The Game Changer - ch. 1 (Patreon)

Figured this feels like a good time to pop some Abbie/Rose back into the world, right?

The structure of their story is going to shift a bit from how Keeping Score & Settling the Score were - especially as I transition (most likely) into more traditional chapters. It helps keep me streamlined, especially as the story is now going to start alternating between Abbie and Rose's points of view!

We're starting off to set the scene for adulthood in Abbie's pov, which means that the next time you see The Game Plan, you'll be getting an official glimpse into Rose's mind.

Enjoy :)

------------- The Game Changer------------

Chapter One

Abbie had lived a lot of experiences in the last eight years that felt totally surreal.

She’d been on a winning team in the Olympics. Her team had won two World Cups. She’d been featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated. She’d gotten to meet her idols from the cooking shows she’d been obsessed with since childhood – which had been the biggest fangirling she’d ever done, much to the teasing she’d gotten for that fact from her teammates.

But, as she clasped her hands behind her back and paced back and forth around the large office, this might be the most surreal feeling yet.

Because not once in her wildest dreams had she imagined she’d find herself back at Elliston Prep.

The experience was made even more surreal due to the fact that she was alone in the headmaster’s office.

Despite the fact that she was thirty years old, being in here – especially alone – felt… illicit. It made her stomach get that creeping sensation, like she was doing something she absolutely shouldn’t be doing.

Which wasn’t the case, she reminded herself for the fifth time in the last ten minutes. She was supposed to be here.

In fact, she’d arrived here early, and Headmaster Elliston was the one running late. Two and a half minutes late, she confirmed as she checked her watch.

So, she really wasn’t doing anything wrong by taking a little peek around.

Besides, it wasn’t like she was looking anywhere she shouldn’t be; she wasn’t walking around to the other side of the desk or anything.

It was so strange, though.

She could still vaguely picture the principal’s office from the high school she’d gone to before Elliston, and it had been nothing like this.

No, the Elliston headmaster office was in a league of its own. With the wingback leather chairs that faced the office, and the polished cherry wood bookshelves, and the windows with stained glass, and the fucking fireplace – yeah, private funding indeed.

At the sound of fast approaching footsteps, Abbie snapped her spine straight. Again, she hadn’t been doing anything wrong – she was supposed to be here – and she’d worked through a hell of a lot higher pressure situations than this.

She supposed it was the very root of being back at school that was messing with her mindset.

As she ajar office door was pushed open, she spun around. She’d wondered what it would be like to face Headmaster Elliston, and –

And every thought she’d had, every expectation, completely fled her mind.

Because it wasn’t Headmaster Elliston at all; it was Rose.

No, she hadn’t laid eyes on Rose Elliston in eight years, but that didn’t matter. Eight years hadn’t changed them enough to let Abbie mistake the brunette in the doorway.

“What is this doing open?” Rose muttered, gripping the doorknob as she turned to throw a look at the empty admin assistant’s desk outside of the office.

Her full lips pulled into a frown and her forehead was wrinkled in dismay, and there were a few creases starting to form on her face in a way that was new to Abbie. She wore smartly tailored black pants and a quietly expensive white blouse tucked into them, with the sleeves rolled up to the elbow, and even though the clothes didn’t explicitly hug her form, Abbie could see that the absurdly perfect curves of Rose’s body had matured over time.

Which, honestly, was kind of annoying.

Rose being as attractive as she was had always felt like something unfair – how was it that someone normal should have the right to look like… like some sort of celebrity?

Only, back in the day, Abbie had found it more of something to contemplate in wonder.

Now, after everything that had played out between them all those years ago, she found it grating.

So, Rose Elliston was still hot as hell. Maybe – definitely – even hotter. Abbie supposed all that proved was that they truly didn’t live in a just world.

Rose shook her head. All of her long, glossy dark brown hair was pulled up into a quietly elegant twist. One that, Abbie imagined, had looked perfectly put together this morning, but as of now – just after four in the afternoon – had several strands loose or completely out, framing her face.

When Abbie crossed her arms over her chest, it seemed that her own movement was what alerted Rose to the fact that she wasn’t alone.

She could see it, the way Rose’s body tensed as she whipped her gaze up, already speaking, “Who are you, and what are you doing in my off–”

As they locked eyes, Rose abruptly cut off.

Her eyes widened in clear shock, and Abbie couldn’t help but feel pleased to have caused it, even if she, herself, felt just as surprised to see Rose.

“Abbie?” Rose’s voice was soft and utterly dripping with disbelief. She blinked at Abbie, first slowly, then rapidly for a few seconds, as if she couldn’t quite understand what was in front of her. “What are you… what are you doing here?”

Abbie felt her frown pull even deeper, and her stomach churned.

Yes, it had been years since she’d seen Rose. Honestly, it had been a while since she’d even thought about Rose, and even then, the thoughts she’d had about Rose were fairly fleeting. At least, in the last several years – she wouldn’t lie; the first year or so after it had happened, Abbie would think about that night. She’d think about how unexpected it had been, how good it had been, and then, most frequently, she would think about how she’d never felt so disrespected in her entire life.

