Page 33 of Rain Delay

That snapped something in me. I laughed, but it was harsh and hollow. “Absolutely not. You think I want to be hard on myself?” I threw my arms up. “Every little fucking thing I do is monitored. One wrong move, and I’m not only fucking up my own reputation, but I’m also creating a negative image for the team I play for.”

Her expression flickers, just for a heartbeat before she masks it with something I couldn’t quite translate. “It’s always about you, isn’t it?”

“I mean, you were hired to make content about me, so I’d say it is about me, yeah.”

Eliana rolls her eyes, scoffing out a laugh. “You’re unbelievable, Wyatt.”

I shrug her comment off. “Did I lie?”

“This conversation is over. Talk to me when you want to actually act like a fucking adult,” she says as she tries to shut the door in my face.

I put my hand out, stopping her from doing so. “We’re not done talking about this.”

“I’m done speaking to you about this. We can talk when you want to act your fucking age and not argue with me like an immature dick.”

I push the door open more and walk inside her room, shutting the door behind me.

“What’s gotten into you lately? You’ve been acting like an asshole.” She sits down on her bed.

I scoff, shaking my head at her. “Me? Let’s talk about who’s living in whose house right now.”

“I already told you, Wyatt, I didn’t ask to live with you. I would’ve picked any other place. I think you need to do a little reflecting in the mirror.”

I drop my hands to my sides, clenching my fists as I start to pace the room. “Reflecting? The feeling is the same,” I scoffed. “If I had known it was you living with me? I would’ve asked for someone else. I don’t need my past resurfacing and fucking with what I’m creating for myself.”

Her arms fold over her stomach as she bends slightly forward, then stands straight up. “You’ve been getting angrier at the plate, you’ve had an attitude with me, and I don’t think I deserve that. This isn’t the Wyatt I know.”

“That Wyatt doesn’t exist anymore.”

She’s shaking her head. “Why?”

“Why? Because I don’t know that Wyatt. I don’t want to be that version of me. The Wyatt you knew wasn’t enough.”

“So you just switch up and become this completely different person that no one knows anymore?” She hugs her arms around herself. “Do you ever think about how I feel about everything? Do you ever think about how I felt walking into your house and seeing that you had gotten everything you wanted without me in the picture?”

I take a deep breath, leaning back against the wall. As angry as I am, it all falls back into this deep sense of sadness. “I gave you the option to leave.”

“I am not a quitter, Wyatt. I won’t give up like that. I don’t just walk away from something because I have a small inkling that it might not work out. I actually like to work through my problems.” She tells me, an obvious dig at me.

I deserve every single jab she wants to throw at me.

“What do you want from me, Eliana?” I ask, sitting down on the couch across from the bed. “Tell me, and I’ll be out of your hair.”

“I don’t know what I want,” she admits, her voice cracking a little bit. “I…I’m sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing?” I ask.

“I am the reason this is all going to shit. Just like how it was five years ago. It’s clear as day that the game is your life. You…” She took a deep breath. “I think you should go.”

“Ellie, I…”

“I don’t want to talk about this anymore, Wyatt. Please leave,” she murmurs, unable to look me in the eye.

I stand up, looking at her for a second before I just nod and head out of her hotel room.

I stood outside of her room for a beat, realizing what I had just done. If that didn’t fuck everything up, I don’t know what the hell would.

I walked back to my hotel room, trying to calm myself down while trying to gather my emotions together.