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His phone buzzed, and he grabbed it off the bed next to him, sitting up abruptly.
TK: Here. Come let me in.
Hayes made his way to the front door as quietly as possible, so as not to wake Neilly or his two young kids, who were staying in the spare bedroom at the other end of the apartment. Thanksgiving was one of the holidays he was allowed to spend with them as per the divorce agreement, the thought of which left a pit in the bottom of Hayes’s stomach.
Hayes unlocked the door, completely forgetting that the alarm had been armed stay with no entry delay and tripped it, immediately filling the apartment with “Front door: alarm!” and a series of loud sirens that he panicked to quell, finally able to do so after about five seconds.
“Fuck!” he yelled, as TK pushed past him into the apartment.
“So much for not waking’ Neilly up, huh?” TK laughed, punching him in the arm as Hayes closed the door and reset the alarm.
“Maybe he didn’t hear…”
Just then, Neilly came around the corner wearing nothing but blue plaid pajama pants and on his phone with the alarm company. “Yep…It’s Neil Halloway. Password is…” He paused and shot a sideways glance at Hayes, who’d chosen it. “Cockmonkey69…yep, we’re fine. My dumbass roommate just set it off…thanks, you too.”
“I’m sorry, man. I didn’t…”
“Daddy?” Neilly’s young son came around the corner, rubbing his eyes. “I heard something scary.”
“It’s OK, buddy.” He grabbed his son’s shoulder and turned him back around down the hallway. “Let’s get you back to bed, alright? And you?” He turned toward Hayes. “Stay right here. We need to have a little chat.”
Hayes watched him take his son back to bed.
“Ooh, you’re in deep shit now!” TK teased, looking around. “Yo, this place is really nice. I may have to treat myself to an upgrade. My place is shit.”
“Just…I’ll meet you in my room, OK? Head down that hallway, second door on the left. I gotta see what Dad wants.”
TK did as he was told just as Neilly came back into the kitchen. “You? Sit,” he said, pointing at one of the countertop stools. Neilly stood across from Hayes, leaning down onto the granite on both elbows and staring at him.
“I didn’t mean to set it off, man. I said I was…”
“Fuck the alarm, Hayes. What the fuck’s Trav doing here? Didn’t you just drop Ryan off for his flight?”
“I…yeah, but he…I mean…it’s not…” Hayes stammered, rubbing his face and avoiding eye contact with his roommate.
“Listen to me.” He snapped his fingers in Hayes’s face, forcing his eyes to lift and meet his. “Everyone is talking. OK? Everyone. And it isn’t…it isn’t good, man.”
“OK…?”
“We can all just pretend it isn’t real, but the two of you are fucked up all the time. And people are starting to notice, OK? The coaches, the other players, the fans. Have you seen some of the shit that’s been going around about you two on social media? It’s embarrassing…”
“Oh, but it’s all good when you’re spit roastin’ someone’s underage daughter with him in an Anaheim hotel room, eh? That’s fine?”
Neilly shook his head contemptuously. “Fuck, kid. This isn’t about…and she was not underage.”
Hayes doubled down, knowing he was just messing with him. “OK, bud. Keep tellin’ yourself that. She barely had pubes, bro.”
“None of them have pubes.”
Hayes shot him the double thumbs-up.
“Whatever. This isn’t about me. You’re…this bullshit with you and Trav is getting out of control, man.”
“Whaddya you wanna do about it then, eh?” Hayes asked, raising his voice, then quieting down, remembering the kids. “It’s just…my shoulder, OK? You don’t know how much pain…”
“Oh no? I don’t?” Neilly shot back, turning and pointing to the 14-inch scar that ran halfway up his spine. “Disc surgery. Out for an entire season. Hurts every goddamn day, kid. You don’t see me out here all fucked up on pain pills and God knows what else.”
“Well, aren’t you just fuckin’ amazing?” Hayes sneered, getting up from the stool and pushing it under the counter.
