I Hate Football Players 3 | 18+

Chapter 88: Ellie

I drifted off to sleep in silence, then woke up and felt subdued and just... off. My morning routine was the same, right down to the adorable, sleepy smile Logan threw me, but not even a hot shower washed off my melancholy.

Embarrassed, mortified, and completely ashamed all fell short of how I felt after my confrontation with Lydia. Even in high school, with mean girls and taunts, I'd never gotten close to where I'd physically confronted someone.

I'm so ashamed of myself. I've never had temper problems.

Overreacting? Yep.

Overthinking? More like can't shut that off.

While Logan, as well as Harper, Charlie, and Wes, had assured me no one else at the party had witnessed our outbursts, I was thankful when I woke up this morning, skimmed over all Lydia's typical online sites, and saw absolutely nothing in terms of 'Ellie Harrison goes psychotic at Huskies' football house party' rumors.

Should I apologize? She did shove me first.

After I moped through breakfast with the weight of Logan's gaze on me, I was relieved when he offered that I took Harper and her dad to the airport while he napped before his post-game practice. Halfway to their hotel, he texted me with slightly changed plans. I waited until I'd parked out in front of the W-hotel's entrance downtown before I checked his message and responded.

Logan: Coach Vaughn wants us to do film study this morning. Heading out now, should be 2hrs + workout after.

me: Okay, thanks. I'll go to the grocery store then.

"Good morning, Eleanor," Mr. Reynolds greeted me, heaved their suitcases into the trunk, then slid into the back seat of Charlie's car.

Normally I would've taken Harper and her Dad to the airport in my Volkswagen Beetle but with Harper's three suitcases, I wanted them to have a comfortable ride. After last night, Harper had morphed into some kind of feminist hero in Charlie's eyes, so she hadn't minded when I knocked on their door with a car borrowing request.

No slam on Charlie but she's definitely got a larger trunk than mine.

"Good morning," I greeted Mr. Reynolds with a smile, then turned my head as Harper hopped into the other seat.

"Ellie." Harper beamed right before she slammed the door shut.

A few seatbelt clicks later and the hum of the highway under the car tires later, Mr. Reynolds cleared his throat.

"Listen Eleanor, about last night," he started in a quiet tone but my mind flipped its internal panic mode switch.

Oh no, the wall punch. I -

"I'm sorry I had to work late but one of my calls was with the Stevens," he continued and halted my thought process with just those words.

Whew, not Lydia. That's a relief. Wait -

"Oh?" I met his concerned glance in the rearview mirror as my heart thumped faster in my chest. "Everything okay?"

"They weren't thrilled with the ESPN interview and wanted a copy of the recordings," he replied with a sigh. "So I spent most of last night sorting that out until they were appeased."

Harper groaned quietly, turned her head to the back seat, and asked, "Why didn't they just ask ESPN for that?"

"I went one step further, contacted their legal department and got any and all references towards Ryder Stevens redacted from the aired interview," he answered, a slight frown creased between his eyebrows. "Even though they probably wouldn't have aired non-answered questions, they definitely can't now."