I groaned as Wednesday morning rolled around. The natural light trickled through the baby blue blinds and shone directly onto my face. A whimper of discontent left my parted lips as I clutched my cushion and thumped it over my face to shield myself from the sun.

I had no plans on getting up anytime soon as there was no practice today and as much as I loathed it - I was dodging Christian ever since Sunday night at the bar. At times, he tried to confront me, but I always slipped away. I could tell he felt bad about our argument, but honestly, I needed space.

Ruben was an important part of my life and the fact that Christian weaponised him in order to hurt me - well, it bloody sucked. I'd been a walking corpse ever since Ruben died, and Christian was one of the people who helped me live again. I'd always felt like part of me died with Ruben that night, which was why I never took off the necklace he gave me. There were never any romantic feelings between Ruben and me. He was my best friend, my other half, my brother.

Either way, Christian was being a hypocrite. Discovering that he was involved with Ashley made me apprehend that he had options other than me. I wasn't a fool, I'd have to be blind to miss the lingering looks girls sent him, specifically the local ones who came to watch practice. If things between Christian and I were to fall apart, he'd have others to turn to, other girls, other options. I didn't have that.

My naivete with relationships made me recoil as I contorted myself into a ball, dragging the blanket over my head. I questioned if I plummeted into things with Christian too quickly - if I started liking him way too fast. But then again, time meant nothing. A person in one month could make you feel what a person in one year couldn't.

Feelings were so complex. Suddenly a shrill ringing sound resonated through the small dorm room, causing me to squawk as I fell from my bed and onto the carpet. I whined, still keeping the pillow tightly to my head. The ringing remained.

"Turn that shit off!" Kenzie screamed into her pillow, her words slightly stifled.

I raised my head from the floor groggily and stared dumbfoundedly at the source of the ringing: my phone.

"It's six in the morning!" Kenzie complained, still half asleep.

"It's 11 am, Kenzie," I riposted as I answered my phone. "Hello," I spoke tiredly, not giving the person on the other end of the line time to respond before articulating again, "sorry. Wrong number."

Before I could settle my phone back onto the counter, I heard a high-pitched voice. "Wait! Emergency!"

Kenzie let out a piercing shriek as she fumbled from her bed. I was fully awake now, stretching for my phone with wide eyes. Nearly dropping the phone in my alarm, I quickly thrust it to my ear. "Charlie?"

The blonde captain had been in a rut these past few days, just like me. She never told me the full story, not wanting to overwhelm me seeing as I was going through my own trial with her cement-brained brother - her words, not mine. All I knew was that she and Liam had a falling out at the bar, causing her to run off in tears with me by her side.

It was weird to see the two fighting. When I first arrived, Liam couldn't keep his hands off Charlie. Now they avoided each other like the plague. Everyone could tell that they were hurting without each other, but neither wanted to make the first move and fix things.

"Are you still asleep?" Charlie sounded beyond agitated. "There's something I need your help with. It's really important, Eden." Her voice was high-pitched, and she sniffled, speaking as if she was weeping. "I wouldn't be calling if it wasn't this important. Can you be ready in five minutes?"

"I'm up. I'm up. I'm up. I'm up," I chorused to her, putting my phone on speaker and hastening to my cupboard. Kenzie sat on the ground with a pout on her face, her long legs stretched out before her. She followed me with heightened eyebrows as I operated around our room like a headless chicken.

This was probably the most energy she'd seen me have since Sunday. She was worried about me no matter how many times I told her I was fine - even if that was a lie.

"Thank you so much," Charlie sighed with happiness. "I know I told you I didn't wanna stress you out with my problems, but I need to get this off my chest. I can't tell Nolan or my brothers because they'd attack Liam, Sabrina would tell Nolan and Astrid would tell Jeremy - ultimately leading things back to my brothers."

Hearing the wavering in Charlie's voice, Kenzie stood up and pointed to the bathroom. I mouthed thanks to her for being so understanding to which she sent me a wink. After the door shut, I turned my attention back to the blue-eyed girl on the other end of the phone.

"I'm here for you. What happened?" I inquired, stomach trembling with nerves. Charlie was the ideal captain, reliable and confident in her capabilities and herself. Something big must've happened for her to break down.

"I just wanna scream!" Charlie asserted, and I winced, crashing into my cupboard. "I've given him my everything these past three years. I was patient, waited for him to let me in. I accepted the fact that he was a tortoise." The last sentence puzzled me, but I didn't dare interrupt. Instead, I made a mental note to question her about it later. "I thought things were perfect between us, but I guess I was wrong."