Once she’d pushed through all of the ugly, swamping feelings in the immediate aftermath, she’d done her best to put Rose Elliston behind her. And whenever she popped up in Abbie’s thoughts, she did her best to push her away back into the ether of her mind.

Since she didn’t follow Rose on any social media, she really hadn’t seen anything even about Rose in years. And the thing was – Abbie considered herself to be a pretty decent person. Forgiving, understanding, well-adjusted.

But no amount of being well-adjusted changed their last interaction. It didn’t change the fact that Rose had sought Abbie out to have sex, only to get engaged a week later to the man she’d sworn to Abbie “wasn’t in the picture.” She’d heard through the grapevine that Rose and Nathan had then gotten married the summer after their college graduation, too. Which wasn’t a surprise, given… that was usually what occurred after an engagement, of course. It just meant that Abbie continued to feel as used as she possibly could.

And to what end? That was the thing she’d wondered about the most, back then. Why?

Of course, there was no way she was going to ask. Especially not right here, right now.

Crossing her arms even tighter over her chest, she narrowed her eyes as she returned, “What are you doing here?”

Rose’s eyebrows arched high on her forehead as she slowly gestured around the room. “You’re literally standing in my office.”

If she’d been surprised a moment ago, Abbie safely considered herself floored, now. “What? No, that’s – what?”

No, she hadn’t heard much about Rose in years. Though Abbie kept in touch with Amaya and occasionally some of the other girls from the team back in the day, Rose hadn’t. But Abbie most definitely had never heard even a whisper of Rose being back at Elliston in any capacity, which was insane, because that was definitely something that would have worked through the gossip channel.

Apparently, her response was enough to cause Rose some amusement, though, as her lips quirked into a small smile. And with it, Rose rolled her shoulders back and walked over to her desk. The entire time, though, she kept her eyes on Abbie, that same look of disbelief etched into her expression.  

“Exactly what I said. This is my office,” Rose informed her, needlessly, again, as she lightly drummed her fingertips against the desk. “And you’re still looking at me like I’m an alien.”

No, she wasn’t looking at Rose like she was an alien; she was looking at Rose like Rose was a ghost from her past that she’d never thought she’d see again. Never wanted to see again. Abbie bit the inside of her cheek, just barely keeping herself from stating as much.

Not out of politeness or niceties, either, but because she refused to even hint that she felt that way. Giving Rose any insight into her thoughts and feelings was out of the question. “Well, I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”

Rose stared, arching a slow eyebrow at her. Silently asking – obviously – exactly who was Abbie expecting.

“I thought that when people referenced Headmaster Elliston, that it was your father,” she explained, even though she felt that was fairly apparent.

Granted, she didn’t think she’d be jumping for joy to see him, either. The few times she’d ever seen the man, he’d made her feel like she’d walked under a black cloud. Negative, imposing, and unsettling.

“He’s dead,” Rose promptly stated, her tone flat, as she finally looked away from Abbie. She sat down in the large chair behind the desk, clearing her throat. “Does that help you put the dots together?”

“Uh, oh.” All right, some of the wind was taken from her sails. No, she didn’t like Rose and she’d been sitting on this grudge for a long time, but it didn’t mean she wished literal death to Rose’s loved ones.

She hadn’t realized she’d walked closer to the desk, herself, until she came to stand next to one of the large chairs opposite Rose, as she studied her. The surprise, the amusement – the emotions Abbie had been able to read on Rose in the minutes prior were gone, but they didn’t seem to be replaced with pain.

At least, she didn’t think so, but it wasn’t like Abbie had the best track record with understanding Rose’s thoughts or feelings, so…

“I’m sorry for your loss,” she offered, though it didn’t seem like Rose really had any emotion on the topic one way or the other.

“Hmm,” Rose hummed noncommittally, as she reached out and clicked the mouse to her desktop computer, bringing it to life.

And she didn’t say anything else. Not a “thanks,” no details, not even a nod of acknowledgment.

Typical Rose Elliston style, Abbie noted. Awesome.

Which was fine. Actually, it was better that way; it meant they didn’t have to get sidetracked into any other conversation that might make Rose sympathetic to her in any way. Because if something could, it would be her parent dying.

Instead, Abbie could focus on the topic at hand.

“So, if you’re the Elliston in charge, why are you so surprised to see me?” She asked, as she dropped down into the chair next to her, angling a challenging look back at Rose. “I was just told that I’d be having a meeting with Headmaster Elliston. I assume you were told who you’d be having a meeting with.”

Rose pursed her lips as she turned those dark eyes back toward Abbie. She was still clicking through something on her laptop but barely gave it a glance of her attention. “As you know, your original meeting was planned for tomorrow. And I didn’t get the memo that it had been changed. Heidi apparently had sent an email informing me, but I was tied up with meetings all afternoon.”

She dropped her voice to a thoughtful mutter, as she turned her eyes back to her screen, having clearly navigated to what she’d been trying to find.

Abbie wanted – badly – to be able to make another smart remark.

