"You shouldn't be here," I say finally speaking up after I had watched Everest rummage through Stensby's things for a good three minutes.
She instantly froze the moment she heard my voice. She got up from the floor with two bottles of Fireball and she turned around to face me. "I know, I'm not welcomed here, but as far as I'm concerned unless you have a court order I have the freedom to be wherever the hell I want. So if you'll excuse me, I have somewhere to be."
I could tell by the look on her face how angry she was, after all this time that was the only thing I had built up the courage to say. Once again this was me letting my pride get in the way of things. "You know, out of all of the things I could've imagined, I didn't take you for an easy one Ev. I had to work for it, but I guess Sèbastien just got lucky."
That hurt her. I'm not going to lie, seeing Everest walk in with Sébastien made me fucking mad. She barely even knows him and they were already holding hands? No fucking way. That used to be us. I couldn't bare the thought of thinking how he touched her the way I used to or how he kissed those beautiful pink lips.
"That's low even for you, besides your one to talk." Everest fires back. That's my girl. She never holds anything back.
I chuckle. "I don't know why me fucking around with Inez surprises you Everest, because when you met me that was all I did."
I was pissed off and hurt. So the only thing I could think of was making her feel the way she was making me feel although I was acting like a complete asswipe.
"You have a stick so far up your ass Matthew Connery," Everest says looking down.
"Excuse me?" I question.
"You heard me right but just in case you didn't, I said that you have a stick so far up your ass. How come I didn't see it before?" She pauses. What does she mean by that? "You think you had it rough don't you? I can't blame you though, you're the most self-centered person I've ever met, how could you notice?"
I'm the most self-centered person she's ever met? I think she has me confused with Dant. "How could I notice what Everest?"
"That you're not the only fucking one that is going through it, Connery. I am in part to blame but you never asked. You never gave me the chance to explain. Why do you think I didn't tell you? I was struggling to find a way to do it. Why? Because how was I supposed to tell the guy I was beginning to fall for that once again his family was going to fall apart? I didn't know how to tell you because I know how much Conrad means to you and I didn't want you to hurt the same way you did when you left your dad behind."
I never thought about it that way. She was right, I never asked. I just assumed and I acted like I was the one whose life got fucked up. She was on the verge of crying and I couldn't stand the fact that I was the reason. I've treated her like shit all this time and I never thought about the reason why it was so difficult for her to tell me.
The tears began to fall down her cheeks. I just wanted to run up to her, hug her and never let her go but I stopped myself. She deserves so much better than me. "I've had to deal with the whispers, the dirty looks, and opinions from everyone who doesn't know the fuck about what they're talking about. Whether you want to believe it or not, Tommy sent out his little friends to scare me. They fucked up my car and the best one yet I had someone put a gun against my head threatening to kill me while he ran his disgusting hands all over my body."
"Don't fucking look down Matthew Connery, I'm not done," She says raising her voice. "I receive death threats almost every day, I can't sleep because of the nightmares I have about that night, I can't even walk around campus without thinking that there is someone out there watching me. I have a target on my back every minute of every single day. Do you think you've had it rough? Well, get in fucking line because you're not the only one."
I look down and I barely whispered. "I didn't know."
I lied. I did know, I just didn't want to accept that everything she was saying was true. I had lost my family once and I didn't want to admit to myself that it was happening all over again.
"You didn't know? You didn't even bother to ask."
And with that, she walked away without even talking another glance at me.
- end of flashback -
"Connery, wake up." I hear Inez's voice calling from afar. "Connery, the plane just landed."
I blinked a few times before I fully opened my eyes. Inez had a big smile plastered across her face and she pointed towards the airplane window. I turned my gaze towards the window and I couldn't believe it. For so long I've imagined what it would feel like to be here or if I would ever get the chance to compete for a spot on the Olympic Team. Now that I'm finally here, the feeling is indescribable. Though I couldn't help but think that something was missing.
"I can't believe it," I say in awe. "All of the hard work, I can finally see that it has paid off."
"You deserve this, more than anyone I know." Inez smiles. "That spot on the Olympic team is yours. You're going to be Tokyo bound next year after today. And I will proudly say that I was there front seat to witness it."
