Every Soul (24 page)

“Thanks, dear. I was calling because I got the results from Zeus’ blood work and everything is normal.”

“Oh, good. Thank you for taking him.”

“Of course. Are you sure you don’t want to talk?”

“I’m sure. I have to get to work soon and I didn’t sleep well, that’s all, so I’m going to take a nap. But I’ll try and stop by tomorrow to see my baby boy.”

“Okay. Keep your head up, sweetheart.”

“Thanks,” I respond and hang up. I know I have about an hour before I have to be at work and I don’t want to be late again. It’s become quite a habit for me these last few days. Speaking of habits, I spark a cigarette and inhale deeply. Knowing Bain would be pissed if he knew I was smoking again, but it doesn’t stop me. I need something to calm myself down.

Lying here, all of our time plays in my mind. From the moment I caught sight of him laughing at my brazenness at the bar, to the alley, then everything spiraling afterwards. I fought any feelings that were possibly creeping in by reminding myself that this was only about sex. It always had been, but deep inside, I know it was more.

Fuck.
Taking another drag I finally put the cigarette out and roll over. Sleep, sleep, sleep is the only thing that can take this away. Just a few minutes and then I’ll get my ass in the shower…

“
Fine, Bain, you want me to tell you the truth? I’m scared, fucking terrified, that what we have is all going to come crashing down.”

“No, baby, how could you even think that? I won’t let it.”

“How can you promise that? You just got drafted then traded to the fucking Clippers. That’s LA, it’s a whole other world out there and across the country.”

“Listen to me,” he pleads getting down at my level and kneeling in front of the chair. “It’s not that different from New York.”

“I just don’t understand why you couldn’t have gone to the Knicks or the Nets, or even the 76ers. I mean, somewhere East Coast.”

“Does it matter? We’ll be together and to me that’s what’s important.”

I rest my face in my hands, so frustrated that we are still in this situation. I know I should jump at this, but something is telling me no. I just don’t know what it is.

“Please, baby, just let me take care of you.”

“Bain, I can’t sit back and depend on you like that.”

“Please, just say yes. Marry me and make me the happiest man alive, I promise I’ll never, ever, let you down…”

I wake sweaty and out of it. Blinking a few times, it takes me a moment to realize that it was all just a dream. Thank God it was only a dream! I hear Aubrey come in the front door. Finally. I’ve barely seen her for the past four days. She comes straight into my room and sits on my bed.

“Hey, I thought you had work today.”

I check my phone and realize that I overslept.
Dammit.
Sitting up, I bolt out of my bed and into the closet, dressing as fast as I can. “I do have to work and I was supposed to be there over an hour ago.”

“Jesus, A, are you serious? Haven’t you been late every day since this whole Bain situation?”

“Don’t even start with that shit, Aubrey.”

She’s watching me, trying to understand where my sudden outburst came from.

“I’m sorry, I just don’t need any shit right now.”

“I’m not here to give you any shit. I was going to recommend that you call him.”

“Yeah, that’s not going to happen.”

“I just hate seeing you like this.”

“Yeah, well, I fucking hate feeling like this, but it’s for the best. It couldn’t have lasted forever.”

Leaning down, I give her a hug and run out of the apartment, heading to work as fast as I can. I can’t believe I overslept. I was late the other day and Gavina, my district manager, called the store after my shift started, asking for me. Of course, I wasn’t there and she was pissed.

Just as I pull up, Bain calls me – again. I hit decline. I can’t deal with him right now. Then the moment I walk in, I know I’m fucked. This time instead of a missed phone call, Gavina is inside and not only observing the store and talking to the employees and customers, she’s behind the counter making drinks. I put my head down and hang my shit up, then pull on my apron and prepare to face the music.

The moment Gavina sees me, she shakes her head and points at the office.
Sonofabitch.
Being reprimanded like a toddler, I walk in and pray that it’s just another ass chewing like she’s given me before.

She comes in with anger in her eyes, and I say, “I’m so sorry that I was—”

She cuts me off, raising her hand and slams the door. “Arion, save it. Do you have any idea how much I’ve stuck my neck out on the line for you to manage this store?”

I nod my head as she continues. “Well, you’ve sure pissed on me, like you don’t give a shit about this job.”

“I’m so sorry, it won’t happen again.”

“You’re right, it won’t. Because this time you’ve left me no choice. My boss came through the drive through this morning and you had no supervisor on duty.”

“But—” I try and cut her off to explain, but she just continues.

“If you could imagine how disappointed he was when your team members said there was no manager here. You know the rules. You have to have a manager on at all times, whether it’s you or your assistant manager. I tried to call you, Arion, and you didn’t answer. You’ve shown disregard for this store and your team lately. Your shift started over an hour ago and I don’t know what’s going on with you, but I can’t have it going on here. You need to handle your personal business and I need you to turn in your keys.”

“Gavina, please. It—”

“Don’t waste your breath. Either turn in your keys or I’ll have the building rekeyed.”

I stare back at her stunned.
She just fired me.
Reaching into my pocket, I toss my keys and badge on the desk. Then I turn around to leave. Knowing Gavina well, there is no point in arguing with her or trying to make my point. I made my bed, now I have to lie in it. As I walk out, I slowly pull my apron over my head and grab my stuff. Glancing back at my employees, they are all staring at me. I can’t bear to look at them or even wave. I get in my car, immediately dreading going home. God, I wish Bain was here.

