Total pages in book: 127
Estimated words: 117363 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117363 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
“It was not her call to make,” Jean said. “If you will not send me to Evermore, give me back my phone. I will arrange transportation myself.”
“I turned your phone off and put it in the freezer,” Wymack said. “It was blowing up and I got real tired of listening to it chirp. You can have it back after we’ve figured out where we’re going from here.”
“There is no we,” Jean insisted. “You are not my coach.”
“Not your master, you mean.”
Jean ignored that pointed rejoinder. “I am a Raven. My place is at Evermore.”
Wymack squeezed the bridge of his nose in a silent bid for patience. Jean foolishly thought that meant he was wearing the man down and winning the argument, but then Wymack pulled a phone out of his pocket and started tapping away on it. He put it to his ear just long enough to make sure it was ringing, then switched it to speaker and held it up between them. Jean didn’t have long to wonder; the call was answered on the second ring.
“Moriyama.”
“Coach Moriyama, it’s Coach Wymack again,” Wymack said. He sent a knowing look at Jean, and Jean belatedly realized he’d gone tense. “Sorry to interrupt your day, but I need help with something. Jean here keeps trying to refuse my care and get out of bed. Abby’s already said it’s another three weeks before he can even think of traveling, but Jean needs a second opinion to settle his nerves. Would you tell him to sit the fuck still? I’ve got you on speaker with him.”
The master didn’t miss a beat, and his answer was exactly what Jean was expecting: “I’m sure Moreau will make his health a priority. He knows how important his recovery is to all of us at Edgar Allan.”
Jean heard the hidden message loud and clear: come home as soon as possible or suffer the painful consequences. He opened his mouth, but Wymack beat him to the punch with steel in his voice.
“All due respect, I didn’t call you for platitudes,” Wymack said. “If I wanted that hollow bullshit, I would’ve picked up a get-well card at the dollar store. It’s three months minimum until he’s back on the court. He’s no use to you right now, and it’s no hardship for us to watch over him in the meantime. Tell him to stay put before he injures himself any further. Please.”
The ragged bite in that last word ate through cracks Jean didn’t even know existed. He refused to dwell on it but held his breath as he waited for a response.
“Your baseless antagonism is as refreshing as always,” the master said. “Moreau?”
“Yes,” Jean corrected himself at the last second, “Coach?”
“Coach Wymack has trouble enough with his own rabid line-up. Do as he tells you and stay where you are for now. We will talk again when you are well enough to be moved.”
“Coach, I—” I’m sorry, please forgive me, I promise I’m trying, “—understand.”
The line went too quiet, but it took Jean a moment to realize they’d been hung up on. Wymack snapped his phone shut with a sharp flick of his fingers, and his knuckles went white as he tried in vain to crush the small thing in his big hand.
“That man is years overdue for a high-speed, head-on collision.” He picked up his mug, belatedly remembered it was empty, and drummed his blunt fingernails on the side. “That makes it easier, doesn’t it? He knows we’re holding you captive and he’s not going to fight it.”
Wymack honestly thought he’d come out on top in that conversation. Jean wanted to hate him for his naïveté, but he was so tired.
“I am safe to travel now,” Jean said. “Send me home.”
How Wymack could look so angry and so exhausted at the same time, Jean wasn’t sure. He braced for a backlash against his ingratitude, but all Wymack said was, “No.”
“You cannot keep me here.”
“You’re not leaving,” Wymack said. “You’re going to live through this even if we have to drag you kicking and screaming to the finish line. And before you even think about climbing out of bed again, remember that your own coach just ordered you to stay put. You’re stuck with us for now.”
Wymack waited a minute, realized Jean wasn’t going to respond, and finally said, “I’ll see if Abby has a bell or something we can leave in here with you in case you need us. In the meantime, rest as much as you can. Let me worry about your coach. You worry about you and nothing else, understand?”
How easily he said it, as if Jean could worry about himself separate from the rest. The man was trying to get him killed.
“I said, do you understand?” Wymack asked as he got to his feet.
Jean had enough self-preservation to at least point his dirty look at the far wall. “Yes.”