Love and Basketball (Lauren/You)

Chapter 13

Y/N'S POV

In my dissatisfaction, I failed to continue keeping up with what Lauren was doing the next couple of weeks. I tried not to go on social media, and I even went so far as to miss several chances to text her because I was still trying to wrap my head around the situation. It had been almost two months since she had left and there was little to no communication between us anymore. I could have been considered an asshole by not replying to her texts but there sometimes weren't even texts to reply to. Lauren had stopped trying to communicate just as much as I had, and I didn't know where that left us anymore. Were we still together? I wasn't sure but I couldn't let that affect me just now; I had the season to worry about. Practice had taken up all the time traveling and games didn't.

I forced myself to keep my head down and play the only game I knew how to, and I had to admit that I was likely playing the best basketball I was capable of in a long time. I knew with the rise in amount of coverage I was getting with paparazzi and all that, other people were recognizing the fact too. Chicago had been buzzing about a possible title and I couldn't agree more; our team was climbing in stats so far that we were almost untouchable. We could easily tell since our coach was pushing us harder and harder every practice, but that earned more respect from me more than anything. If a team couldn't run plays or even get down the court, there's no way they would be able to win games and that was that. We had to earn our keep and that's what we were proving with each game.

The girls and I could feel it after every practice; how much closer we were getting to a championship title. We emerged into the locker room after another successful practice where pretty much everyone was left tired and ready to head home. We took our respected turns in the showers and slowly filed out of the locker room. I dressed in my pair of ripped jeans, a black shirt, and a gray zip-up sweatshirt before sliding my shoes on. I got myself ready to head home after grabbing my bag and packing the necessities where we would return to practice again tomorrow. I just needed mostly my keys to get home since everything would be where I left it in the morning. I liked to show up early to get some extra shots in before practices so I was usually the first in the locker room. Not to say that any of the girls fucked with each other's shit out of spite. We were all pretty close.

I slung my duffel bag over my shoulder to head home, bidding my goodbye's over my shoulder to the remaining couple of girls still finishing cleaning themselves up. I lifted my hoodie up to rest over the top of my head so I wouldn't be so easily recognized to anyone walking by. I just wanted to go home and rest my aching body so that I could be ready for tomorrow; as we had another game after practice tomorrow. I needed as much rest and practice as I could because I was hoping to earn an MVP reward on the side of a championship. It was the one thing I had dreamed of ever since I was little, and I wanted to make sure I had the best chance possible to prove myself no matter what else was going on in my life outside of basketball. As much as I loved Lauren, that situation was one I couldn't be worrying about right now.

The cold December air in Chicago sent a chill down my spine and I wished I had brought an extra jacket with me. I shoved my arms closer to my body in hopes of warming myself up but I was only walking a little ways further to the bus stop. In my time here, I hadn't found the need to purchase a car yet since I had found a bus route that took me to and from the places I needed to go to. If I needed to go anywhere special, a friend on the team would offer to take me but other than that, we were traveling so much and gone to different places so there was never a dire need for my own transportation. Thankfully, there were no people to ask for autographs or anything of the sort out on the street. Don't get me wrong, I loved interacting with fans but sometimes it was too much for me and I just wanted to rest.

I let out a sigh now that I was only about a block away from the bus stop that would take me to my house but my sigh was cut short by a grunt when I felt a body run into my own. I felt myself fall backwards onto my back with a dull thud from the concrete underneath me. Before I could even react, I felt the collar of my jacket being gripped as my whole body was lifted off the ground, a familiar face right in front of my own. "How great to hear! I'm going to be a grandfather soon." Greg's wicked smile burnt its way into my memory where he forced himself into my personal space with the smell of alcohol on his breath. I struggled against him but he held onto my clothes with an ironlike grip. I was still shocked to see that he was here, but before I could say anything, I was cut off in my tracks.