Before he could take a drink, Evan smacked the bottle out of his hands and jerked Derek up by the neck. Gasping, I stumbled to the edge of the room and watched Evan carry Derek into the bathroom. “You don’t give a shit anymore?” he repeated, shouting the words. Turning on the shower water, he turned it to cold and pushed Derek inside, holding him in place. Derek hollered and tried to fight, but Evan had the advantage. “It’s time for you to wake up and figure out what’s important. Whether you like it or not, me and the guys are going to come here and drag your ass out every single fucking day until you come to your senses. We’re not going to let you quit.”
Stepping back, Evan let him go and Derek collapsed to his knees, sobbing. I broke down and cried as I watched Evan put his arms around him and let him cry on his shoulder. The water beat down on them both, but he didn’t care. It was a tragic yet beautiful moment, and I could only hope it was going to be the beginning of Derek’s transition back.
—
Derek passed out not long after the shower episode, and while he was asleep, Evan called Coach Joel and told him what had happened. Practice was canceled and everyone showed up at Derek’s to help clean the place up. They really were a team, on and off the field. By the end of the day, his house was clean, but that was just the beginning. Derek still had a long way to go before he’d be completely healed up.
“Do you think he’ll come around?”
Shrugging, Evan blew out a tired breath and started the car. “I don’t know. Today was a start, but you of all people know it’s a day-by-day type of thing.”
I nodded. “You’re right.”
Both of us were worn out, mentally and physically. Thankfully, Grayson and Lara were fine handling the restaurant again. I felt like I was letting them down, taking so much time off. Instead of eating inside, Lara brought our food out to us and we took it home. I was starving and ate my food within minutes.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you eat like that,” Evan said, laughing.
I put the last bite of potato in my mouth and chewed it up. “You’ve neglected me. All I’ve had today is a granola bar. Not to mention, we had sex all night, which depleted all of my energy.”
He chuckled. “I promise to leave you alone tonight so you can rest.”
Winking, I threw my box away and sat back down at the table. Once Evan was done eating, we took our showers and climbed into bed. It was early in the night, but I was exhausted. As soon as my eyes started to close, the damn phone rang.
“It’s Jason,” Evan said, looking down at my phone. “He said he was going to call us back today.”
Evan answered and put it on speaker. “Jason, what’s up?”
“I got the report back from Peter Trazinsky’s tests. He overdosed on a lethal amount of heroin.”
“Do you think that’s what he was high on that night?” Evan asked.
“Possibly, but this is where the bad news comes in.”
Evan and I glanced at each other and my stomach rolled. “What is it?” I said.
Jason sighed. “I researched his bank account and a large amount of money was deposited into it on the day of the accident. It’s from the same place that put money in Milner’s account.”
“Holy fucking shit,” I exclaimed. “What do we do now?”
“We’re going to ask Levi some questions and get him to tell us where the money came from. If he doesn’t help us, we’ll make his life difficult. Mason’s good at that. He’s already headed out that way. Until then, all we can do is wait.”
“So there is someone trying to come after me,” Evan stated.
Jason agreed. “That’s what it looks like. Just be on your guard.”
“Are you still looking into that favor I asked of you?”
I looked up at Evan, furrowing my brows. What was he talking about?
“Yes, I’m starting on all of that today,” Jason replied. “I’ll call you when I have more news.” He hung up and I stared at Evan as he turned off my phone.
“What’s this favor?” I inquired curiously.
He sighed. “You really want to know?”
I nodded in reply.
“I asked him to dig up some information on your doctor.”
I gasped. “Why?”
“I know you probably think I’m just a jealous ass, but that’s not it. There’s something not right with him. Even Grayson admitted that something was off. I know you don’t want to think the guy’s got issues, but he does. You weren’t there when I confronted him. He said you loved it when he kissed you.”
Mouth gaping open, I sat there in shock. “That’s so not true.”
“Exactly.”
“But why would he lie? It doesn’t sound like Philip.”
Evan brushed the hair off my face and held my cheek. “Because he wants to tear us apart. You can’t trust him anymore, sunshine. I have Jason looking into him to make sure he’s not a bigger threat. Until then, stay away from him.”
I felt sick to my stomach, betrayed. How could Philip do that to me? I’d trusted him and now he’d deceived me. Evan looked into my eyes and I nodded, knowing what I had to do. “I will. I promise.”
Chapter 31
Evan
ONE WEEK LATER
This past weekend we’d won our game, but we’d all secretly hoped Derek would show up. We were only a couple steps away from the playoffs and we needed him. Hell, I needed a lot of things. Unanswered questions seemed to be all I was getting nowadays. “How’s the baby?” I asked, glancing over at Cooper. He collapsed onto a bench and closed his eyes. Practice was over and we were all exhausted, especially him.
“He’s sleeping all of three hours each night. His days and nights are switched.”