THEA PULLED INTO her apartment buildings garage and remained in her car. She didn't have the energy to get out. She was tired of holding the tears at bay and the last thing she wanted to do was go upstairs and deal with Orson. She wanted to lick her wounds in private, maybe cuss out her coach, and then cuddle under a blanket to watch a terrible teen romcom.
The darkness of the parking garage soothed her. Here she could pretend that that last couple of days hadn't happened, and it was all a fevered dream. Her fingers clutched her dead phone. She couldn't keep away from the world forever, she knew there would be a few calls on her phone when it was charged.
She exhaled a breath before exiting her car. Thea's gaze landed on the duffle bag in the trunk, but she ignored it. It wasn't like she would be needing it anyways, she thought bitterly. She rode the elevator, glancing nervously as the numbers blinked. Turning the key, she quietly opened the door to see Orson's gaze already on her.
Only this time, she saw his eyes were cloudy. "Theeaaa," he said giving her a sloppy smile. "The queen returns to her kingdom."
Thea's eyes couldn't believe the scene in front of her. There were at least three types of alcoholic beverages open and sprawled across her living room floor. She spotted soiled socks and black boxers among the half a dozen McDonald's boxes.
Her eyes narrowed to the darker spot on her sofa. "Is that grease stains on my couch?" she shrieked before hurriedly rushing to the scene of the crime.
Orson's eyes followed the direction of her fingers before he shrugged. "They didn't give me any napkins, so I just rubbed my fingers on it slightly."
Thea took in a deep breath get her emotions under control. She was aware that Orson was glancing at her as well. He gave her a smirk, "What, you going to kick me out over a little stain? When did you become such a prissy princess? The Thea I knew wouldn't care about some little stain."
"There is a difference between stains on my clothes, versus my very expensive couch," Thea gritted her teeth.
Orson's smirk remained unchanged, and Thea narrowed her eyes at her drunk ex-best friend. She wasn't dumb, she knew exactly what he was doing. Orson was trying to make her life difficult so she would kick him out, but the joke was on him. She'd made a promise to her brother and no matter how hurt she was by him, she was going to put up with his lazy ass, even if it drove her insane.
She rubbed her forehead before picking up one of the chicken wraps. Thea gave Orson a withering glare, "Frankly, I don't have the energy to deal with this right now," she pointed towards the mess and him, "I've had the world's worse practice session so I'm going to go to my room and eat this terrible wrap and decompress. That will give you sometime to get sober."
Orson snorted, "I'm sober enough right now."
Thea didn't even bother arguing with him, she simply picked up his bottles of vodka and walked to the kitchen sink to drain them out.
"Hey," Orson stretched out, trying to grab the bottles, but Thea stepped out of his reach. "Give those back to me, I paid for those, you can't just take them."
She glanced at his legs, she knew it was cruel, but he had driven her off a wall when she was already falling, and this was the perfect revenge. She locked eyed with him, holding the bottles upside down.
"Make me," she said with a smirk before pouring them down the drain, knowing he very well could not.
Orson's scowl remained as he watched every drop fall in the drain.
Maybe there was some satisfaction in being cruel, she thought.
⚽⚽⚽
Thea saw the many missed calls and texts on her phone from various teammates about her absence in the morning, but also saw the follow-up questions on what Kendra had said to her after practice. Thea ignored the messages from her teammates, they were all busybodies, awaiting the next piece of gossip.
She took a bite of the now cold chicken wrap and grimaced while chewing. She suddenly remembered why she had begun cooking for herself instead of eating out. Her phone buzzed again, and she scanned her call log to see several missed calls from her agent.
Her throat was dry, but she hadn't brought any water to her room. Thea was too lazy to walk all the way back to her kitchen. She cleared her throat before dialing her agent, knowing a lecture awaited her.
He picked up on the first ring, "Suspended Thea? Are you fucking kidding me?"
Thea leaned back on her pillow to gaze at the ceiling, "Well hello to you too."
Randolph seemed to get her message as he back peddled dryly, "It's wonderful that you've finally decided to pick up your phone after I've been calling you all morning."
"I've been busy."
"Busy getting suspended?"
Thea gritted her teeth. Randolph was an asshole most of the time, but she was still thankful for him in agreeing to represent her when so many of the interested sports agent had backed out after the disastrous College Cup Finals.
"Rashad showed up at my place last night. I went to bed much later then I wanted which is why nearly missed practice this morning."