I smile weakly. This was never planned, I mean, having Inez come with me to the trials. I was going to surprise Everest, we hadn't even gone on an official date yet and I was going to ask her on one before this whole thing blew up. Peyton was actually helping me to plan it because, to be honest, I'm not exactly the most romantic guy so I needed a little bit of extra help in that department. As part of the date, I was going to give her a gift (the ticket and a pass for the trials) in a cute box, but I never got the chance to.
I won't lie that I wish it were Ev, sitting right now next to me, but when I mentioned that I had an extra ticket and none of the guys could come, Inez volunteered. So of course, I didn't turn down her offer because I didn't even know how I was going to start that conversation.
"Good morning passengers, we are happy to announce that we have arrived at our destination." The flight attendant says through the speakerphone. "The door will be opened briefly, in the meantime, you can proceed to pick up your carry on luggage, thank you for trusting and flying with Delta Airlines."
We were just going to be here for a day so aside from my swim gear, I brought a few pieces of clothing in my carry-on. Inez on the other hand brought a big suitcase and a carry-on, what on earth could she possibly have in her luggage?
I helped Inez with her carry on and I grabbed mine in the process as well. It took a good fifteen minutes to get off of the plane and another good twenty minutes while we waited for Inez's luggage. After we had all of our luggage we headed to the hotel, the Olympic trials started at eight and it was only seven am. Inez and I were in desperate need of some food so we did exactly just that after we settled in our hotel room.
I had made the reservation for a one-bedroom because I obviously (at the time) had thought about Everest being here with me. There was no point in making a mess out of our reservation (especially since everything's booked because of the trials) at this point, so I just shrugged it off.
"There's this place called Over Easy and it's just three blocks away," Inez says chirpily as we walked out of the hotel lobby.
"Just three blocks?" I ask giving Inez a look. After a long flight, walking three blocks didn't look that appealing to me. Taking an Uber would be the better choice.
"Don't give me that look, Connery." Inez raises her eyebrows. "You're used to running more than that. Besides, why take an Uber when we can walk and explore this beautiful city."
"On a normal day yes, after a long-ass flight I would beg to differ." I pause. "But if you insist, I'm sure I can live. The fresh air wouldn't be so bad either, so I'll stop complaining."
Inez smiles widely in satisfaction. She loves it when she wins an argument. "So, how's is your mom doing? I haven't spoken to her since the other day after the grand jury hearing."
"She's hanging by a thread, to be honest," I heavily sigh. "We both have been in denial, but as fucked up as it may seem, it's hard not to believe what's been in front of us all this time."
"You think they're both guilty, don't you?" Inez asks and for the first time, I admit it to myself out loud.
"Yes," I reply. "The defense has presented hardcore evidence. And if you were there that day in court, the moment Conrad lost his temper on that stand, you'd be crazy if you thought that he was still innocent."
"What about Tommy? I find that hard to believe everything they're saying about him, Connery." Inez admits. "You've known him most of his life and I have known him since freshman year. The Tommy they speak of, that's not the Tommy we know, the Tommy I know."
"I honestly don't know what to believe anymore," I shrug. "Maybe we never really knew him."
Everest was right, the one thing that was holding her back from telling me the truth about the article, was happening. It was inevitable (whether she told me the truth or not) the family I've known since I was twelve was destroyed. Nobody was willing to pick up the pieces and put them back together. The moment I read that article, the memories I had buried in the back of my mind resurfaced. I felt like I was losing my dad all over again and just like last time, there was nothing I could do about it.
"Are you guys moving out?" Inez asks and I nod.
My mom had a heated discussion with Conrad after the grand jury hearing, to make the long story short, she told Conrad that she would stick with him throughout the trial for his sake. But after this entire nightmare (like she described it) ended, she was filing for divorce and we would be moving out.
"After the trial ends," I reply.
"What if the jury doesn't convict Tommy? Will she still leave?" Inez asks.
"Yeah, she doesn't trust him," I reply. "That's the thing about trust Inez, it takes you years before you can finally build it and once it's broken, it takes forever to put the pieces back together. He turned into everything he once told her he would never be."
