Ghosts (A Christian Yelich Story)

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Good Talk

Author's note: Had to set some stuff up with this chapter. 

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"I think you should go back to sleep," I told Annie as she frantically responded to texts.

"I can't," she replied. "Damage control."

I sighed heavily. "You're sick. You need rest. Please put your phone down and close your eyes."

She looked at me. "Have you checked your phone? You may have some problems of your own." Her voice cracked slightly as she spoke. She really needed to go to bed. She sounded terrible and her face was so pale. I mean, she was always pale, but she was really pale right now.

"I'll check my phone when you're asleep against me working on sweating out your fever. Come on."

She took a deep breath and set her phone down before cautiously scooting closer to me and placing her head on my chest. "I'm going to feel so bad if you get sick."

I shrugged. "I don't want to be away from you."

She buried her head deeper into my chest and placed her hand on my bare stomach. "You were supposed to tie me up and have your way with me this morning, but instead I have the plague and am being forced to share our relationship with TMZ."

I laughed softly. "You'll feel better faster if you'd just sleep. Please try, so I can have my way with you soon?"

"I'll try, pervert." Hey, at least she conceded.

"Good," I muttered before reaching over to turn off the lamp. "Just focus on us, baby — ignore the other bullshit." I ran my fingers through her hair.

It didn't take Annie long to fall fast asleep. I carefully grabbed my phone — making sure to not disturb her in the process.

I, too, had been bombarded with texts about the article. Who the fuck even reads TMZ?

Mom: Christian, honey, is everything okay? Is Annie someone you're seeing? She seems like a sweet girl, but be cautious. Hollywood is a messy place.

I replied that everything was fine, and we'd talk about Annie later.

Collin: Annie fucking Delaney? Are you kidding me? You lucky asshole. She's hot as fuck. Not your type generally, but hot as fuuuuuck.

I responded, "She's exactly my type."

Cameron: It's good to be MVP, eh? Get it, bro.

"Can't wait for you to meet her," I replied

Andy, the Brewers' main PR person: Hey, are you good? Are you okay that people saw those photos? Do I need to spin this?

I thought about my response for a moment. "Yeah, everything's good. No need to spin."

Tyler: I never would have guessed Annie Delaney was the mystery woman. Congrats on nailing some top shelf pussy, Yeli, you lucky fuck.

I rolled my eyes. There was no way to respond without sounding like an asshole, but I tried my best. "Thanks, dude. She's amazing." Yeah, I still sounded like an asshole.

Travis Shaw: Looks like you upped your game this off season. Annie Delaney is an amazing actress. Much better than your regular cleat chasers. 😂

"Seriously, she's great. I'm going to fuck it up, man."

There were more texts, but I was too frustrated to go through them right now. I was upset Annie was sick and even more frustrated we had to deal with the paparazzi controlling our relationship. This wasn't a predicament I ever thought I'd be in . . .

I couldn't sleep, so I decided to make my way to the pub area to grab a snack. Annie was fast asleep, and I figured she'd be good being left alone for a few minutes.

When I arrived, I was surprised to see Lindsey at the bar eating Cheetos. "Cheetos for breakfast at 5:00 am?" I jokingly asked.

"Hell yeah! Wanna join me?" she inquired before popping another Cheeto into her mouth.

I shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

I sat next to her at the bar, and she pushed a bottle of water toward me and offered me a Cheeto from the bag. "Annie's mom sent me the TMZ article and started asking me all sorts of fun questions about you."

"Annie's mom?"

"Yeah, she's from Milwaukee and worried you're no good for her daughter. She's heard things about those unfaithful baseball players, don'tcha know." Lindsey mimicked what I assumed was a Wisconsin accent.

"What did you tell her?" I asked. I couldn't believe this dumb article was making this much of an impact. I was starting to better understand Annie's concern.

"That you seem nice, but that I can't really attest to your character yet. I mentioned that you seem to like her. Am I wrong?"

I shook my head no. "No, you're definitely not wrong. I can't even describe how into her I am." I paused for a moment. "Being around her makes me feel good."

Lindsey and I locked eyes. "She's an amazing person, Christian, she really is. But she's also vulnerable right now. She might push you away because she's scared, but my advice is try not to let her without being forceful. I think you'd be a good change of pace for her. I don't think she has ever dated someone who isn't an artist of some sort. She should give the jock stereotype a try."

"I'm a jock stereotype, eh?" I smirked at Lindsey.

"Yup!" Lindsey exclaimed. "You two have absolutely nothing in common, but maybe that's perfect."

I took a sip of water. "Listen, she's pretty sick with the flu or something, and I'm going to go to the gym from 8:00 to 10:00. Could you check in on her for me while I'm gone?" I asked earnestly.

"Yeah, of course. Be warned that if she's awake, I'm definitely going to talk about you."

"Have at it!" I stood up to leave. "Good talk, Lindsey.

"Good talk, Christian."

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