One For The Money [REWORKED]

TWENTYFOUR {Comforting Conversations}

"♛♛♛"

{Blake's P.O.V}

I was walking down one of the Arena's hallways on my way to go home after practice. It wasn't that long of a day, but I just wanted to go home. I hated this place, hated being here, hated staying here, and hated that I couldn't do anything about it.

I wouldn't do anything important, special, or fun once I got home, I just wouldn't be here anymore.

As I walked, I neared the training room. I could hear people talking from inside, and as I got closer, I recognized the voices as Andre's and Tara's. Two very distinctive voices, one extremely low, like mines but without the subtle growl to it. And the other, that was in a much more normal range- maybe a bit above- and articulated every single syllable.

I didn't talk to them as much as I used to. Sometimes I wished that I did, but other times I just wasn't in the right headspace. They still tried to talk to me, but most of the time I was much more concerned about getting through the day than to care about whatever they were saying.

But as their voices became clearer, a word rang in my ear, a name. One that made my ears prick up at the sound of it, and made my rib cage shudder.

"Shay hasn't answered our calls for months, and you really think she'll answer now?" I heard Tara ask.

I stop to listen, I knew I shouldn't really be eavesdropping, but I didn't care. If they were saying her name in a sentence, even more so a question, I wanted to know what was happening.

I stood to the side of the wall by the barely cracked open door where they couldn't see me and listened in.

"I told you," Andre says "She said she would, and I believe her"

"I just don't want you to have high hopes and then get nothing from her"

Did Andre talk to Shay? When? And how? For all I knew no one else in the entire arena had gotten a hold of her. Once she left the museum, she left. She ghosted us all and never said a word after. I tried calling her, just once after the fact, but she never answered, and I never tried again.

"Don't worry, I'm not" He reassures her "I just want closure, and I think other people here want it too"

Tara scoffs, and so do I. "Not sure what good it would do," She says "I don't think Tom would even care at this point with the amount of alcohol he's had in these past months, and Blake's too far gone that I don't even think he remembers her, that, or he only remembers her"

The words 'too far gone' burned in me. I was fine. Just fine. Fine as I could possibly be at this point. There was a lot to take in from that night, so maybe I was a little off, but it wasn't in her place to say anything about it.

"More than you think," Andre says "Tom lost his right-hand woman, no matter what claims he puts against her, he can't lie and say she wasn't good for the team, because she was. She did a lot for us"

"If she was really that important to him I don't think he would've gotten rid of her just like that," Tara says "It was wrong that he did, and really I don't care about what she 'really' did or didn't do, I just wish she was still here"

I hear Andre sigh. "I do too."

I didn't. I didn't know if it was the fact that she shut me down that night after I've been so vulnerable with her, or that she tried to throw me under the bus just so she could stay afloat. Either way, it showed her true colors, and now that they were out, I didn't want to see them ever again.

"When are you going to call her?" Tara asks.

"Later today once I get home, I still got some things to do here otherwise I would do it right now with you"

Why would he call her? Why does he think that we still need her? She's made it clear that she doesn't want anything to do with us, so why pretend that she does?

"Alright, I guess I'll wish you good luck"

I was done. I left the door and continued on my original path. I didn't want to hear anything about Shay anymore. It only burned me up and made me dwell on the whole situation for far to long.

The thoughts of Tara and Andre's conversation thickened in my head, making it harder to think about anything else as I walked down the hallway to the elevator. I could feel my pace quicken as I walked, almost trying to leave all of the thoughts behind me.

Once I got there and the doors opened, I let myself breathe. Just to try and sort through everything.

It reminded me of her. That one time when she was stuck and I stayed with her. To think I actually helped her made me mad. If it had happened now I would've left her and let her drown in her own pool of worry by herself, just like she was probably doing now.

Things just didn't feel stable anymore. There were holes in the ground, and one wrong step and I could go falling. I didn't know how to make things felt normal again, I didn't even know what normal was anymore. Whatever it was, it wasn't here.

Once the elevator doors opened a gust of sharp cold wind hit my face, which actually felt nice from spending most of my morning inside.

I was in the parking garage now, the place that had no color aside from the cars. It was nothing like California, no true color, no life, no warmth- nothing. I couldn't escape the dreaded scenery, no matter where I went there was some shade of gloom and depression.

I unlocked my car, threw my bag in the passenger seat, and started to sit down in the driver's seat until I felt that same knot of pain in my knee as I went to sit down. I grimaced at it just for a moment before fully sitting down and getting comfortable.

It was getting annoying now. Roy had told me that it would pass by soon, but it was still here.

I would talk with him about it tomorrow before the game, maybe even fix it for good.

"♛♛♛"