"I have a feeling that we're not talking about your mom anymore." Inez pauses. "And it has everything to do with you and Everest."
I instantly shake my head in denial, but maybe she was right. And that scared me because as much as I understand Ev's intentions, she lied to me. I missed her like crazy. I missed grabbing her hand, touching her soft skin, and kissing those tender pink lips. But how could I be with someone that I didn't trust? I wasn't upset over the fact that she lied to me anymore, I was upset because from now on, I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to believe her.
After Inez and I grabbed breakfast we headed back to the hotel to rest for a few hours before it was time to start getting ready for the trials. When the time came, I instantly got ready, Inez on the other hand spent an hour only on her hair. My mind will never comprehend the reason as to why girls take so much time getting ready. It's just a little bit of make-up and brushing your hair, right?
The ride to the Chi Health Center where the Olympic trials were going to be held was short (the hotel was only fifteen minutes away). On the way there I decided to catch up with ESPN's predictions of today's trials, only as motivation of course. They have been counting me out for the Olympic team since this past summer and having them count me out today as well only fueled me. We had the chance to warm up properly and get our heads in the game before the trials began, which I deeply appreciated. I had a chance to rest once we got back to the hotel, but the warm-up was very much needed.
Huge crowds of people were here today at the Chi Health Center, they were also fired up which gave me a push of adrenaline. I almost felt like I was back at the OHSU pavilion, you could barely hear yourself talking with all of the noise that they were making.
The women's meets were up first, the freestyle and backstroke events were first up. Then lead the butterfly and breath-stroke events. I enjoyed watching the women's meet because at this stage just like men, they were competitive and swimming at the best level of swimming you would ever see. Just like us, they were fighting for a spot on the national team. It's every swimmer's dream, to proudly represent your country at the highest level of swimming competition, the feeling is indescribable. I'd be honored to wear the colors blue, red and white. And let's not forget about the classic Olympic rings tattoo.
Before I knew it, they had gone through every event. There were some sick meets and some surprise spot steals too. The announcer at the Chi Health Center called all of the swimmers to get in positions for the 50-meter breath-stroke meet. Once I was in my assigned lane, I took off of my tracksuit and in the process, I tried to take deep breathes to calm my nerves down too.
After I aced my third political sciences test, Ev gifted me a FastSkin LZR Pure Intent High Waist Jammer, they were a little expensive and I was adamant about her returning those but she insisted. So even though she wasn't here, I thought that it would only be fitting to wear it, I now had a little piece of her with me.
Once the first whistle blew, we all stepped up on the block getting in position to jump. We were all focused on the sound of the whistle and I was getting a little impatient when I didn't hear the sound. I was locked in and ready to go. In a matter of seconds, the whistle blew and I was already jumping off of the block. Despite my best efforts to execute an early entrance into the pool, Summers beat me to it.
During the first half of the 25 meters I was already at a disadvantage but I knew I had to keep it together. I knew I was capable of gaining the lead, even if meant that I had to come from the back after the flip at the end of the first 25 meters. I managed to catch up to Summers before the flip at the end of the wall. Once I flipped, I kicked quickly, when I went up to the surface to grab some air, I was in the lead. There was no stopping me now. Every stroke and kick gave me more of an advantage.
I knew I had him on my tail and I also knew he was closing in on me, Summers wasn't planning on giving up just yet, but the thing he didn't count on was that I still had a lot left in my tank and I was planning on giving it my all. That spot in the National team had a name, Matthew fucking Connery. With every kick and arm stroke, the wall was closer within reach. In a matter of seconds, my arms touched the wall. When I looked up, the crowd was shouting and chanting my name, that could only mean one thing.
Fuck yeah! We're Tokyo Bound baby!
A/N
Hi guys! I'm so happy to be back (I know it's a day late I'm sorry) not going to lie, this was a little hard to write because I had a huge not so fun writer's block with this one but I hope you liked this one.
I also wanted to ask if any of you guys are in college, mine recently started requiring me to use the app Respondus Lockdown and it kind off ruined my computer a bit. It's so slow and it stays loading the apps. If you guys have had to use it can you give your girl any tips? My computer is brand new and I can't afford to buy another one :(