Unfortunately, though, this meeting had been changed at the last-minute at her request. Originally, they’d been scheduled for tomorrow, as Rose stated, but Abbie had called Heidi, Rose’s admin assistant, earlier today to reschedule. She hadn’t anticipated that the meeting would get moved up to this very afternoon, but she’d been able to make it work.

Rose’s attention was still turned to her screen, her gaze intently focused.

Like… very keenly focused on something in front of her that Abbie couldn’t quite see. She could, however, see the way Rose’s lips tightly pursed and her jaw clenched, as she slowly turned to face her again, her dark eyes stormy as they locked on to Abbie’s.

There was an intensity in them that, momentarily, broke through Abbie’s iron-clad displeasure at being seated across from Rose. An intensity that was so startling, so strong, she felt like Rose’s eyes alone were enough to physically pin her right to the spot.

“As per the information I was given,” she gestured at her computer screen, “I was under the impression that my meeting was with someone named Abigail Parker,” her tone was as piercing as the look in her eyes.  

For a long moment, she could only stare. Because, was that it? Abbie – from that intensity – had been expecting something a lot… more.

She held her hands up, as if silently saying ta-da, before dropping them to her lap. “And, you got her.”

Rose’s jaw seemed to clench even harder, the muscle visible to Abbie from several feet away. The stare she had locked onto Abbie’s didn’t waver for a second. “When did you get married?”

Even though it was technically a question, it sounded a lot more like a demand.

Rankled by it – what right did Rose have to demand that kind of information from her? It wasn’t like they were old friends catching up, here – Abbie tilted her jaw up at Rose. “Legally, you can’t ask me about my marital status in a job interview.”

A deep sense of satisfaction worked through her when she saw that muscle twitch again.

“This isn’t an interview; you already have the job,” Rose countered, that glinting look in her eyes not dissipating at all. In fact, she seemed to look even more dour at Abbie’s response.

And, objectively, Abbie knew Rose was correct.

Abbie had already undergone multiple interviews with the Board of Trustees and had been offered the joint position of athletic director and girl’s head soccer coach. Meeting with Headmaster Elliston was somewhat of a formality, now. The final step in the process after accepting the job.

Regardless, she leaned back in her chair, draping her arms over the armrests on her chair, as she held Rose’s gaze. “I think my point still stands.”

She knew it did; you didn’t have Caroline Parker as a parent and not know legal basics.

Rose’s lips pursed tightly and she narrowed her eyes at Abbie from across the desk. And she evenly held Rose’s stare right back. Like hell would she be giving Rose Elliston a fucking inch.

Wait a second. “Is your last name even Elliston, anymore?”

The question slipped out before she could stop herself, even as she was annoyed by it. As much as she refused to answer Rose’s question about her own personal life, she was even more upset that she’d expressed any curiosity about Rose’s life.

But she was curious, the more she thought about it. Had Rose taken Nathan’s last name, as she traditionally would have? Did Rose revert back to Elliston whenever she entered the hallowed halls of this institution? Once-an-Elliston, always-an-Elliston sort of thing?

The corners of Rose’s lips tugged up into an irritatingly smug smile as she sent a challenging look back to Abbie. “I’m not sure that’s a legally prudent question to ask me during this meeting, either.”

Grinding her teeth, Abbie shrugged. “Doesn’t really matter to me, anyway.” Everything inside of her felt like she was on high-alert, uncomfortable and aware, and Abbie really didn’t know what to do with that. With anything that had happened in the last ten minutes, really. So, she cut right to the point. “Since you pointed out that this isn’t an interview, what exactly do we need to discuss in this meeting? If it’s just an introduction, I think it’s safe to say it can be short-lived.”

Rose’s perfectly arched eyebrows lifted, seemingly taken aback by Abbie’s directness. “It is mostly an introduction, given that you’re a new faculty member, and I’m the head of the school, yes. Typically, it would end with a tour before I officially welcome you to the staff.”

Abbie had to bite back the urge to make another snappy comment, managing only to do so because of the fact that she was here for a job. It wasn’t like she’d just run into Rose while they were at a store or even a reunion; Rose was sitting across this desk from her because she was her boss – in a roundabout way, given that Abbie would answer to the Board and not directly to Rose, but still.

It was all so… weird. And Abbie did not enjoy it.

“Great,” she muttered, “Why don’t we skip to that, then?”

That slightly surprised expression remained on Rose’s face as she slowly tilted her head, studying Abbie. Before she shrugged. “All right.”

Eager to not be here, in this surprise meeting with Rose fucking Elliston, Abbie nearly jumped up from her chair. Rose stood as well, though slower and smoother than Abbie, before she bent at the waist to unlock one of the drawers next to her desk.

And, yeah, Rose really did look even better than she had back in college. Somehow. Because, if Abbie had been asked after the night they’d spent together, she’d have said that she couldn’t imagine Rose being even more attractive than she already was.

Resolutely, Abbie turned away and ran her eyes over the opposite wall, instead. Several paintings were hung up there, and while Abbie was certainly no art connoisseur, she’d bet that they were old and expensive.