I slid my legs into a pair of black yoga tights after throwing my nightgown somewhere in the distance. "So he's an imperfect tortoise. Got it."

"What do I do, Eden?" She sought as I drew a crocheted sweater over my head, messing up my long hair even further. "He won't even tell me what's going on and as much as he tries to deny it - he's acting differently. Usually, I tag along with the guys because I've always been one of them, but now he gets annoyed when I do. He's hiding something, I know it."

"Maybe he's planning on surprising you," I discoursed gently, recalling my discussion with Liam where he declared he was getting his girlfriend a promise ring. Nolan mentioned Charlie was a typically meddlesome person, so she probably found out that Liam was doing something behind her back. Her intrusiveness was going to demolish the romantic surprise.

"Then why's he being so distant?" Charlie deliberated out loud. "I already figured out what it is after he snapped at me at the bar." Her voice broke and my brows furrowed. "Liam's cheating on me, Eden."

I halted my actions; the sandal slipping from my grasp and landing on the floor. "Cheating on you?" I queried softly as I made my way back over to my phone. "Let's not jump to conclusions, Charlie."

"He's been deleting texts, won't let me have his phone!" Charlie fussed.

"Do you, um, do you want me to talk to him?" I suggested, eyes soaking at the thought of what Charlie must be going through. If I spoke to Liam, perhaps we could understand things. If there was one thing I was sure of, it was that Liam loved Charlie. There had to be an answer to everything.

"No, you have enough to worry about. Besides, the time for talking is over, I gave him that chance on Sunday." Charlie cleared her throat and I heard the jingling of keys in the background. "I found a text on his phone last week. I allowed him to explain himself. I asked him if there was anything he wanted to tell me or if he was hiding anything. He lied to my face and said there was nothing."

Closing my eyes, I asked with a heavy heart, "what did the text say?" If Charlie was right, there was no conversation needed.

"It said to meet in room 205 at Dicky's Motel on Wednesday." Her voice broke again, and I felt my heart decline. "That's today. When you're dressed, come outside so that we can get there before him. I wanna see this bitch that took my boyfriend away from me." I mumbled my agreement and then the line went silent.

I removed the elastic from my long hair and ran my fingers through it, staying quiet the entire time. I slid my feet into the sandals and gazed at myself in the mirror. There was no way that this was happening. Liam was not cheating on Charlie, I was sure of it.

"You okay?" Kenzie asked as she strolled over to me, settling her hands on my shoulder. "You look drained."

"I'm fine," I shrugged with a small smile. "I just hope things'll work out." Which couple I was talking about, I had no idea. In under three minutes, I was freshened up, outfitted, and I grasped a coat before gliding out of my room. On my way out, I crossed the cafeteria and marked how my friends gawked at me as I passed. It was the first time they'd seen me properly dressed in a while.

Ximena shot to her feet, rushing over to me. "Eden!" She exclaimed happily, lifting me from the ground and spinning me around. I laughed, clutching her shoulders as she pressed kisses to my head. "You're alive!" Turning slightly, she yelled to the others, "she's alive!"

I shushed her with a laugh, not wanting all the attention on me. "Mena, shush!" The tall girl ignored me and motioned for our friends to come over. Dallas practically yanked me from Ximena's arms and enveloped me in a hug. "Can't. Breathe," I mumbled against her sweater.

"You gave us quite the scare," Jisoo scolded, wagging her finger like an angry mother. "Never do that again. If you lock yourself in your room again, I'm kicking that door down."

Gabriella pulled me out of her girlfriend's grip and kissed my cheek. "We wanted to talk to you at practice but Captain said it was best to give you space." That was a good call. I probably would've made everyone miserable.

It was good to know that I had friends who cared about me. "I'm fine now. Just needed some time." They began walking me to the exit, each of us falling into pace with the other.

"Wanna tell us why you were a zombie?" Dallas probed, shoving her hands into the pocket of her jeans, and Gabriella punched her arm, mumbling that she was prying. "What? We all wanna know. Kenzie's been tight-lipped about it-"

"And for good reason," Jisoo continued. "We wouldn't want Eden to tell us if she's not ready-"

"But you're ready, right?" Ximena pressed, and I laughed as she threw an arm around me. "Because the suspense is killing us."

I didn't want them to think badly of Christian, so I knew I couldn't tell them. This was his home and, as hurt as I was, I wasn't going to be petty. Loud voices captured my attention, and I shifted to see the two brothers bickering. Caleb was perspiring, clothed in his running attire as he grumbled something to his brother.

