My week was going way too good to be true.

Starting off with V in my arms and mouth on mine, I couldn't think the week could get any better...and then her shifts had to be changed and our date plans cancelled.

Compounded with the fact that I trained constantly, almost at a nonstop pace combined with both of our warring school schedules as well as her practices for both her band and drama classes, and we barely even had time to text each other good morning and goodnight, though I'd made it a point to be religious about that.

Soon enough, Wednesday night had rolled around and I watched dismayed as she clocked out and gave me a small wave goodbye, doe eyes wide and disappointed as I'd still be on the courts for at least three more hours, while she'd most likely be in bed by the time her head hit the pillow.

I sighed, dribbling the basketball in one hand while shirking sweat off my forehead with the other.

Her father had been worried about my training schedule and its intensity, but when I wasn't on the court, I was putting in hours with weights, on the treadmill, stretching, doing calisthenics, anything and everything to keep my body limber and in the best shape of my life while sticking to a strict diet and no alcohol, lugging down at least a gallon of water a day.

It was grueling torture, but it would be worth it when we started winning our games that were coming up on our preseason in just a few short weeks.

"Hey man, I think I'm done for the night," Patrick yelled from across the court as he noticed his girlfriend walking in to start the shift that would only last two more hours.

It made no sense that she made V clock out for the last two hours of the night when she could've easily let her lock up, but it wasn't my job to tell her how to do hers, just a bit strange in my opinion that she changed up the hours so quickly and for no reason. It was definitely one of our talking point when we had time to actually speak.

I was dying to get my hands wrapped up in her hair again, to press my body against her and-

"Hey, I said are you coming with? Maddie's got to stay here for two more hours, but I wanted to go and relax before this weekend's purple and gold game with Heisinger."

"No man I'm good, I'll probably stay here until close like usual. We'll catch up tomorrow at the barbecue when we watch game tapes."

The charity game with our rival school, Heisinger, did little to calm my nerves about the fact that we were completely unprepared for said game. Matthew Thornberry, a guy I'd played on the same team with in the past, was their point guard and fuck if he didn't hate me with every fibre of his being, and vice versus.

I couldn't wait to trash talk the shit out of him, but I'd go easy since it was for charity, after all.

"So, Eli, how are you and V doing?"

I turned away from Maddie after Patrick entered the locker rooms, wanting her to leave me alone with my private time since all the guys were finally gone and it was just me and the net, but of course she never learned boundaries.

"Good."

The ball sailed through the air and slid through the net with a satisfying slap of rope on rubber.

I bent to retrieve it and began the dribble between my legs, running backwards down the court and stopping mid court before preparing my next shot.

"Is it weird that you're dating your private coach's daughter? Wouldn't he, like, frown on that or something?"

I missed the three pointer, the ball bouncing off the back board and tumbling to the ground as the plink of the ball echoed throughout the spacious room.

"Not really. It's complicated, Maddie. Why do you care?"

She uncrossed her arms in front of her while she adopted a slight frown, grabbing the ball before I could and holding it hostage. I glared at her.

"I care because I'm your friend. I would just hate for you being with her to ruin your chances at making it big and getting in good with an agent who will fight for you in the league. Me and Patrick can't stop talking about how bad of an idea it is to be with her."

I opened my mouth to argue with her, but just as I did so, my phone that I only kept on loud in case Coach Bruins called began ringing, and I sighed while heading over to the fold up chairs on the sidelines to answer it.

"Coach, a little late for a call. Is everything alright?"

"From the sounds of it, I'd say it's a little late for a practice as well, son. I could ask you the same thing?"

"You know me, always on the grind. How can I help you?"

I tensed as I noticed Maddie sidling up beside me, like she was trying to hear every word that was being spoken. Nosy.

"I just wanted to makes sure we were on the same page, and that you'd be driving Virginia back home with you Friday."

"Uh, actually about that-"

"You're not going back on our agreement, are you? You said you'd drive her if I asked."

"Of course, and I would, but we have a huge charity game on Saturday that I can't miss."

"That's a wonderful opportunity for me to come down for a visit, to check on you and on Virginia. I have some friends who've retired from the league that are still in the business, just on the other side of it. I'd love to introduce you to them, get your foot in the door so to speak. I can even call up my contacts with the media, get some buzz around you and your name. But I need to have your word that should Virginia need a ride anywhere, you'll give her one. She's about to be without transportation for a while."

"That would be amazing, Coach. And of course I'm always available to drive her, but is something wrong with her car?"

Maddie squeezed herself impossibly closer to me while I physically tried to distance myself from her, but she wouldn't budge. I had half a mind to shove her away from me completely when Coach Bruins spoke again.

"No, I've just revoked her privileges to it for the time being, until she learns her place and to respect her father. You'll understand when you have children, it's all in her best interests of course. Now, I'll see you on Saturday? Don't forget to drop Virginia off on Friday."

