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“Get real, Sal.” Sandy crossed her arms, tilted her head back to glare at him down her nose. “Is that what you think is going on here?”
“I have to assume,” he threw out his hands. “I put everything into this team, Sandy. I’ve done everything to try to keep Rane focused and involved, even when he was spiraling. Your arrival was supposed to change that!”
“Seriously? You’re still siding with his mother?!”
“She told me what’s going on.”
“This should be good,” she laughed. “What did she say, huh? What lies has she been pouring in your ears? Let me guess, Rane is an immature child?”
“Yes!” Sal threw up his hands.
“An old favorite. Has it ever occurred to you that maybe Elffa was at fault? That she’s been the one doing these things to him?”
“Not you too,” Sal let out a groan of annoyance, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “He cannot keep blaming all his troubles on his mother. At some point, Sandy, he has to take responsibility for his own choices.”
“Oh. I see.” She dropped her arms. “No wonder he was so pissed at you.”
He reared back, like she had struck out at him. “What did you-…”
“I used to wonder why he didn’t confide in you guys more, but I get it now.” She shook her head, some of her anger bleeding into sickening disappointment. “How could he possibly tell you what’s going on? I doubt you’d even hear it if he did.”
“You-”
“Rane!”
The door to the locker room slid open and Rane emerged, his team on his tail. He was still dripping from his shower, but he had changed out of his uniform. He ignored the others as they called after him, trying to get him to speak to them. He walked right past Sal, shrugging off the hand he reached out, going right to her.
“Ready to leave?” He asked, taking hold of her elbow.
She was nodding even as he pulled her along. Without Drevor, they had to either pay for a hover or get Orza and Kirs to take them. But they could afford it, so it was a worthwhile expense to stay away from the reptile duo.
“Rane,” Sal tried to call after him too, but he was ignored just as the others were.
Sandy didn’t say anything, but she kept her eye on Rane as they returned to the lift that could take them up to ground level and out. Rane ordered them a self-driving hover, but it was going to be a long wait since the stadium was emptying now in the wake of the game.
They found a place within the stadium where they could wait and where fans couldn’t find him, but where he could also stay away from his team. It appeared to be a large utility closet that had some cleaning supplies, a chair, and a stack of direction signs for an event not currently ongoing.
Sandy didn’t question Rane’s decision to hide in here. He definitely wasn’t in the mood to deal with a bunch of fans. The moment the door shut and they were alone, Sandy cocked her head curiously, watching him.
His expression was so tense. So uneasy. Heavy like the silence that continued to hang between them as he stood there, one hand on the door, as if trying to keep it from swinging open – even though it was a sliding door. And it certainly didn’t lock from the inside. What they had was an illusion of privacy – though that appeared to be enough.
She waited. Patient. Curious. There was definitely something different in his face. A new hardness that had not been there before.
“Are we alone, Sandy?” His voice was rough. He didn’t mean in this room.
“No. Drevor is with us.”
He laughed once. “My mother’s assistant is my only ally.”
“There are worse friends to have.”
“He’s not my friend. I have no friends.”
She blinked, surprised but keeping it hidden. “Is that what your team told you?”
“What else can I assume?” He finally lifted his head. “You didn’t even spend a full mark with me, and you figured out what happened. They’ve known me my entire life, and they still throw my mother in my face!”
Sandy reached for him. Cupping his cheeks in her hands. His muscles were so tight. She gently stroked her thumb along his jaw, but he didn’t relax at all.