She heard Rose shut the drawer and re-lock it, before the back of her neck pricked in awareness as she felt Rose approach her.

“I find it interesting that you were looking around the office so intently when I came in,” Rose commented as she stood next to her. “As though you’ve never been here, before.”

Abbie’s eyebrows furrowed, indignance sliding through her. “You might recall that I was a pretty exemplary student in my time here,” she smartly reminded her. “I was never in trouble or sent to the headmaster’s office.”

Rose’s eyes locked onto hers, the amusement alight in them at Abbie’s vehement defense of her younger self. “Apologies; I wasn’t attempting to impugn your high school reputation.”

There was something about Rose’s amusement at Abbie’s ire that made her feel a little silly. Which bothered her even more because what right did Rose have to be amused at her? Or to make her feel silly?

“Are you ready to go?” She asked, her voice tight.

Rose carefully studied her for a few seconds, looking at Abbie curiously. Before she nodded, starting toward the door.

“As you know, clearly, this is the headmaster’s – my – office. Heidi, my admin assistant that you’ve obviously communicated with, is typically here,” Rose gestured to the desk outside of her office once they’d exited. “She went home early today, taking advantage of the end of summer vacation with her kids.”

Abbie wasn’t sure if she should trail behind Rose or walk side-by-side with her, which was so – exasperating. She hadn’t felt so out of depth with anyone in years.

But she had never had such a complicated history with anyone else, either. She’d certainly never held onto this terrible amalgamation of memories tied up in hurt, angry feelings for someone, either.

After only a moment of debate, she decided to walk in-step with Rose, not wanting her to think in any way that Abbie was deferring to her. Especially when Rose was “giving her a tour” of a school Abbie had freaking already attended.

Admittedly, it felt a little strange to be here for the first time in over ten years.

Elliston had felt so much… bigger, back then.

Rose cleared her throat, gaining Abbie’s attention. “The new school year officially starts in two weeks. Your employment is effective as of Thursday afternoon; I figured it would be beneficial for you to be able to get as much of a head start as possible. And from Heidi’s email earlier – you also seem to be eager to get going.” She looked at Abbie out of the corner of her eye.  

Abbie nodded, rolling her lips tightly. “Yeah, I am. I mean – the Board said I could start the day before the school year begins, but I’d rather jump in as soon as possible. The team should already be practicing, first of all. And, as the athletic director, I’ll need to set up meetings with all of the coaches for the season and go over expectations.”

She had the list in her head of everything she needed to do, already. And, if she was being honest, it was fairly daunting considering she’d never done anything like this before. But she’d never run from a challenge, and she wouldn’t start now. Especially not when she was hoping this would be a springboard into a new avenue of her life.

She noticed the expression on Rose’s face – as if she were a little surprised by what Abbie had said.

Feeling defensive, she challenged, “What’s that look for?”

Rose held her hands up. Well, she held one hand up, and the other was holding a sleek black folder that Abbie hadn’t really taken note of before, but she imagined it was what Rose had taken out of that drawer. “In all honesty, I’m just starting to think about your qualifications for this role.”

Yeah, that defensiveness ramped up from a simmer to a boil, and she came to a stop in the middle of the hallway. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Rose mirrored her stop, even if she didn’t seem to take on the same attitude Abbie felt filtering through her. In fact, Rose seemed – unfamiliarly – perfectly earnest, as she explained, “For the record, I’m not doubting your qualifications as a soccer coach.” One side of her mouth quirked up into a grin. “I’m well-aware of your accomplishments to that end.”

Abbie supposed that was something. But still, she was cautious to drop her guard.

Which proved to be wise, as Rose continued, “Your qualifications as the athletic director, I’m less familiar with.”

Abbie felt her face heat at Rose’s direct delivery. “Well, even though this isn’t an interview, I’ll have you know that I have a graduate degree in sports management, and I worked with the program at Duke in their latest athletics restructuring.”

Rose accepted her comment with a thoughtful nod. “I wasn’t attacking you, for the record. I was merely wondering.”

“Forgive me if it’s hard to tell, with you,” she muttered, before tightly pursing her lips. She really hadn’t meant to let that out.

But Abbie simply wasn’t built to keep things in, either. A true catch-22.

“Huh,” Rose hummed, clicking her tongue. Dark eyes ran slowly down Abbie’s face, lingering for a moment, before she cleared her throat and turned to keep walking. Seemingly as interested in brushing off Abbie’s comment as she was. “Anyway, regarding this position – you are aware that the contract is for a full year. Right?”

Abbie narrowed her eyes at the side of Rose’s face. If she wasn’t trying to give Abbie any grief, why was she acting like Abbie would have accepted a job without reading her fucking contract? “Of course I’m aware of that. What do you think I’m doing here?”

She could hear her own agitation, but, just, what? Why would she apply for a job, interview for it, and accept it, if she only had plans to be here for a few months?

Rose shot her a look as she rolled her eyes – and it was one of the only times in this entire interaction that Abbie felt like she saw the old Rose. “How should I know? To be frank, I have no idea what you’re even doing here at all. Shouldn’t you still be on the high of celebrating your Olympic win right about now? When did you even get back to the States?”

