So Much More (Book One in the Enough Series)

22. New Phone

Reed

I drove the long way to the apartment, dreading the questions from the guys and the possibility even that Nick may be there. I should be on cloud nine, but losing Eden outweighed any of the good from today. When I pulled into our lot, I didn't see Nick's car anywhere; at least there was that. The sigh of relief was short-lived as soon as I opened the door and Bennett stood at the counter.

"Where is she?" He asked with a smile.

"She didn't want to see me."

"What? Seriously?" He followed me to my bedroom.

"I lied to her, Ben; she hates me, I'm sure. I talked to her best friend's boyfriend, Tate. He seems like a nice guy; he said to just give her some time."

"Nick came by looking for you." He shared as he sat in my desk chair.

"What the fuck for?" I growled. "I'm glad I missed that; I can't say I wouldn't deck him at this point. I have a strong feeling that he has something to do with everything that happened today."

"He didn't say; Hugh came in, and they got talking and left to go out somewhere." Bennett shrugged. "I'm about to crash, exhausted from today, and Coach wants us there first thing in the morning."

"Yeah, I'm pretty drained myself."

Bennett left me alone; I stripped down and crawled into my messy bed. I laid flat on my back, hand on my stomach, staring up at the ceiling. I could see Eden's face, smile, eyes, and laugh. Being with her was the most comfortable I ever felt other than back home. Talking to her was incredibly easy, yet I could not talk to her about the most important thing.

I turned onto my side and imagined what it would be like to turn over in bed and see her lying there. Those perfect blue eyes would be sparkling in the dark of the room; how amazing it would be to hold her close to me as we both fell asleep. Thoughts I'd never had about anyone before now, and now that I did, my heart was hurting, thinking that there was a chance I would never get to experience it.

*

I barely made it through Sunday; we had a brief team meeting, a workout regime, and went over some plays and a scrimmage. We had one more home game before heading off on a three-day away stretch. That stretch would have us gone for nearly a week, and I was already dreading it. On Monday, I skipped the team meeting to be at the cell phone shop the minute it opened. It took a bit to get everything set up, but the sales girl was amazing. She used her wizard tech ways to retrieve most of the information for my phone. Most importantly, Eden's number.

I rushed from the shop over to the workout facility, joining the rest of my teammates. My new, stupid, expensive phone was locked safely in my locker; I joined Bennett near the treadmills.

"Call her?" He smirked.

"Not yet; I had to get here. The second I'm done, though, I'm at least texting. I have to check on my Dad too."

Just like I said, I sat on the bench in the locker room and immediately opened a text to Eden. I paused, though, not knowing what to start with her. Should I just say Hi? Should I ask her how she is if she's mad at me? Would she even respond?

I'm trying to give you space. I want to explain, though. When you're ready to hear it, I'll be here. I miss you.

I read and re-read it several times before closing my eyes and pushing send. I wanted her to know I wasn't going anywhere. I would respect that she needed some time, as Tate said, but I would be here and ready to go at the drop of a hat when Eden was ready to hear my explanation of everything. I stared at my phone for a few minutes waiting to see if Eden had received the message. Finally, just as I was about to put my phone away, the little check appeared, and she had read the text. My heart felt lighter just knowing she had read my words.

*

"Hey Marie, how's Dad?" I asked my Step Mother on my drive home.

"He's doing good. He's settled in here, mostly behaving himself." She laughed. "The home nurse just left, so he's resting. You want to speak to him?"

"Sure."

"Hey, kiddo." Dad's voice was a little gravelly.

"Not been a kiddo in a while, Dad." I chuckled. "How ya doing? Feeling ok?"

"I'm good. Nothing I can't handle. I've got all these ladies taking care of me; I feel like a King."

"What, ladies?"

"Marie, your sisters, even your Mother, have checked in. Then, of course, the home nurse they send out." He laughed.

"Sounds like you've got it made. Sorry I missed a few days of checking in. I broke my phone and had to wait to get a replacement." I explained.

"You're busy; we get it. No worries. We did get to watch the game the other day. You were amazing as usual."

"Eh, I just did my best. Of course, coach wasn't pleased with the yellow card."

"Yea, that was pretty ugly. I'm surprised at you; you usually keep a clean game." He commented. It felt good talking soccer with my Dad again, knowing he had watched me. I felt like a kid again. I suppose I was still his kiddo.

"It was a rough day." I tried to dismiss the situation.

"Yea? Something going on with your lady friend?"

"Lady friend? What the hell, Dad?" I groaned as I pulled into the parking space. I sat, wanting to finish my conversation before heading in.

"Your sisters said you have a girlfriend or a girl you want to be your girlfriend. They talk so darn fast I could only catch some of it."

"Just ignore them." I huffed.

"Sounds like they might be on to something." He teased.

"There's a girl; she's pretty amazing," I sighed. "Right now, I messed up," I spoke quietly, not wanting to say the words aloud.

"Well, now you fix it. Say you're sorry, show her you're sorry, and work through it." Dad added matter of factly.

"It's not that easy." I leaned my head back against the seat's headrest. I took a deep breath and decided to confide in him, tell him all the dirty details. I made sure to leave out the part about our steamy time in her apartment. "What? No advice now?" I joked.

"Same advice. Fix it. Explain yourself, let her know you're sorry you messed up, and then show her you're sorry and you want to keep going with the relationship; I assume that's what you want."

"Yes, of course."

"Good. I'm glad you've finally found someone."

"I've gotta go, Dad. I'm at the apartment and need to get up and take care of some things." I interrupted, not wanting to get into any mushy talk.

"Alright, good luck." He sang.

"I'll check in soon."

"Reed?"

"Yea, Dad?"

"I love you, son."

"I love you too, Dad."