Claiming Serenity(57)

And then Declan and Mullens and the other grumpy, pissed off, wet squad all hurried into the fray, punching, screaming, until Declan gripped Donovan’s neck and pushed him toward the sidelines. “Calm yourself, arsehole and have a rest.”

The snow wasn’t heavy, barely touched his ankles, but it made passing, even keeping upright at the scrum damn near impossible. It also made Donovan’s ass numb as he sat watching the practice in front of him.

“Why aren’t you playing?” Autumn’s voice came from behind him and Donovan stretched around, just noticing that she and Sayo sat on two chairs that hadn’t been there when Declan tossed him from the pitch. He turned back around, not really in the mood for Autumn’s nosy questions. “Are you ignoring me, Donley?” God, but she a nosy shit sometimes.

Donovan caught Declan’s gaze across the field then lowered his shoulders when his best friend frowned at him. “Your jackass boyfriend benched me.” He didn’t bother to look at her as he answered.

“Your ankle hurting?”

“Fuck, Autumn, no. I’m in a shitty mood.” Declan came nearer, likely catching something in his girlfriend’s face that annoyed him, and Donovan, not eager to hear more bitching, looked back at her. “I was being an asshole and Deco and Coach didn’t want me on the pitch. I’m sorry for barking at you. I don’t wanna be here.”

The redhead smiled at him, and for the thousandth time Donovan was reminded why Declan and Layla and all their friends loved her so much. She was always looking out for everyone but herself. Her expression told him she understood, that she probably hadn’t even minded him yelling at her, which only made him feel shittier.

“It’ll be over soon, Donovan. Then you can go home and catch a shower and be done with practice for at least a week.”

“Lucky me,” he said, turning back around when Declan approached. He didn’t listen to the low timbre of his best friend’s voice when he spoke to Autumn or how he greeted Sayo with an equally soft tone. That was Declan. He was stupid around women, especially that woman and her friends.

After months of being with Layla, Donovan had a better understanding of why. That only annoyed him further since he thought he hadn’t wanted anything from Layla except what she could do to his body. Now, even that was gone.

“You better, mate?” Donovan waved off Declan, disregarding his question and he thought his friend would yell at him for not answering, but then Autumn called to Donovan and both men turned toward her.

“Have you talked to Layla?”

He turned, catching the barely there grin on Sayo’s face before he watched the pitch. “Earlier, but just for a few minutes.”

“Did she seem okay to you?”

No, he thought. She didn’t. She’d seemed distant and not herself and not annoyed at him and poking his temper with that sharp tongue. He’d hated seeing her like that. There’d been no fire in her eyes, no spark that made him want to kiss her. “I didn’t notice, Autumn.”

“Well, she hasn’t been around.”

When Donovan ignored her, the two girls started talking to each other and Donovan caught small phrases like “New York” and “distracted” and “not like her.”

Declan looked up from his phone when Coach called him and he nudged Donovan. “You ready to go back in?”

“No, man. My ankle is bothering me. I think Tibbit swiped it.” He looked up at Declan, ignoring how his best friend clenched his jaw, watching Donovan for any break in his expression. “Give me like ten more minutes and I’ll be out there. Okay?”

“Aye. Fine, but don’t nurse your bitty ankle too long, sweetheart.”

“Shut up, asshole,” he told Declan, flipping him off when the Irishman laughed at him.

Donovan’s ankle hadn’t bothered him in months, barely a twinge since Layla buttered his bathroom floor that caused the sprain in the first place. He wasn’t in the mood to practice, which for him was out of character. He loved this game like breath, always wanted on the pitch, but today his mind was elsewhere, focused on details being discussed behind him that he hoped would fill the gaps in Layla’s excuses. Donovan tried to be subtle, hoped that Autumn and Sayo wouldn’t catch on to him leaning back on his hands, trying not to curse about the snow burning his palms, just so he could listen in on their conversation.

“Mollie too. She told me last night she thinks she’s getting the flu.”

“It’s going around. They had to pull two nurses from the children’s ward at the hospital when they starting throwing up.”