“Mr. Brooks.” I offered a polite smile and hurried away from the courts, left with that familiar uncomfortable feeling that his son gave me. Not so much of the creepy element, but just that almost predatorial energy they had. I hated that so goddamn much. Much different than the feeling I had around my boys.
Max’s darkness didn’t intrigue me in the least.
After grabbing my bag from the locker room, I went out to the parking lot, feeling oddly exhausted. Maybe I would be able to get back to sleep when I finally got home. I ran a hand through my sweaty hair as I slid into my car and immediately started it up. Maybe I needed to stay the hell away from this damn club. It seemed every time I was here lately, something bad happened.
I couldn’t tell you how often I’d been tempted to ask my father to ban the Brooks family from the club, but I had no justification, and they were paying good money. That just felt selfish.
As I pulled into Wildberry Lane, I heard my phone begin to buzz, and I grabbed it, wondering if it would be one of the boys. I felt my face pale, realizing that it was very much not the boys. It was an unknown number.
I knew this game.
Without looking, I turned off my phone and let out a small breath of relief, telling myself I would deal with it later. Maybe.
Parking in the driveway, not having the energy to bother with my dad’s garage security, I began to make my way through the house and dropped my bag in the living room. I filled up my water and slowly dragged myself upstairs, feeling dizzy from dehydration and overworking myself. Suddenly, I could feel every missed meal in the past week, and I could see black spots dotting my vision.
This… this was expected.
I’d been on such a high, and I could feel the weight of my anxiety, depression, and overall mess of emotions darkening my day. I sat on the floor of my bedroom, not bothering to lock the door as I tugged off my tennis shoes and laid out on my back looking up at the ceiling.
I needed to shower.
I needed to move to bed.
I even needed to check my phone.
Instead, I gave into the exhaustion and just let it crawl over me. I would deal with everything when I woke up. That was what I kept telling myself.
I just should have realized the shit show that would be awaiting me.