“I don’t know the details, man. I just know that it’s over between the both of you. And well, when you want to talk about it, I’m here. I just…hope you didn’t run her off.”
“Run her off?” I frown. “What do you mean?”
“Well, I wanted her to look at my shoulder yesterday and I didn’t see her. I didn’t see her today either. Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed?”
The truth is, I had noticed. But what I noticed was not her absence, but that she wasn’t affecting me as badly. I thought perhaps I was just handling it better. But if she hasn’t been here, that could explain it.
Luciano walks over to Mateo who is watching the assistants set up the poles we’re supposed to dart around.
“Hey Mateo,” Luciano says. “Where is Thalia? I haven’t seen her these last few days. Has she been sick?”
Mateo looks directly at me and his face grows remorseful. He gives me the kind of look that makes my stomach drop.
I go over to him, wishing that this didn’t matter so much to me, but of course anything to do with her is still going to concern me.
Mateo licks his lips, looking back at the team, some of whom are listening.
“Okay,” he says slowly, eyeing everyone. “I didn’t want to bring this up until after the game tomorrow…”
We’re all waiting for him to go on.
My stomach feels like it’s about to be filled with cement.
“Yeah and?” Luciano prompts. “Where is she?”
Mateo avoids my stare and looks directly at Luciano. “She doesn’t work here anymore. She quit.”
“What?” Luciano says, while everyone else on the team breaks out into chatter.
I can’t even believe my ears.
“What?” I repeat, feeling the disbelief rising in my chest, swirling with anger. “What are you talking about, she quit?”
“I’m sorry,” Mateo says, still avoiding looking at me. “But she’s gone.”
Avoiding my eyes for a reason, because he’s fucking guilty.
“No, you’re not sorry!” I yell at him, the words coming out like an eruption. “You’re not sorry at all. She quit? Because you made her quit!”
“I didn’t make her quit,” Mateo says through gritted teeth, his face going red and I should know better than to provoke him, but he should know better than to provoke me.
“You made this happen! This is your fault, Mateo!”
He shakes his head, eyes flashing. “Oh no. Don’t throw this in my face. This was your fault Alejo, your fucking fault that she’s gone!”
The team lets out a collective gasp but I don’t have any time to reflect on how rare it is to have Mateo get personal with a player like this.
I don’t even think at all.
I just react.
I come at him, winding up, punching him in an uppercut right to his jaw.
The explosion rocks my knuckles but as Mateo stumbles back a few feet, holding his jaw, I don’t feel any pain at all. I just feel this raw, vengeful, vindictive anger that has no place to go.
“Alejo!” Luciano is yelling and he’s coming for me, but I’m trying to move out of his way. I want Mateo to fight me back, I want to let this all out, everything I’ve been keeping inside, letting it fester away, rotting me.
“You made her quit!” I yell at Mateo, coming for him again.
He moves back away from me, still holding his jaw, his eyes burning dangerously, and before I can get another punch in, Luciano and Rene are holding me back, both their arms looped around mine, Luciano putting half his body in front of mine while an assistant coach gets in front of Mateo.
“You did this!” I’m yelling over Luciano, and I sound delusional but I don’t fucking care. “I loved her! I loved her and you made her choose between me and her job! You made her choose her job!”
Another gasp rolls amongst the team and even though they’re just a blur of heads to me, I know they’re staring at me with wide eyes. This would be the first they’ve heard of it.
“I didn’t make her choose her job,” Mateo seethes, rubbing at his jaw, wiggling it. His eyes bore into me, cutting deep. “She chose her job. She could have chosen you Alejo but she didn’t. She made the choice that was right for her.”
It’s like I was suckerpunched with a knife, right to the gut. If Luciano and Rene weren’t holding onto me, I’d be sinking to my knees. I cough, feeling like I’m bleeding dry in