Christian stood leaning against the wall, arms crossed and looking indifferent to what his brother was saying. There were dark bags under his eyes and his hair was an outright mess. Even though I shouldn't have been snooping, I couldn't help myself. It'd been nearly three days since I last heard his voice. All I wanted to do was call out to him.

His head snapped to face me as if he detected the pleas inside of my head. I looked at his frozen irises, commanding myself to say something, but I couldn't. His eyebrows weakened as he strained to his full height, looking as if he was about to march towards me, but Caleb planted a hand on his chest.

In the blink of an eye, all of my feelings came rushing back. I pictured him with Ashley, kissing her, being with her the way he was with me. I hated that she'd had him. It made everything unspecial. Ashley, the girl who hated me, had Christian in the same way that I had.

I saw him touching her the way he touched me. Questions surged around in my mind. Did he hold her in his arms at night? Did she make him laugh the way I did? Christian frowned at me, looking conflicted, and I realised my eyes were watery. I blinked, and a tear trailed down my face.

Christian swore and pushed past his brother to get to me. But then he stopped, eyes flaring with frozen anger. That's when I realised my girls were standing in front of me like a protective wall.

Ximena growled. "Move along, lover-boy." Christian ignored her, looking at me, but I cast my gaze to the ground. He sighed before nodding and turning around. Caleb followed him, but not before tossing me a weird look. "Okay, babe, you don't need to explain anything," Ximena told me as Dallas wiped my tears.

Jisoo nodded. "Just know that we're here for you, Eden." They enveloped me in a massive group hug, inviting me to the mall with them, but I told them I had plans with Charlie. Soon enough, Kenzie came downstairs and left with them whereas I went to the parking lot. Memories of that night hit me, Christian pressing me against his car. I blinked hastily, breathing in deeply.

Once I was in Charlie's car, we went to Shrine's Corner Cafe to kill some time. Charlie told me about the time she had a blind date and got stood up at the same place. Her eyes become moist as she conveyed the tale, halting once she got to the part where she went home to Liam after her terrible night.

A girl named Amarylis, who worked there, got us some coffee, and she seemed to know Charlie. Whilst we downed our heated beverages, I took that as my moment to study the blonde captain before me. Her blue eyes were dead. I discerned that she didn't have the same iciness to them as her brothers anymore, but rather the blue colour of the sea. She didn't fret with her appearance either, going with a jumper and jeans.

After we finished, Charlie drove us to the motel, and we parked outside, waiting for the inevitable to happen. Her hands were quivering, and I squirmed with my fingers. I needed to distract her from the overflowing sink that was her mind.

"Tell me about Ashley," I stammered. Better paining myself with talk of Ashley than Charlie hurting herself with thoughts of Liam. I wondered why Charlie never told me that Christian had a past with Ashley. But then I realised that wasn't something you just brought up. I wondered why Charlie never told me that Christian had a past with Ashley. But then I realised that wasn't you just brought up in conversation.

Charlie scoffed, rubbing her red nose. "She's a selfish bitch. I know I'm not supposed to say that because I'm the captain and all, but I don't like her. If it was up to me, she wouldn't even be on the team."

The virulence in her tone rattled me. "Then why's she on the team?" I hoped I didn't sound impertinent.

"She tried out, and she's good. Can't argue with talent, apparently." Charlie rolled her eyes. "She's a selfish player, though. If she was a striker, she'd never pass the ball, which is why I made her attacking midfielder."

My brows rose. "She tried out for striker?"

"Yeah, but at the time Gina was already the striker. After Gina found out she's pregnant, we got you to replace her." There were so many inquiries floating in my head. I wanted to know if that was the reason Ashley despised me - because I held the position she originally wanted. Or perhaps it had something to do with Christian. "Look!"

I was lured back to reality by Charlie's outcry. She aimed with a precarious finger towards a car I assumed belonged to Liam. Charlie's car was parked behind a tree, so we were well out of view. The door to room 205 opened and out stepped a tall blonde woman - an older woman probably in her late forties. "Ew," I mumbled.

Charlie let out an unearthly noise and sniffled as Liam climbed out of the car. "Oh my God," she whined, gasping on her breath as the evidence played out before our eyes. I placed my hand on hers and she turned it around to clasp tightly. "What the fuck? Are they gonna have a threesome?"

Glancing ahead, I watched the passenger door open and out clambered Christian. My breath left my body as I observed him ramble up to Liam before making their way to the woman. I was so caught up in my thoughts that my next words left me in Russian.

