Break In My Heart

26. Honesty

"Princess, get your head out the tower and into the game!" Coach yelled at me as we continued running plays. Sweat was abundant on my forehead and stinging my eyes, and despite the release football usually offered me, I couldn't bring myself to go all out.

Especially because I was playing against Tyler.

The past few days at school had been hard, especially because I found myself just going through the motions–smile now, laugh here, crack a joke now. But I did find some comfort in it though. I got to keep an eye on Tyler and make sure he was okay. Maybe, okay wasn't the right word. Or maybe it was a small part of me just hoping that Tyler was secretly struggling as much as I was. But, if you didn't know that something was supposed to be wrong, Tyler would seem the exact same to you: the same gorgeous smile, the same knee-weakening laugh. The same everything.

Except everything was so different.

When we were all together with the boys, he made an effort not to look at me which easily contrasted with the casual way we spoke when we were around others. He'd even laughed at one of the low-hanging jokes I'd made. It was confusing and painful.

On the bright side, the rumors about the gay couple on the team had become a distant memory with the only mention of the word "gay" being casual locker-room jokes that held no ill feelings or intent behind them.

Hopefully, Kyra didn't know that though. The lack of buzz combined with my outburst the last time we'd spoken might've pushed her to actually name drop us and then what?

I pushed the thought out of my mind because I knew that if I kept dwelling on what I couldn't change I would literally go insane.

I watched the ball as it traveled from person to person. Then it landed in Tyler's hands. And he was headed straight for me.

"Go, Addison! Stop him!" Ian yelled from somewhere else on the field, but all I could focus on was Tyler and the determined look in his beautiful brown eyes. Despite my emotional baggage, I couldn't let my temporary team suffer because I was too caught up in my feelings. Tyler was obviously not going to let anything keep him from his goal, including me, so why should I?

I charged toward him, letting his body tell me what he was about to do. I knew he was about to sidestep before he did it. The way his muscles pulled told me he was about to change directions, therefore, so was I.

Within seconds he was in the optimal position, giving me the perfect opportunity to take him down.

And take him down I did.

Coach blew the whistle as I laid on top of Tyler, our bodies a mess of tangled limbs. My mind subconsciously went back to our one and only date where we'd ended up in a strikingly similar position but for completely different reasons.

I rolled off of him and we ended up side by side facing each other and as I looked over at him and was reminded why I fell in love with him in the first place–even in his dazed and confused state, he looked absolutely gorgeous. After a few moments, he gained his bearings and his eyes locked with mine. In that moment, I forgot how to breathe. I hadn't had his undivided attention in so long, his mere gaze was like water after spending days in the desert. So many things buzzed in my mind all fighting for dominance, but just as I opened my mouth to say something, he'd already gotten up and started walking away.

"Good game, Bruno," he said so low that I almost missed it. But his tone wasn't light and inviting like it usually was. His voice, much like his demeanor, was that of a stranger. And it broke me in ways that no word or physical attack could. I hadn't truly realized how much I missed his touch until that moment. I hadn't truly realized how much I missed having his attention until he spoke to me without sparing me a glance.