Abbie flushed – both pride and a strange sense of farewell washing through her. “I just got back last week.”

“So, you were literally at the Olympics, and doing a virtual interview to become the new athletic director and soccer coach at your old high school,” Rose summarized, incredulously.

And… in fairness, Abbie could understand the skepticism in her tone, especially when she said it like that.

Still, it didn’t change the fact that it was true. “Yes. Clearly.”

Rose paused again, so abruptly that Abbie continued for another few steps before stumbling to her own stop. When she turned around, baffled, she was met with Rose’s appraising stare.

“Are you okay?” Rose asked, frowning, as she ran her eyes from Abbie’s face to her feet, then back up. As if she had some sort of x-ray vision that could inform her of an injury or something. “As of your final game, you were playing just fine. Did something happen to you?”

There was that demanding undertone in her voice, which Abbie found strangely soothing. Again – that was classic Rose.

Shuffling slightly under that intense stare, she answered honestly, “No, I’m fine. Fit as a fiddle. Just… retired.”

God, that felt so weird to say.

She could see the way Rose was biting at the inside of her cheek as she continued to eye Abbie critically. “Pretty sudden and unexpected retirement; I don’t think I saw any announcements about it.”

“What, are you keeping tabs on me?” Abbie asked, on the offensive more than she cared to admit. But Rose asking questions about her made Abbie’s stomach clench again, and she’d prefer to not.

“Yes, if my watching the Olympics qualifies as keeping tabs on you,” Rose muttered, shaking her head as she started walking forward once more. Her pace was more of a clip now.

After several beats of silence, Abbie looked around and realized where, exactly, they were heading. Right toward the exit that led to the faculty parking area. Confused, she pointed out, “This is a strange “tour.” Actually, it reminds me a lot of the first tour you gave me here.”

“Given your demeanor toward me, I didn’t think you wanted me to point out everything you already know. The library, cafeteria, conference rooms, gymnasium, and athletic offices are all located exactly where they were when we went to school here. I’m happy to loop back and point them all out for you, if you’d prefer.” There was a strange mix of authenticity and sarcasm in her tone with her offer.

Abbie scoffed. “I’m fine, thanks.”

“And I’ve never given you a tour, before,” Rose countered, narrowing her eyes at Abbie as they approached the exit.

“Um, my first day here? Not when you smacked my soccer ball out of my arms,” she added for good measure – especially wanting to remind Rose that even if over a decade had passed, Abbie remembered.

She remembered everything, so it was really rich for Rose to have mentioned Abbie’s demeanor.

“After English class, when you were supposed to bring me to Chemistry,” she finished, knowing that she was right.

And still, Rose aimed a sharp frown up at her as she refuted, “That’s factually incorrect.”

“It is not.” Maybe Abbie shouldn’t be as offended as she was at such a ridiculous argument over something that happened over a decade ago, but she was. Because this was Rose, she was.

“It is! Ms. Belanger asked me to show you to a single class; that isn’t the same thing as a tour.”

“To both my locker and a class,” she corrected mildly, “And given that she asked you to do so because it was my first day and I had no idea where anything was, it was a tour. Even if she didn’t refer to it by name.”

“Ms. Belanger still works here, want to go and ask her?” Rose challenged, tilting her head up at Abbie, raising an eyebrow at her.

She tossed her hands into the air, exasperated. “Yeah, because that won’t sound crazy at all.”

“And for the record, you were also incorrect about the fact that you didn’t get in trouble when we were students. We were both reprimanded in the library,” Rose smartly added on, a little competitive smirk tugging at her lips.

For long moments, Abbie could only stare. Finally, a mirthless laugh broke from her lips, and she shook her head. “You know, when we were in your office, you’d caught me a little off-guard. Like, why isn’t this person acting like Rose Elliston. But, here you are.”

Maybe it was a relief, even.

If Abbie was going to be working here and had to see Rose occasionally, then it was great to have these little reminders that allowed her to easily hold on to that hurt and anger that Rose still sparked in her.

As soon as the words settled over them, though, Rose took a sharp inhale, before she rolled her lips, closing her eyes tightly.

After a few seconds, she blinked them open, clearing her throat. “This is clearly not a situation either of us anticipated today,” Rose stated, gesturing between them.

And… confusion swept through her at Rose’s calm, measured – dare Abbie even say soothing? – tone. Certainly something she’d never heard from Rose, before.

“And it makes sense that seeing one another for the first time in a long time, walking through these particular halls together, inspired that little back-and-forth. But you should know that, even before I knew it was you that was hired, I was very excited at the prospect of someone seemingly eager to take on the athletic director role.” Rose paused, before admitting, “Even more excited to have had someone want to take over the girls’ soccer program, as I obviously have a personal investment in that.”

Biting at her bottom lip, Abbie stared at Rose for several long moments, trying to keep up with… everything. With Rose being unexpectedly thrown into her orbit, with the sharp debate they’d had, with this seemingly very sincere person in front of her.

