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For the first time since I’ve been in the league, my future with this organization feels hopeful. Like we could make a real championship run in the coming years. Our attention no longer lies on how to avoid being the last in the league, but instead, it’s figuring out how to be the best.
For now, we’ll take our eight seed and see what comes of this playoff run in the coming weeks when we go against the number one seed in the Eastern conference. Realistically, this season might not last too much longer, but we accomplished the one thing we set out to do, and that right there feels like our own version of a championship.
As the buzzer sounds, I stand from the bench where I enjoyed the majority of the fourth quarter and Ethan is the first man I see. He puts his hand in mine, swinging his other over my shoulder in a hug.
“Hell of a job,” he says into my ear, patting the back of my head.
“You too, man. Thank you.”
I’m not about to get all sappy on the spot, but he knows what I mean. Thank you for mentoring me. For having my back and supporting me as we transition from his captaincy to mine. For being my friend when I thought I didn’t need any.
There are no confetti, no banners, or parades for this win. This isn’t a championship by any means. On the big stage of the NBA, this is just another victory, but here in Chicago, it’s everything.
Leon jumps onto another rookie like a couple of kids on Christmas morning. Our coaching staff hugs and congratulates each other, and Dom rushes to his mom sitting in row three.
We still have a long road ahead of us, but this is a milestone I’ve yet to meet in my career, and I’ll take it.
My shower is quick, as is our postgame meeting, and I practically sprint to the family waiting room once released. Stevie and Zanders are the only two waiting for me, and as much I love them, the disappointment is obvious.
“Nice game!” my sister exclaims.
I wrap my arms around her, before doing the same to my future brother-in-law.
“You weren’t complete shit,” he says.
“Can’t say the same for you. What the hell was with you in that game I watched last night?”
“I was distracted! I just found out I’m going to be a daddy. Sorry that hockey wasn’t the first thing on my mind.”
I playfully clap my palm against his cheek. “Well, at least somebody will call you that so you can stop asking my sister to.”
Zanders’ hazel eyes swing to Stevie. “I’ll never stop begging, sweetheart.”
She slides her bottom lip between her teeth. “I do love when you beg.”
“Okay,” I cut in. “Can a man not get one night of peace? And at my place of work?”
“It’s my place of work, too, buddy.”
Turning to my sister, I get straight to the point. “Where is she?”
She shrugs. “She had to go do something.”
“What the hell could be so important that she had to leave as soon as my game ended?”
“She might come by our place later. You’ll come over tonight, right? After you go home.”
“Yeah,” I sigh, defeated. “Let me go home and change and I’ll come by after.”
Leaving the arena without a real celebration felt off and my drive to the apartment was lonely. Just as it’s been lonely every time I’ve had to walk into the empty space over the past few days. Not seeing her mess when I walk through the door, not finding her reading on the couch. Having all my lights off because I was the last one to leave.
I hated this apartment almost immediately after I purchased it, but over the past few months, the shift in energy made me excited to be home, to be with her. Now, I despise it more than I ever had before.
But when I open the front door, it’s not the lack of her books or clothes or flowers that stop me in my tracks. It’s the lack of everything else that does. My apartment is entirely bare and if it weren’t for the high level of security around this place, you’d think I was robbed.
My couch and television are gone. My bookshelf is gone. My goddamn coffee maker is gone.
The smell of fresh paint lingers in the air, and I follow the scent to Indy’s old room. It’s empty as well, but that’s because I had all her things sent to the new house days ago. The only difference is the yellow walls that once haunted me are now covered in a fresh coat of white paint.
