On The Rebound (Steinbeck U #1) - L.A. Cotton Page 0,85
bitch. She knew exactly how to hit me where it would hurt most, and I hated that more than anything. I hated that she saw me enough to know the truth.
Going over to the cabinet, almost ripping the door of its hinges, I grabbed a bottle of vodka and knocked down a couple of mouthfuls. Is that what people thought—that I was here because I wanted to be Declan? Because they thought I wanted to follow in his footsteps?
Who was I kidding? Of course that’s what they fucking thought. That or they really didn’t give a shit so long as I got the job done and led them all the way to the championship.
She was right, they didn’t want me. They wanted my name, my skill on the court. They wanted me because basketball was in my blood.
No matter how much I wished it wasn’t.
I woke confused. There was a kink in my neck and a fucking bass drum in my skull.
“What the—”
A loud knock at the door perforated the haze surrounding my thoughts.
“Just a minute.” Pulling myself up, I took in my apartment. I was on the couch, a bottle of vodka beside me.
Shit. I may have overdone it given the fact it had been three parts full and now it was empty.
The knocking continued, drilling through me. “Yeah, yeah, give me a second.” Testing the waters, I stood up. My stomach churned as I moved sluggishly across my apartment. I opened the door to be met with Brad’s concerned expression.
“You missed conditioning.”
“I was—”
“What the fuck is that smell?” He leaned in and gagged. “Jesus, how much did you drink?”
“Lower your fucking voice, my head is pounding.”
“I’m not surprised.” He clapped me on the shoulder before slipping around me and into my apartment. “So this is where the Messiah lives.”
“Did you want something, or did you just come here to torture me?”
“Coach Baxter stopped by the gym, saw you weren’t there and got concerned.”
“So he sent you.”
“Actually, he called you a bunch of times. But—”
“My cell is dead.” I vaguely remembered it powering off last night somewhere between the third and fourth glass of vodka.
“You should go brush your teeth or something.”
I flipped him off before padding into the bathroom. The motion along with the overpowering taste of mint made me want to puke, but I managed to keep my stomach contents on the inside. Teeth done, I quickly washed my face and hands, before going back into the living room.
“Want to talk about it?”
“What the fuck are you doing?” I snapped, watching Brad as he rooted around my refrigerator.
“You need one of my epic hangover cures. I call it hair of the egg.”
“I am not drinking that shit.” My brows furrowed as he began pulling out eggs and spinach.
“It’ll fix you right up.”
“You can make me an omelet instead.” Not that I could stomach food yet. “Was Coach pissed?”
“Not so much pissed as he was worried. You never miss a session. And given the way you and Callum went at each other the other night… Everyone is feeling the tension, man.”
“You heard what he said.”
“I did, and it sucks. But Callum is working through a lot of stuff right now. Would it really hurt to cut the guy some slack?” My eyes narrowed and Brad let out a heavy sigh. “Forget I said anything. So how did community service go?” He gave up his smoothie mission and grabbed a pan adding a little oil.
“I was joking about the omelet.”
“It’s not for you.” A smirk played on his lips.
Cheeky motherfucker.
Grabbing a bottle of water from the refrigerator, I sat down at the breakfast counter. “It was surprising actually.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Calli was there.”
“No shit.” He gawked at me. “That’s some bad fucking luck, man.” I didn’t answer and he frowned. “Isn’t it?”
“I don’t know...”
“Wait a minute, you’re not seriously thinking about—”
“I’m not having this conversation with you.”
“She’s already got your head messed up. Don’t let her get under your skin any more than she already has, Messiah. It’s only asking for trouble.”
“Like you banging Josie isn’t?” My brow lifted and he gulped. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”
“The difference is though, everyone’s not watching my every move.”
I flipped him off before running a hand down my face, muffling a groan. “Why did you come around again?”
“Because you need a friend, and I’m it.”
“Lucky for me.”
“Lucky for you indeed.” Brad grinned like a fool, beating the eggs in a dish and adding them to the pan.