So why was it so damn hard to breathe?
“Hey, can we have a word in my office?” Coach Hawkins asked when Cam made his way to the gym. “Something weird is going on and I’m hoping you can shed some light on it.”
“Sure.” Cam nodded, following the coach into the closet that masqueraded as his office. It was just large enough for a small desk with enough of a gap for the coach to squeeze around so he could sit in his chair. Cam took a seat opposite. The only light in here was from the strip hanging on the ceiling. The windowless space felt like it was lacking oxygen. It also smelled bad, like teenagers who hadn’t remembered to shower.
The coach steepled his hands together, looking at Cam over his fingertips. “Michael Devlin came to see me today.”
Cam took a deep breath. “What did he say?” He could guess. But he wanted to hear it from somebody else.
“He quit the team.”
Cam blinked. “What? He can’t do that. You just promoted him.”
“That’s what I told him. But he was clear. He won’t play football at Columbus as long as you’re a coach. So my question is, what’s going on?”
“I made him angry. A personal thing.” Cam wasn’t sure how much Michael had shared. And he didn’t want to make the kid’s life any harder by spilling his guts to Coach Hawkins. “I’ll talk to him. He’ll change his mind.”
Coach’s eyes flashed. “There’s no such thing as a personal thing. This is a school, and you’re a coach. It’s my job to protect the kids, so I’ll ask you again. What happened between you and Michael?”
Cam closed his eyes for a brief moment. The mess kept getting bigger. “I was in a relationship with his mom. Michael found out and got angry.” He opened his eyes and glanced at the coach. “I’d appreciate it if this didn’t go any further.”
Coach Hawkins sighed. “Was? That means it’s over?”
Hearing it out loud made Cam’s gut ache. “Pretty much, yes.” He blew out a mouthful of air. “Let me speak to Michael, see if I can get him back on the team. He has too much talent not to play.”
“No. I don’t think that’s wise. Michael was pretty adamant. And I don’t like angst in my football team. The two of you working together isn’t a good idea.”
Cam shook his head. “You’re right.” There was no way he wanted to make this worse. Not for Michael or Mia, or even himself.
“So you’ll stop coaching JV.” It wasn’t a question.
“Yeah,” Cam agreed. “I will.” He glanced at the ground. “I should stop coaching Varsity, too. It’s only a matter of time before Michael’s ready to start training with the main team. And he won’t do it if I’m here.”
Coach gave him a sad smile. “I think that might be for the best. For Michael’s sake. I’ll be sad to see you go.”
Another rejection. Sure, it was gentle, but he still added it to the pile. The Bobcats, Michael, and now the school football team.
And Mia. The one that hurt more than the others combined together.
“I should go.” Cam stood, glancing back at the coach. “Will you tell them I’ve left?”
“Yeah.”
“I have a meeting about a coaching job in L.A. this week. Maybe use that in way of explanation.”
The coach nodded. “I’ll make it vague.” He stood and shook Cam’s outstretched hand. “Thank you for all your hard work. On behalf of the whole team. We have the best defense we’ve had in years thanks to you.”
Cam gave him a nod and got the hell out of there, not stopping until he made it to his car.
There was only one thing for it. He needed some brotherly advice.
His three brothers looked at him with open mouths. “Mia Devlin?” Logan finally said. “Why didn’t I know about this?”
Cam had called his twin from the car, and told him he needed to talk. Logan must have taken that as the apocalypse coming, because before he knew it, all three of his brothers were assembled in Gray’s kitchen, waiting for him to drive over and throw his heart on the goddamn floor. Becca would probably be here too, if she wasn’t stuck at work.
Thank god she was. Right now she was such a big reminder of Mia it hurt.
“I guess I wasn’t sure where it was going. And once I was, I needed to keep my mouth shut because we had the whole issue of telling her boys.” He shook his head. “But I messed that up, too, didn’t I? Like everything I touch turns to shit.”