It felt like a real mindfuck of an afternoon, that was for sure.

“Before I knew it would be you that I was meeting today, I was really excited to take it on,” she cautiously returned, using Rose’s words back at her.

Rose’s mouth ticked into a small frown. “And… now?”

Biting at her cheek, Abbie sighed. “Now, I’m still excited. Just, didn’t expect you to be here.”

Rose accepted her comment with a slow, thoughtful nod.

“Look, just because we’re both here – I don’t necessarily think we’re going to have that much overlap. I mean, I don’t think your dad had a lot of personal run-ins with Coach Dru?”

Rose’s eyebrows furrowed slightly, as though she wasn’t sure where Abbie was going with this, even as she confirmed Abbie’s statement with a nod. “Not unplanned, that’s for certain.”

“Great. So, I’m going to do my thing. And you can do yours. Simple as that,” she asserted, feeling very good about that plan.

Rose didn’t agree, though. At least, not more than one of her little, “Hmm,” sounds, which Abbie did not trust.

She was more than relieved when Rose’s phone started buzzing, though, cutting this insane meeting short. Rose dug her phone out of her pocket, and Abbie caught the flash of Nathan’s name across the screen before Rose sent it to voicemail and dropped the hand with her phone in it back to her side.

Interesting.

Before Rose could say anything else, though, her phone starting ringing again.

“You should take that,” Abbie said, arching a look at Rose, before she turned toward the exit. “I’m going to head out.”

Admittedly, it did make her feel good to end this meeting on her terms, Rose being the headmaster be damned.

“Wait, Abbie–”

She froze when Rose’s hand reached out and touched her wrist. Every muscle froze, really, before she blinked down at where Rose was lightly touching her, then turned slightly to look back at Rose.

Her frown had deepened, etching into her face, as she stared searchingly into Abbie’s eyes.

Abbie slowly but intently pulled her arm back from Rose’s touch, crossing them over her chest. “Yeah?”

Rose closed her eyes and shook her head slightly, before she handed Abbie the black folder. “Here – it’s some basic information for you around starting your employment here. It’ll be useful for you to read before Thursday.”

Careful not to brush Rose’s hand with her own, Abbie reached out and took the folder. “Thanks.”

Rose’s phone started buzzing again, and Abbie took that as her queue to go before Rose could say or do anything to stop her again. She needed to get out of here.

***

“I can’t believe it!” Norah’s voice absolutely shook with amusement over the phone an hour later.

Abbie’s lips tugged into a mirthless smile as she put the kettle on the stove. “Yeah, me neither.”

God, she really couldn’t believe it. She’d gone so long without seeing Rose again, that she’d really believed it would never happen.

“I never thought we’d be seeing this bitch again,” Norah echoed her thoughts.

“You’ve never even actually seen her before,” Abbie pointed out. “Except from the stands from a game in high school, maybe.”

“I’m metaphorically seeing her,” Norah scoffed. “I did avow to slash a tire if we saw her again. Do you want to hold me to that?” She offered.

This time, Abbie’s smile and laugh were real. “You offered that eight years ago. Before you were an Assistant District Attorney, and all.”

“I made this promise to you before I passed my bar,” Norah dismissed. “It’s fine, it’s grandfathered in.”

“Mm, I’m not sure that’s how the law works.” She rifled through the variety of tea up in the cabinet. “I’ll ask Caroline when she gets home.”

“I’m sure if my aunt knew everything that went down between you and Rose Elliston back in the day, she’d be on my side with this one.”

Abbie didn’t even need to think about that, as she agreed, “You’re probably right.”

After all, Caroline was ready to prosecute anyone that had ever hurt Abbie. If she knew the extent to Rose’s one-night stand, lying about being with her boyfriend, and then her very public engagement soon after… sure, she could imagine Caroline providing Norah with an alibi.

But she’d never told Caroline or her mom about that night. In fact, she’d never told anyone other than Norah. Aside from being Abbie’s best friend and cousin, she was also the only person Abbie was super close to that had absolutely no ties to Rose. Amaya, obviously, had known Rose for a long time. And even Abbie’s friends on her team at Duke had a small tie to Rose, through soccer.

“Are you still going to take the job?” Norah asked after a long moment.

At that, Abbie paused, leaning against the kitchen counter. “Honestly, walking away from it hadn’t even occurred to me,” she admitted.

Which was the truth. Even if she hadn’t been pleased to see Rose, not once did she think about turning down the position.

“I’m not going to let Rose Elliston dictate anything that happens in my life,” she stated, firmly. “Especially not with everything else going on right now.”

In fact, going forward, she was determined to do exactly as she’d said to Rose – avoid her. There was no need for them to overlap, which would allow Abbie to, in turn, work on reigning in her temper whenever she did have to see Rose.

“Solid plan, Abs. I support you… whether it be in words or tire slashing.”

She breathed out another laugh, reaching out to turn the burner off on the stove as the kettle whistled. “Appreciated.”

“And,” Norah paused, briefly, before her tone gentled, “I know it’s not how any of us would have hoped, but I’m happy that you’re back here.”

