Match Point (ASOUE)

Chapter Two

Violet caught the look on my face. "Oh, did I not mention Klaus would be coming? Coach Poe messed up both of our accommodations. When I said we could stay with you guys until we get something sorted out, I thought he was going to go into cardiac arrest."

I didn't remember her saying that but it was possible I could've misheard. Either way it was a shock that I couldn't really do anything about. It sounded as though they wouldn't be here for long, the length of the US open at the very most if things didn't get sorted out, and it wouldn't kill me to just suck it up. I would be at the courts most days training, then in the evenings I could find places to be, out of the way. It would be fine.

I glanced at Klaus, who had brought his last bag in and was shutting the door. He definitely didn't come across as phased as I was about the whole thing.

"It's fine," I said to Violet, giving her a smile. Because what else could I do?

The rest of the evening was a blur of awkwardness. Our food came and we ate in the dining room, Violet and Quigley carrying the conversation while Klaus and I stayed mostly quiet unless we were directly addressed. It was frustrating, really. When we were on tour it was always fun to hang out with my brother. And when he and Violet got together, the three of us would always spend time together, me tagging along as a third wheel but feeling ultimately comfortable and included. With Klaus here, the dynamic was instantly different. And it wasn't helped by the fact he wouldn't even look at me. We were sat opposite each other and yet he kept his eyes firmly on his plate or the table or on Quigley beside me whenever he was talking. It wasn't that I particularly wanted his attention, it just felt bizarre to be ignored by someone who was a guest. An uninvited guest, in my books.

Then, after dinner, Quigley went back to the idea of us playing a board game, but Klaus quickly shut it down saying he needed an early night because of his upcoming match tomorrow. Being we had expected our accommodation to just hold Quigley and I, we didn't have a spare bedroom. And while Violet could just stay with my brother, the only option for Klaus was the pull out sofa bed.

With no room to argue, Quigley dropped the idea of the board game and we all had to retire for the night, to let Klaus have the living room. And while I hadn't wanted to play a board game anyway, my frustrations only grew.

I lay awake in bed, just staring at the ceiling. It was so strange how seeing someone from your past could bring back so many memories.

With Violet, it was different. We had played against each other a couple times when we were kids, but she was ultimately at a higher level than me. After she kicked my ass a few times, we weren't pitted against each other anymore. Our coaches had the idea that once I improved, once I could actually give her a challenge, we could play each other again. By the time that actually came to fruition, I had moved training centres and our coaches were no longer on speaking terms. Since then, we had played each other twice- once at the French open and once at Wimbledon when we were juniors, with me winning the former and her winning the latter.

There had never been any bad blood between us, and when she got into playing doubles and our coaches mended their feud, I was more than pleased to see her matched up with Quigley. They were a great team.

Klaus was completely different. Seeing him had dredged up all sorts of bad memories. And to add salt to the wound, he seemed completely normal- completely unaffected by the inner turmoil I was currently experiencing. We hadn't seen each other in years so it was possible he had forgotten. But surely he couldn't have blocked out that part of his life so thoroughly that he couldn't even recall how he had ruined mine. I had almost quit tennis because of him. And now I couldn't even shove it in his face that I was a successful tennis player because he'd somehow come back the second I'd failed.