"He's been killing it in the Premier League," Randolph said casually, ignoring the rest of her words.
Thea stiffened. She didn't know why she had brought up her brother to Randolph of all people. She wasn't dumb, she knew Randolph would love to represent her brother and had mentioned it on more than one occasion. He'd even had the nerve to approach Rashad himself who had been polite in his refusal saying he was quite happy with this representation. Afterwards, Rashad had told Thea her agent was a dick, and she should fire him.
Unfortunately for her, unlike Rashad, she didn't get much freedom in making that choice. "I don't want to talk about him," she snipped, taking another bite of the soggy chicken wrap. "He's returned to Leicester, so I don't foresee myself being late to any other practices."
There was silence for a moment before Randolph sighed and his voice turned a tad bit softer. "Thea, the Panthers don't care about your circumstances, they care about results on the field. You need to keep on their good side, especially with your contract ending after this season."
"I know," she said simply. And she did, it was one of the main things in the back of her mind. She needed to secure a contract for next season. There were bills that needed to be paid and she didn't have some magical fairy godmother that could help her out.
She cleared her throat, "I don't think I made that great of an impression on Kendra," she admitted.
Randolph snorted but Thea continued, "What do you know about her?"
She heard the sound of keyboards clacking on the other line. Thea wasn't sure if Randolph was answering another client's email or simply looking up Kendra. She wouldn't put it past him to do the former.
There was a pause before he spoke again, "She was in Europe with one of the teams there. They saw some success under her coaching, a few finals, and playoffs every season. The Panthers must have paid her handsomely to get her to come to the US," he said thoughtfully.
"Maybe they shouldn't have paid so much and just kept Hill," she said grumpily.
"Just keep your head down Thea and show her your work ethic. I'm sure her feelings towards you will change."
Thea wasn't as confident as Randolph, but she nodded. Her iPad pinged at her desk, drawing her attention away from the phone call. "I have to run Randolph but keep me updated if you hear about any interest from other teams."
"I will," her agent said before quickly shutting the phone.
Thea crossed the room to check her iPad. She saw an email request and her heart swelled, maybe she could focus on something else besides soccer. Her eyes quickly scanned the words, noting the client's brief, a wedding invitation for a rustic wedding.
The colour palette was gorgeous was burnt oranges, reds, and maroons and a spark of excitement filled through her body. She grabbed her headphones and pressed played her playlist before she began designing.
⚽⚽⚽
When Thea glanced at her phone, she did a double take, surprised to see that two hours had passed. Her body ached from arching over her iPad but a feeling of satisfaction and being able to do something filled her.
She stretched her arms before taking off her headphones and placing them on the desk. She couldn't hear the faint sounds of the TV anymore. A small part of her felt guilt for leaving Orson outside himself but the other part of her which was still hurt by his actions won over.
Thea stood, grabbing her chicken wrap wrapper before gingerly opening her bedroom door. Her feet padded across the short hallway and light snores filled the space. Thea turned the corner to see that Orson was knocked out.
His mouth was slightly open—thankfully there was no drool, and he was hugging one of Lina's throw pillows to his abdomen. In spite of herself, Thea smiled wilfully. She'd taken one of those pillows in a similar stance during her time of the month.
She could still smell the vodka and McDonalds in the room, and she scrunched her nose at the stench. Later, she'd light one of her aromatherapy candles to cleanse the place and the grease stains that were probably littering the couch.
But right now, curiosity got the better of her and she slowly crept to the couch to get a better look at him in the light. Orson's eyebrows were scrunched, and she could see the wrinkle lines even while he slept. Clearly, he wasn't getting the most restful sleep of his life. Her gaze traveled down to his shirt which has slightly ridden up and then lower, to his left leg.
The black cast prevented her from getting a better look at his injury. She wasn't sure if it was his ankle, or higher. Rashad hadn't told her and neither had the media. Orson and his team and kept the extent of his injuries under the tightest of seals. She didn't know if it was on his request or the teams.
The couch was too small for his narrow body as his arm dangled onto the carpet uncomfortably. She was tempted to lift it up and place it back on his chest, but she knew what a light sleeper he was. Their many sleepovers had established that. Thea stepped back and nearly tripped over his luggage once again.
She scowled; this wasn't going to do. If he was staying with her for the foreseeable future, things would need to change.
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What do you think is going to change? Poor Orson, he really is down in the dumps. Who are you cheering for in tomorrow's finals?