Abbie wasn’t sure if she wanted to smile and take comfort in the soft tone or if she wanted to grimace at the reminder of the circumstance.

“I’m glad to be back, too,” she settled on, not mentioning the why.

Even if she’d been living in Colorado for the last several years while she’d been playing soccer out there, she’d always intended on moving back to Boston, eventually.

She froze, hearing footsteps on the stairs.

“Gotta go, my mom’s up and about. Love you.”

“You, too. And tell your mom I love her too!” Norah managed before Abbie ended the call.

She tossed her phone on the counter and rushed out of the kitchen toward the main stairs, already speaking even before she saw her mom, “What are you doing out of bed?”

Her mom’s gray eyes rolled at her, hard. “I’m not on bedrest, sweetheart.”

Still, Abbie frowned at the bottom of the stairs, carefully eyeing her mom. “You’re supposed to be getting a lot of rest, though.”

“I’m thirsty. I think walking down to the kitchen is allowed,” her mom dryly shot back as she reached the last step, reaching out to smooth a lock of Abbie’s hair behind her ear before she took the final step and started walking toward the kitchen.

Abbie walked slowly behind her, watching her movements carefully.

Her mom shot her a look over her shoulder, exasperated. “You hover just as much as Caroline does. I promise you, I’ve been walking on my own for a very long time.”

“Well, comparing me to Caroline isn’t exactly unfavorable,” she pointed out. “So, if that’s how you’re trying to get me to stop, it’s not going to work.”

“I wasn’t trying anything; merely pointing out the truth,” her mom countered, as they entered the kitchen. She paused, looking at the tea Abbie had been in the process of making.

Proudly, Abbie reached out and tugged one of the kitchen stools out from the counter, and gently but irrefutably urged her mom to sit down, hovering in the process. “I was going to bring you a cup, if you had just waited patiently upstairs.”

Hannah’s eyes rolled again, even as she gently, comfortingly, squeezed Abbie’s hand and settled into her seat. “I’ve been relaxing all day. It’s good for me to be up and about – you heard the doctor say it with your own ears, even if you and Caroline both act like you heard them say I better not ever stand on my own two feet unsupervised ever again.”

Abbie frowned reproachfully at her before she turned to finish making their tea. “Well, we’ll see what they say at your follow-up tomorrow.”

“I thought you had your meeting tomorrow?” Her mom asked. “Actually, I’m certain that your meeting is at the same time my doctor rescheduled my follow-up for; it was in our planner.”

Abbie had gotten both of her parents to maintain a shared digital calendar over the years for ease of maintaining phone calls. But – in this moment – she did slightly regret it.

“Well, I rescheduled it. Had the meeting this afternoon. You were napping when I left, but I let Caroline know.”

And as soon as she’d returned from her meeting, Caroline had ducked out to go to the store. They’d managed a perfectly in-sync schedule for the last week.

She turned around, a cup in each hand, meeting her mom’s exasperated frown with her own.

“Abbie, you’ve already thrown your life into such an upheaval in the last month,” her mom’s tone was gentle, but unyielding, as was the look in her eyes as she accepted the tea from Abbie. “If there’s anything I want you to do, it’s for you to live your life exactly the way you want to live it. You’re young–”

She scoffed, dramatically. “I’m thirty.”

It felt weird saying that, still. It made sense, she figured, given that she’d only just had her birthday less than two weeks ago.

Her mom laughed, shaking her head. “Yes, exactly. You’re young, and you are brilliant and skilled and successful, and what I want is for you to enjoy that,” she stressed, not for the first time.

In fact, when Abbie had called her parents and informed them of her plan to retire imminently – as soon as the Olympics were over – and return home, her mother had been absolutely, resolutely aghast.

But Abbie had been unswayed, and now, here she was.

Freshly retired from one career and attempting to start another.

Her mom had spent the last ten years encouraging Abbie to chase her dreams wherever they led her, and she figured it likely had a lot to do with the fact that her mom hadn’t had the opportunity to chase her own independent life dreams until her mid-thirties. And what was all well and good, and Abbie loved her for it.

But there was nothing and no one that would keep her away from home the second she’d gotten the call informing her about her mom’s cancer diagnosis.

“I am skilled and successful, and I’ve hit the pinnacle of my career as a pro athlete, if you really think about it. World Cups, Olympics – been there, done that.” She waved her hand through the air. “I think it’s good to take on something new,” she returned, readily.

It had been an ongoing conversation between them for the last several weeks, ever since this new dose of reality had entered their world.

Her mom stared intently at her, gray eyes narrowing slightly as she pursed her lips. “Before you officially start this job, I really want you to think about it. I am okay, honey. And the last thing I want is for you to make such huge, life-altering decisions because of me.”

Her mom reached out, placing her hand over Abbie’s again. This time, she squeezed and held tightly, and she found it to be very grounding.

Especially as her throat tightened and her stomach cramped, and she couldn’t help but dart her eyes over to the photo that hung over on the wall near the dining table.

