Everything with you

Part 74

Justin

The faint gray light of dawn spilled through the blinds when my eyes blinked open. The alarm hadn't gone off yet, but my body was wired to wake before it ever had the chance. I turned my head, the glowing red digits on the clock reading 5:45 AM. Fifteen minutes before I had to move.

Emma was still curled into me, her head pressed against my chest, one hand tucked around my waist like she was afraid I'd slip away in the night. Her breathing was steady, deep—peaceful in a way she hadn't been for weeks. The meds knocked her out fast last night, and she hadn't stirred once.

I let out a long, slow sigh and tightened my arm around her carefully, afraid to pull her too close, afraid of hurting her still-healing body. Afraid of so much more.

Because in two weeks, I'd be gone.

I stared up at the ceiling, my chest heavy. How the hell was I supposed to tell her? She'd just gotten out of the hospital, just started feeling normal again. She needed me here. But I couldn't stay. Not when Henry might have his men out there, watching, waiting. He was locked away in a white-collar prison, sure—but the kind of men he kept around? They didn't care about cells and sentences. They cared about orders.

The thought of Emma in danger while I was across the country... it twisted my stomach.

The alarm blared, snapping me out of it. I grunted, hitting it off before it could wake her. Leaning down, I pressed a kiss to her forehead. She didn't stir.

"Sorry, Em," I whispered, sliding carefully out from beneath her. She shifted only slightly, her hand falling onto the sheets where I'd been.

I dressed quickly, grabbing my gear and heading downstairs. Nate was already there, leaning against the counter in his practice gear, tossing a protein bar back and forth between his hands.

"You're late," he teased.

"Shut up," I muttered, grabbing my duffel.

We stepped outside into the cool morning air, the Mustang waiting in the drive. I was halfway to unlocking it when Nate spoke up.

"You told her yet?"

I froze, my hand still on the handle. "Told her what?" I asked flatly, though we both knew what he meant.

"That we're leaving in two weeks."

I didn't answer right away, jaw tight. Finally, I shook my head. "Not yet."

Nate gave me a look, his easygoing smirk nowhere in sight. "You better tell her quick, man. Don't blindside her. She's taken this whole step thinking you'd be with her."

"I know," I said sharply, then forced my voice lower. "I know."

He didn't push after that, just slid into the passenger seat, leaving me to stew in my thoughts all the way to practice.

The week blurred together in a mix of drills, scrimmages, and study sessions. Coaches hovered, trainers checked in, professors bent over backward to give us what we needed. We were treated like royalty—like every move we made was supposed to prove something about the team's future.

And still, through all the chaos, the only thing on my mind was Emma.

But she was just as busy, catching up on classes, buried under books and notes. Every time I saw her, she had that determined look in her eye—the one that made me both proud and scared. We barely spoke outside of meals, even though we were under the same roof.

Tomorrow was her last exam for the semester. Tomorrow she'd finally breathe. And tomorrow I'd have to do the thing I'd been dreading all week.

Tell her I was leaving.