My League - Drew Starkey

chapter sixteen.

DREW'S POV

Mal was leaving Barbados tomorrow morning and I wanted to make her last full day here as fun and special as possible. Though I still didn't have a clue of what happened at the bar last night and what made her want to leave early, I was determined to make sure she enjoyed the rest of her time here.

When we got back to my place last night, I was hoping she would tell me what happened, but she continued to tell me that she didn't want to talk about it. I felt bad, because it seemed like something truly ruined her night, and we were home by 11:00PM while our friends were still at the bar having fun. All she wanted to do was go to bed, and so I complied with her wants.

Mallory didn't kiss me before bed, which was unlike her, and she seemed to have fallen asleep fairly quick. I tried not to think anything of it, but deep down inside I felt like she was mad at me. I didn't know what I did wrong, and if she would've just talked to me about it, I would do everything I could to make it right.

While my girlfriend was asleep next to me, my thoughts kept me awake as I tried to replay the entire night in my head to see where I went wrong. She seemed so happy all night. I was really excited for her about her new position on the show, and I wanted us to go out and celebrate with our friends. 

And as I thought about the night, I realized she was completely fine - happy - before Natalie got there. I could already tell Mallory didn't care for Nat, and I didn't blame her since she wasn't exactly my favorite person either. Mal told me she would give Natalie a chance since she didn't know her in person, so I thought our conversation was going well, up until Mal went to the bathroom.

Natalie assured me she would go and check up on my girlfriend, since I couldn't, and I thought that was really nice of her. It was when Mallory left the bathroom after Natalie went in there that I noticed something was wrong.

Did Natalie say something that upset her? What did they talk about in the bathroom? Was it because there were too many people in the bar?

Whenever something bothered Mal, she would shut down and not talk about it, and that was exactly what was happening. I was hoping after a relaxing and fun day like today, she would feel better and feel comfortable enough to talk to me about last night. 

I decided it would be a fun adventure if Mads, Chase, Mal and I went snorkeling in the ocean. The water in Barbados was so beautifully clear, and I knew Mallory was fascinated by sea life and the ocean. I was hoping this would be something she would love.

I rented a boat for us for a few hours so we would be able to enjoy our time on the water. Thanks to OBX and Chase's upbringing, we were both experienced when it came to driving the boat about a half mile off shore.

Once we were out as far as we wanted, I cut the engine off and Chase threw the anchor line over the bow of the boat, securing the vessel in place as we explored the water.

"This is so cool." Mallory forced a smile as she looked up at me, and that was the first time I saw her smile since last night, even though I knew it was a fake one. "Thank you for all of this."

The corner of my lip lifted into a slight smile as I nodded. "Of course." I told her as I leaned down and kissed her forehead. "You sure you're okay?" I asked her, almost in a whisper since I didn't want anyone else to hear.

"Yeah," She nodded. "I'm good." She tried to assure me, though I wasn't buying it. 

I nodded in response, accepting the fact that I wasn't any closer to finding out what happened last night.

"Mal!" Mads called from the stern while Mal and I were standing at the bow. "Here, put these on. C'mon, lets jump in!" She said excitedly and she sounded nasally from already wearing a snorkel mask.