as you say, he can't risk his child being left in the sole custody of a malicious woman like that."
"I don't want to lose him," I admit in the smallest, weakest, most pathetic voice.
This time, Dornan embraces me, and I sob against his warm, fresh-smelling shirt.
A rumble of laughter spills from the locker room behind us, and Eddie's voice rings out. "There she is. College girl enjoys getting fucked by the team."
I pull back from Dornan, but I don't want to look in Eddie's direction. He's the kind of pathetic loser who'd assume I was still upset over him, and I'm not about to reveal anything about Travis to make him understand it isn't true.
"Shut the fuck up, Eddie." The menace in Elias's voice should chill the heart of any man, but Eddie isn't a normal person. It's suddenly clear to me just how much he reminds me of Lina. They have the same air of superiority and the same expectation of control. They even have the same kind of self-satisfied smirk that makes the hair rise over my scalp like some kind of primitive danger warning signal.
"What? Am I not speaking the truth?" A couple of his friends laugh but hang back so that if Elias and Dornan lose their shit, then they're not the ones in the firing line.
Elias takes a threatening step forward so abruptly that Eddie jerks back in response. When he realizes that he's made himself look like a frightened coward, he puffs out his chest. "I told you she's not worth it. You'll see just how worthless she is."
It's a weird threat like he's anticipating something happening in the future. Dornan takes two steps forward with the same speed as Elias, and Eddie backs off again. This time, he walks away, trying to find some swagger.
"Ignore everything that fuckwad said." Elias stares after him with menace darkening his already shadowed eyes.
"Everything," Dornan reiterates.
In my pocket, my phone begins to ring and vibrate. I pull it out, finding Ellie's name flashing across my screen. When I answer, she says my name in a panicked voice. "Celine. Have you seen it?"