I was getting more than suspicious and a little confused, but Patrick was storming out of the locker room like his ass was on fire and Maddie was half clinging onto me like she was my girlfriend and not his, so I had to quickly rectify more than one situation.

"Of course, sir. I'll see you Friday."

By the time Coach had hung the phone up, Patrick was at our side in an instant, and to say that he was seeing redder than his hair was an understatement.

"Maddie, what the hell are you doing?"

"She was eavesdropping on my phone call, is what she was doing," I interjected quickly, extracting myself from the conversation by stealing the ball she'd grabbed up from her hands and bounding away from their soon-to-be argument and began dribbling once more, tuning out the sounds of their yelling while practicing my lay-up.

I needed to talk to V, desperately, but I couldn't do it over texting. I would get a chance to talk to her on the drive back to her house on Friday, because knowing her schedule, she had a full shift at the gym on Thursday after a packed day of classes and she was practicing through her lunch, just like I lifted weights during my lunch period, and I was going to be at the team's barbecue because as captain, it would look bad if I skipped a bonding session and tape reviewing just to practice solo, something our team coach had been harping at me over since I joined the team last year.

Barbecues and social outings were definitely not my thing, so needless to say, I'd have rather been working up a sweat, either on the court, or in V's bed...particularly the latter.

***

The barbecue was boring as hell, I had campfire smoke in my eye, some girl had wiped nasty crusted marshmallow on my pants (on accident, she claimed, but I wasn't buying it), I couldn't get drunk and numb my senses to the loud bass coming from inside the house that threatened to turn the pulsing behind my eyes into a roaring headache, and worst of all- none of the girls there were V.

The one night of the week that she was actually working until midnight, and I wasn't anywhere near the damn gym. I was starting to suspect something weird was going on with Maddie, but I couldn't figure it out until I noticed her walking around in something even my former dates would blush at and grinding up on random guys while looking my way, like she was trying to make me jealous...?

She probably could've been looking Patrick's way considering he was standing beside me most of the night, but at one point he took his food off to the side and ate sullenly while looking like he was contemplating the meaning of life itself staring into his nachos. Needless to say, he'd partaken in the community blunt that had been making its rounds at the bonfire.

What had previously been a team bonding session quickly morphed into a frat party that I wanted no part of, considering my hatred for all things fraternity and brotherhood, but things started looking up when a certain brown haired, doe eyed beauty came strolling through the yard and locked eyes with mine.

I couldn't believe my luck. V had picked the best possible time to come and rescue me, too, considering that Maddie wouldn't stop grabbing onto my arm and get me to join her irrelevant conversation about how she was just 'one of the guys' again.

Firelight illuminated her features and her curves in her skin tight jeans and tank top that showed off every beautiful facet of her body and my mouth watered just at the sight, but she didn't stop and stare at me like I had with her. She kept walking, eyes flickering between me and Maddie who I had taken a step away from to see V clearer.

There was a conflicting emotion on her face, almost like she was angry, but I didn't know what I could've done to elicit that response from her. And then her stare left mine, and it wasn't like those previous times where we couldn't keep our eyes off each other.

This was different. She was staring at Maddie, and, like a woman on a mission, made a beeline straight towards her, but I caught her right before she reached her, catching her attention once more.

"V, you're here? I thought you were working all night, otherwise-"

"No, you're fine. I'm actually here to talk to Maddie."

Oh. I was about to say I would've ditched this entire team 'bonding' session had I known she wasn't going to be working, and maybe the two of us could've had our own little bonding session but I was right. She was angry, and it wasn't at me.

Maddie's head flicked up at the sound of her name, and what transpired next still had me in a tizzy for the next day to come.

Verbal sparring matches between girls, but the faux kindness and false sympathy and innocence were all blatant signs of disrespect that Maddie was throwing V's way as she tried to explain to her the situation about their job, and while it was definitely a shitty thing for her to do, what Maddie did next trumped anything she ever could've done.

My arm firmly around V's waist, an unspoken battle between the two girls was being waged, and I had no idea what was being said.

Looks were exchanged, glares were thrown, and suddenly V was throwing me off like I was the one who'd done her wrong, when I still had no idea what the hell was going on.

"V, what are you-?"

And then Maddie cut in, and suddenly I was playing right into her hands. First she started out talking as if something romantic had happened between the two of us.

"Maddie. That's enough." But she wasn't stopping yet.

And then she spilled the metaphorical beans. What a conniving bitch. I still had no idea what she was up to, and I wasn't so egotistical as to believe that it was all about me and that she was jealous of V, but I'd watched enough teen girl shows with my sister to know that something was making Maddie jealous of V, and it hadn't started until I had told everyone that I was pretty much dating her...

V's face contorted into something akin to betrayal as Maddie told the entire party just who exactly her father was, and that she wasn't going to have her car. I just assumed that he had taken it away, but the hurt and anger painted on her face told me that there was so much more to the story that I wasn't getting.