Charlie turned to me, "what does that mean?"

I shook my head. "I asked what the hell is going on?" My mind was running absurd, coming up with outlandish explanations as to why both Liam and Christian were meeting this woman. "There has to be a reasonable - Charlie!" I blurted, watching as she bounced out of the car. "Charlie, where are you going?"

"I can't believe they're cheating on us with an old lady," she bit out, jaw clenched. "It's time to bust their asses-"

"But we're not supposed to be here," I informed her. "We're technically spying, implying that we don't trust them-"

"How can we trust them when they're doing shit like this?" she challenged, and I shut my mouth, understanding where she was coming from. But I couldn't fathom why they'd cheat with this woman who was old enough to be my mother. "The fucking tortoise!"

I watched Charlie dash across the parking lot. "Oh, no." Leaping over to the driver's seat, I put on my seatbelt, trusting that the driving lessons Papa gave me would pay off. I started the car and slowly followed the path Charlie took. The car swerved roughly, and I shrieked.

The oldish woman stood listening in amusement as Charlie lashed out at her boyfriend. Christian merely looked pestered with her presence, whereas Liam looked infuriated. I switched gears and lurched the car, nearly knocking over a man. I squealed through the open window, "sorry!"

My voice caught the group's attention and Christian swivelled to face me, surprise etched into his attractive features. "Eden? What are you doing here?"

Before I could respond, Charlie vocalised. "We're here to bust your cheating asses. You two better stay the fuck away from us!" Without another word, she hopped into the passenger seat. "I want nothing to do with you, Liam. From this day forward, I hate you."

"Blondie-"

"Fuck off," she hindered him, putting on her seatbelt. "There's nothing you can say that'll fix this. I allowed you to come clean on Sunday, but you didn't. Instead, you snapped at me, made me feel like I was the one in the wrong."

Liam persevered, stopping the passenger door from closing. "Listen to me, Blondie. This isn't what you guys are thinking."

Charlie kicked him in the stomach, huffing as he plunged to the side, giving her enough time to shut the door and lock it. "So you're telling me that you guys aren't cheating on us with this granny?"

The woman in question looked horrified at the disrespect and moved to say something, but Liam shut her up with a glower as he savagely pushed to his feet. "Fuck no!"

"We don't want your stupid apologies," she told him before turning to me with sparkling eyes. "Let's go, Eden. We have better things to do."

As I was about to reverse, Christian was at my window, arms hanging inside and eyes trained on my face. There was a disgruntled expression on his face as he urged, "you think I'm cheating on you?" For a second I could barely speak with him so close to me.

Without another thought, I shook my head. "Of course not! I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation for everything-"

"Yet you're still here spying on me," he interposed with narrowed eyes. Beside me, Charlie was wrestling with Liam as he tried to force his way through the window.

"I didn't know that you were going to be here!" I blurted, inadvertently hitting the car horn and causing the intense noise to carry across the parking lot. I winced. "Why are you being so defensive anyway, huh? More secrets, I see."

He growled, "Eden-"

"I did some research these past few days," I told him, ignoring Charlie and Liam who were having their own argument. "Good communication is an imperative part of all relationships. All relationships have difficulties, but a powerful communication technique can make it easier to deal with disputes."

Christian was still agitated, but there was a glint of amusement in his icy eyes. "I don't think now's the time for one of your psychology lessons, baby."

I continued without missing a beat. "That's what we need - good communication. I admit I should've told you about Ruben but that's a dark memory of mine and you shouldn't have used it against me-"

"I'm sorry about that, but-"

"Ruben poses no threat to you," I felt my lips tremble each time I said his name and Christian noticed, a frown appearing on his face. "But Ashley does pose a threat to me, our relationship and my position on the team."

He had to speak slightly louder over Charlie as she screamed at Liam. "That's what I'm trying to fix here! You say communication is an important part, but what about trust? If you're here right now, it means you don't trust me."

I groaned. "I told you I didn't know you'd be here!" Seeing Charlie struggle with Liam and the irritation in Christian's eyes, I stepped on the gas pedal and heard someone bark a curse.

Charlie let out a breath when Liam fell over again as the car abruptly shot forward, bouncing slightly. She looked at me with a smile, "thanks for that." My eyes were wide as I stared into the rearview mirror, not paying her any attention but instead trained on the male blonde's figure as he lay sprawled on the ground. "Eden? What happened?"

I gulped. "I just ran over my boyfriend's foot."