The one of her mom and her grandmother in the kitchen at the diner her grandmother had worked in, from when her mom had been little. And her heart felt like it was being squeezed so hard she could barely breathe through it.

They’d been through this conversation multiple times as of late, and Abbie felt the same steadfast resolve now that she had ever since she’d gotten the news.

With that, she flipped her hand over to grip her mom’s right back. “I’m making this decision for me. I know that Caroline would be here to take care of you every second of every day. I know that you both want me to live out my dreams, more than anything,” she acknowledged, feeling the truth of that settle inside of her.

“But what I need, is to be here, with you. Both of you.”

And that was the bottom line.

Yes, Abbie had loved the life she’d been living, of course she did.

But there was nothing more grounding than getting the news that her mother was sick. Nothing that could possibly re-align Abbie’s priorities in the same way.

She knew they were lucky – a stage one diagnosis, caught early, with extremely high odds of a full recovery.

Still, though, she shifted her gaze over to the picture of her grandmother once again. The fear was very, very real.

Her mom followed her stare, and she squeezed Abbie’s hand again, more intently, this time.

She knew her mom was thinking the same thing she was – Abbie’s grandmother had only been a couple years older than Hannah was, now, when she’d died.

“It’s not the same,” her mom stated, bringing her back to the moment.

She blinked, her eyes watery, as she turned back to face her mom’s gaze. There was that small smile on her face, something Abbie knew was in place to comfort them both.

“My mom…” Hannah’s voice trailed off, tightly, before she cleared her throat. “She didn’t have Caroline Parker, someone that knew her every move, who was aware of every possible change in her routine or her body. It was a very, very different prognosis.”

Abbie nodded, reaching up with her free hand to rub over her eyes. “I know.”

Logically, she knew that. Logically, she knew that they’d performed the lumpectomy last week, that the surgeon was confident that they’d removed the whole tumor, that her oncologist was extremely optimistic, and that they had the best doctor in the city. Actually, one of the best in the country, because Caroline had known someone that had known someone to get an appointment.

Taking in a deep breath, Abbie slowly, evenly blew it out. “But this is what I want,” she reminded her mom, for at least the hundredth time. “I don’t like the circumstances, but… being here is what I want. And I don’t have any regrets.”

She’d gotten consistent calls and texts from her teammates – from both her club and the national team – checking in on her, jokingly and not jokingly demanding she announce that her retirement was a joke.

And she’d wondered if she’d feel any regret in buying out the remaining months in her contract after she did it.

So far, though, there had been not an ounce of doubt.

Her mom studied her closely, as she reached out and took a sip of her tea. “All right, then I will stop bringing it up so often.” She took another sip, sliding her hand out of Abbie’s to cradle her mug. “How was the meeting, then?”

Abbie froze under her mom’s scrutinizing gaze. “Um… it was good. Fine.”

She looked down at her own tea, away from her probing stare.

“And?”

“And… nothing, really. I mean, I was already offered the job. Just a quick meeting with the headmaster to confirm. I’ll start Thursday.” She shrugged, bringing the tea up to her mouth.

“Who are you, and where is my chatterbox of a daughter?” Her mom asked, suspicion etched across her face.

Abbie felt herself flush as she shrugged. “I just don’t have much to say, is all. It was a really short meeting, I swear.”

Her mom hummed as she watched Abbie over the rim of her mug.

Even at thirty, her mom’s reproachful stare made Abbie feel like a child again.

She’d never been more relieved to hear the front door open and close, and she perked up. “Caroline’s home!”

Still, her mom continued to stare at her, critically.

“We’re in the kitchen!” She called out.

“We?” Caroline echoed, her voice coming closer as she walked toward the kitchen. “I’m confused about who we is, given that Hannah is supposed to be resting today?”

A victorious smile took over Abbie’s face as Caroline appeared in the doorway, eyeing them both.

Her mom groaned. “I had to get down to the kitchen before you got home, baby, or else – with the two of you on a team – I wouldn’t even be able to do to the bathroom by myself.”

Caroline walked in, putting the bag she brought home from the store on the counter, as she stood right behind Hannah, and leaned in to kiss her cheek. And then she lingered there for several long moments. “I would apologize, but I simply can’t feel remorseful about our daughter and myself smothering you with love and attention.”

Caroline looked up at her and winked as she stood up straight and lifted her hand up to gently stroke through her mom’s hair in a continuous caress.

“How was your meeting, kiddo? I want to hear everything about it.”

Her mom scoffed. “She’s being strangely reticent.”

It was Abbie’s turn to groan, and she spun away from them to avoid letting them get too much of a read on her. “I already said – it was totally fine!”

“You’re right,” Caroline murmured, obviously directed at Hannah. “She is being strange.”

“I’m not,” she denied, turning back around. “It really was a short meeting. And it was okay. Nothing of note.”

She wasn’t going to even mention Rose to them. Mostly because she didn’t trust herself to keep an even, emotionless tone, and she knew they’d both pick up on it.

God, she really, really hoped that they could avoid one another. She was already going through enough upheaval in every other aspect of her life; the last thing she needed right now was a Rose Elliston-shaped addition.

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