I’m not sure if I can crawl back into that fucking bed again. I feel like I’ve spent all my time in it lately. Driving home, I’m in shock. I should be crying or upset, I just lost my fucking job. A job that I absolutely loved. But I’m not. The only thing that I feel is numbness. Grabbing my phone, I go to call Bain, I have to. He’ll know what to say and how to help me.
What am I thinking?
I no longer have that option. God, I’ve really ruined everything in my life.

There’s no way I’m that dependent on him. Or am I? My mind is swirling with a million different scenarios. I got fired, when all along Bain wanted me to quit. I go to call him automatically, when I know I can’t. Jesus, maybe I can’t push him away as easily as I thought. Although part of me wants to…I’m not sure it’s possible.

Whatever happens, please don’t let me get drafted to Phoenix. Pulling onto the freeway, it’s hot as fuck, the organization’s weird, and it’s the last place I can see myself living. Getting in my rental car, I make the quick drive to the hotel and can’t wait to relax. My body is beyond sore. I think working out for these two teams has been an eye opener for me. I don’t know how I’ll make it through Memphis, but I guess I’ll find out tomorrow.

I really shouldn’t be complaining though; it’s all a way to keep my mind busy. A way to focus on things other than the reality that I pissed her off and she left me. Again, I call her. It actually rings. She’s not declining my calls, but she’s still not answering.

Hanging up. I check my messages. James, James, James, my dad, and James again. The one from my dad alarms me and I have to listen to it again.

“Bain, I hate to tell you this while you’re focusing on your workouts, but Anthony pleaded not guilty, this whole thing is going to trial. The prosecutor called me today and said she wants all three of us to testify. Just call me, okay, son?”

I delete his message right away. Fuck that motherfucker, not guilty. The guy fucking took her life; he robbed her from so much. How can he plead not guilty? For the rest of the drive I listen to James’ messages then head straight for my room. Once I’m inside, I call room service for my dinner and boot up my laptop, preparing an email response to James’ messages, like I have been lately. If I keep busy with this shit, it will keep my mind off of the nagging fact that I don’t have Arion and that asshole plead not guilty.

Sitting back, I type away. Then it happens and my heart stops. My whole world comes to a stop as her ring tone comes on my phone. Without even looking at the screen I answer. “Baby?”

She doesn’t respond and I listen for any hint that she’s there. “Arion, are you there?”

I hear her voice. It’s far away, but it’s there. I can tell she’s talking to someone. Waiting, I listen trying to make out what she is saying. Anything at all would help me right now, then she mumbles and the phone sounds muffled. “Arion, please talk to me.”

Finally she does, her voice is timid, almost broken, but it’s her. “Hey.”

“Hi,” I respond. She’s still silent and I ask, “How are you?”

“I’ve been better.”

“I know, baby, me too.”

There’s an awkward silence between us and I say, “I miss you so much.”

Exhaling loudly into the phone, she says, “Listen, Bain, I have a lot going on right now, I don’t think I can do this.”

“Then talk to me, baby, let me help you.”

“I can’t. I’m sorry, I just can’t.”

The line goes silent before I can say anything else. I wonder if she actually meant to call me, as there was truly no point to that conversation. Leaning back in the chair, I exhale and stare at the celling. How did I lose the girl who stole my heart? I need to figure out how to get her back.

“It’s nice to meet you,” I say, shaking hands with the assistant coach of the Grizzlies.

“You too. We can’t thank you enough for coming here.”

“Of course. Thank you for having me.”

“How was your flight?” he asks and I follow him into the huge gym where there are a few guys practicing.

“It was nice. I came in from Phoenix, so it was nice to leave the heat.” After Jim gives me a rundown of the facility, one of the ball guys from the middle of the court passes me the ball. The moment I have it in my hands, I shoot it. I know I’m pretty far behind the three-point line but my range is deep, and draining this in front of all these people would be sweet. As the ball floats through the air, everyone in the room turns and watches it.
Bam, nothing but net, baby.

I smirk, thankful that although I’m a mess inside, my game isn’t affected. Over the next hour, I can’t tell you how many balls I sink. I’m definitely in the zone. Then we move on to defense. It’s not my best area, but I’ve been working on it the last few years and it’s improved. Lastly, I get to scrimmage, before meeting with the coaches and the staff.

Quickly, I dry off after my shower and get dressed before sitting down with everyone. Although I never imagined it…I could actually see myself playing here. I know Arion won’t be part of that dream anymore. She’s made that clear and since she’s ignoring me, my gut is telling me to push forward and not look back. I’ve thought about it a lot and wish I knew of a way to make things work with her, but her pain runs very deep and she’s stubborn beyond reason.

Leaving the locker room, I walk down the long, white hall ’til I reach the office where we are meeting. Knocking once, I head inside.

“Mr. Adams,” their head coach says, welcoming me.

“It’s great to meet you in person, sir.” I shake his and then everyone else’s hand. We all sit down. I’m directly across from the head coach, the assistant coach is next to him, and then the general manager.

“You were quite impressive on the court today.”

“Thank you, sir. Your facility is great.”

“We would love to have you on our team, but you’re projected to be drafted pretty high in the first round. We don’t have a pick ’til the thirteenth spot. If you could imagine our dilemma, in order to make this work we’re going to have to figure out some sort of deal. So tell us, why are you the guy to go with?”