Matchpoint

Chapter 53:

The moment the ball lands on the far side of the court, I stand from my seat and applaud. Holly played a spectacular game. Every shot she made was precise and focused.

"What a story you're off too, Holly, very impressive. How are you feeling playing at Wimbeldon for the first time?" A journalist asks. It's a weird feeling. The last time I sat in an interview room was with Dom. It feels wrong sitting here without him near me, without his eyes seeking me out in the crowd.

Even though Holly's game was an incredible watch, I still couldn't help but be distracted by the result of Dom's match. A win. But a salty one.

He won that last set in under an hour, the anger surging from within him. When he succeeded the winning point, I watched my parents rise from their seats, clapping as if they had any hand in getting Dom through that.

As for Dom, he looked over at them with such disgust before grabbing his things and storming out of the arena. No post game interview. No sighting of him. He simply disappeared.

And now I'm standing here listening to Holly laugh about how overjoyed she is to be here. Meanwhile, Dom's somewhere in the complex hiding from my parents.

God, it takes every bit of strength within me, not to leave this room in search of him.

But something snaps me from my daze. I feel a prickle of heat as I notice that all eyes have turned to me in the room.

Beside me, Jayce nudges my arm, and I quickly glance at him and the rest of the room.

"Apologies, I missed the question." I say softly, eyes meeting a concerned looking Holly who mouths a brief apology herself.

A journalist steps closer to me, holding her head high, "we asked Holly of her thoughts on the recent controversy with Mr Fraser and your parents, considering she's a member of the academy we thought she may have some insight. But Holly mentioned she was uncomfortable having this conversation, so we were wondering if you would comment."

I clear my throat, trying to bury the fire burning within me. "This is Holly's interview. Let's focus on her gameplay, shall we?"

The room simmers with weak protests. They don't like my response. They want drama. They want a story.

"We understand, Miss Dunn, but you have to admit that the circumstances your families academy is currently in is not looking very good. We're just trying to understand." The same lady asks. I appreciate her bravery to stick to the story, but it's a real bother when I'm just trying to get through the tournament.

With a huff, I prepare myself to shut this conversation down. "This is Wimbeldon," I begin, "It's a prestigious tournament, so let's keep things respectful."

That shuts the girl up, and behind her, I see a beaming Holly, clearly proud of the attitude I've learnt from her.

There's a low clap that echoes in the room, and slowly, the journalist turns in retreat.

The thing is, I wish I had more insight. I wish I could get close enough to Dom to pick his brain and see where he's at. I wish so many things, but most of all, I wish for us to reunite.

I went twenty-one years without him before we met, and now it's been only a month, and I'm already falling to pieces.

♤♤♤

I leave the interview early and alone. I don't have the energy to be photographed or spoken to.

And though I believe I've avoided it, it's sadly a delusional trap I've fallen into.

"Miss Dunn?" Her voice echoes down the hall, following me as I attempt to speak up my pace. "Clove?"

With a huff, I turn to face the brave journalist. Her eyebrows are knitted, arms folded over her chest as she shuffles closer to me.