What the fuck?
He wanted to demote me down to the minors?
“You’re kidding, right?” I asked in a calm voice.
Which was the complete opposite of how I currently felt.
What I wanted to do was stand up, pound on his desk until he let me play, then get the hell out of here.
“It’s an option we’re discussing.”
The coaching team.
They’ve discussed this.
Me.
Going back to the motherfucking minor leagues.
I might as well grab some diapers on my way down.
Instead of having a huge hairy fit, I said, “That is not something I want to do. It’s also not something I need to do. Put me out there, and I’ll show all of you I’m fit to play.”
The dark skygreeted me when I stepped outside.
It had been a long day.
I felt like I had the weight of the world back on me, and it was difficult to even move my feet.
I’d worked my whole life to make it to the top level of play in this sport.
Every second.
I moved away to play when I was barely a teenager.
That was just what you did.
If you were good enough.
And lucky enough.
I missed out on a lot of family gatherings and trips.
All in the name of getting to where I one day wanted to be.
And now—here I was.
At the top.
Then, one asshole.
One dirty play.
And I was at risk of losing it all.
What I wanted to do was go home, scoop Lexi up in my arms—and carry her to bed.
And lose myself in her for a couple of hours.