"You knew about that last night, and you didn't think to tell me?"

I was more than confused. I thought she'd known her father took away her car...?

"V, listen-"

"No, you know what? I'm good. If I wanted excuses and half-truths, I'd go to my father."

What the hell? Okay, there was definitely more to the story, and I was going to figure out what exactly was going on, but first I just needed her to talk to me, to stop her assault on the ground as she stomped away from the party, and from me.

I moved forward, hand connecting with her arm just to get her to stay, to hear me out, but the way her body turned deathly still turned my blood cold.

"V, please. It's not what it sounds like-"

"Actually, I'm pretty sure its exactly what it sounds like."

God, why was I such a fucking idiot? I only had eyes for her, and I sounded like a cheating douche who'd gotten caught cheating.

I hoped she didn't think I was actively working with her father, knowing that he had taken her car away before it had happened and then laughing about the whole thing with Maddie. That was the worst case scenario that I could imagine.

Or that she thought I was cheating on her...not that we had even defined anything yet but maybe it was time I did that.

I turned to the group and to Maddie.

"Show's over, assholes. Leave."

I turned back to find V, but couldn't find her anywhere in the flickering shapes of the shadows.

I stuttered through the fallen branches of a tall pine tree to my left, following faint voices as the yard became more and more secluded and dark, until soft murmuring caught my attention, turning suddenly to something darker, angrier, filled with angst and heated intensity.

"Why didn't you tell me this before?! All this time you've known and you let me-"

It was V, and she was arguing with someone, most likely over the phone, but before I could get close enough to make myself known, she spoke again.

"But couldn't someone have fought for me?! He put me in as much danger as he did her, and I had to- I had to-"

She was wheezing, trying to catch her breath when I heard a thud and I rushed forward, worried that she'd fallen only to find her clutching her knees to her chest as her phone lay idle on the asphalt beside her and silent tears tracked down her cheeks.

"V? Baby, what's the matter?"

She stared ahead blankly, like I wasn't there, shuddering breaths getting cut off as she tried to inflate her lungs more deeply, but the air just wouldn't come.

I started panicking, wiping her cheeks free of tears with my palms to try and get her to look at me while fresh tears slipped under my fingers and collected between her skin and mine.

"What's wrong? Can you talk to me, please?"

My voice cracked, but I couldn't bear seeing her like this. She was shaking but it wasn't any cooler than seventy-five degrees out, and she still wouldn't focus on me, almost like I wasn't even there.

Her hands were curled into fists at her side, and while she tried to suck in air, I noticed a trail of red leaking from her hands.

I abandoned my palms at her face to try and pry her fingers away from the skin of her own palms, the fingernails digging in so sharply that she was making herself bleed, but the second I did her eyes snapped to me, and it was like everything came rushing back.

"I-I don't want your help. Leave me alone," she rasped out, eyes stung red from tears and voice hoarse.

"You need my help. I don't care if you want it or not."

She tried to breathe in deeply once more, but she couldn't get her rhythm under control, and she started to hyperventilate.

"I-can't-breathe-"

"Yes you can, you're doing it right now, you just need to slow it down. Try and match your breathing with mine."

I placed her bleeding hands across my chest and breathed in and out slowly, trying to ignore the sharp prick of sorrow as I did so, the memories of my own panic attacks from childhood trying to shovel their way out of the tons of shit I'd piled on top of those memories in my head in the years since to try to keep the demons at bay.

Seeing V like that, though, was a million times worse than going through it myself. I'd have rather switched places with her in a heartbeat if it meant she didn't have to feel that same pain.

"I feel like I'm dying," she cried out, leaning forward and resting her forehead against my shoulder as she finally drew in one big deep and long breath, a sob catching on the exhale and I crushed my body into hers, rubbing a soothing hand down her back as she shivered and trembled against me.

I'd hold her forever if she would let me, and I would do whatever it took to try and help her through whatever she was going through, she just had to let me in, first.

Of all the times we'd spent talking on the phone late at night, the long drives in the car, she'd never opened up about anything eating away at her that could've caused her to react so drastically but to be fair, I hadn't exactly opened up about my less than perfect childhood that left me with more scars than a war veteran, either.

I'd start tomorrow, but first I had to get her cleaned up and safely tucked away in my arms. I would start with texting my roommate and making sure he stayed the hell away from our room for the rest of the night, and possibly the entire next morning, too.

Because the pain that was radiating off of the woman that I was quickly growing addicted to was stronger than the need I felt to attend practice, or give a shit about my classes before I figured out what was wrong and how to help her. I refused to sit idly by while she suffered in silence, alone and without someone to listen to.

I'd been through that, alone, and I would be damned if I let it happen to someone that I cared about so deeply even in such a short period of time of knowing her for.

As the palms swayed in the broken breeze that carried V's muffled cries, I swept her body out from underneath her and carried her to my car, because if there was one thing I was going to be damn good at, it would be taking care of her like no one had ever taken care of me.