Ship to Wreck

27

Lorenzo closed the door on his sobbing friend, his heart breaking for the man. He had never seen a grown man so... heartbroken. He was heartbroken.

Lorenzo went to his teammate's hotel room and sighed when he heard the soft sobs coming from within. It was such a fucked up situation that his friend had gotten himself into. So many people getting hurt.

Lorenzo gently knocked on the door, fairly quickly being met with the distraught green eyes of Athena.

"Oh... Hi Lorenzo," Athena whispered and looked down, obviously disappointed. He didn't know if she was hoping for Gio or for Christian, but he did know that it wasn't him.

"I think we need to talk, Athena," Lorenzo said kindly, giving the woman a small smile. He was sympathetic, of course. He knew that the situation was hard for her, too, especially with the baby.

But he needed to defend his friend.

Athena nodded and let Lorenzo in, sitting cross-legged on the bed and just running her hands over her belly. "Is Christian okay?" Athena questioned, knowing that Lorenzo was who Christian went to in times of emotional need.

"No, Athena. He isn't," Lorenzo said softly, sitting next to her and placing a hand on her knee. "He's currently on my bed, sobbing and incoherent... can you help me understand what happened?"

Athena sighed and nodded a bit, wiping her eyes. "I... I told Christian that I only wanted him," she said softly then sniffled. "I came down here with you guys to show him that I was serious. That I meant it when I said it was only him."

"I'm confused, Athena. Those sound like things that would make him so happy. Why did he say you would've slept with Gio?" he asked gently, knowing that there was a lot to unpack here.

"Because I would've. He was out getting us dinner... Getting us what I asked for," Athena said shakily, gulping thickly. "And Gio came to talk. And that's what we did... until he kissed me and I kissed him back. I kissed Gio back. I cheated on Christian. And I... I don't think I would've stopped at a kiss had Christian not come back," she revealed, tears now flowing down her cheeks.

Lorenzo gently rubbed her back and waited for her to calm down before he responded; he knew better than to rile her up. Better than to stress her out even more.

"I'm going to say something, okay? And you likely don't want to hear it. But it needs to be said," Lorenzo started, gently taking her hand.

He waited for Athena's nod before continuing, looking her in the eyes.

"You need to choose. And neither choice would be wrong, Athena. But you need to make one. You're stringing along two wonderful men, and I know that it isn't out of malice. I know," he said carefully, squeezing her hand. "Gio has been here before. He knows how to be in love. He knows how to give you what you need."

Athena frowned and looked at Lorenzo, expecting him to vouch for Christian. She was shocked when his support was for Gio.

"But," Lorenzo amended, sensing what she was thinking. "Christian loves you more deeply than I have ever seen someone love another. And that means a lot. More than experience, Athena. This is the first time he has ever been in love, did you know that? The first real conversation him and I had told me a lot. The biggest of which is that he doesn't feel often. He has a hard time showing emotion... so the fact that he has been so open with you shows how much he trusts you. How deeply he loves you," Lorenzo articulated. He wanted to be fair to her, and he wanted to be kind.

But his friend deserved better.

"What do you mean the first time he's ever been in love? He could have anyone he wanted..." Athena frowned, her heart shattering even more. Did she ruin love for such an amazing person?