More than Enough (Book Two in the Enough Series)

Bennett

Thankfully after that hit to the brick wall, my hand wasn't broken. It was bruised as fuck, swollen a little and Coach was annoyed. Reed was concerned, but I didn't divulge all the details of the saga with Gemma. I didn't exactly know what to say. I felt like an idiot, letting myself actually have feelings for a change and being treated like garbage. I understood that she had trust issues, a rough past, and a bumpy present, but it didn't give her an excuse to treat me the way that she had. Of course, I didn't hear anything from Gemma and I didn't even attempt to reach out to Los or even go by Brew. I was hurt and angry. Mostly just angry.

"Hayes! Calm yourself down out there or I'll bench you for the game." I rolled my eyes after passing Coach into the locker room. I was running full force on the field, even during practice. One of the guys got in my way and we tripped each other up, he had to make a smart-ass comment and I nearly ripped his face off.

"What's got into you, man?" Reed plopped down next to my cubby. "Why aren't you talking to me? I thought we were friends?" I couldn't help but let out a defeated sigh. I didn't want to block him out right now, but it was just so complicated. Not only that, he had a lot on his plate with his girlfriend, Eden. She was set to donate stem cells to her sick Mother, whom she'd been estranged from her entire life. To say it was stressful for them both was an understatement. On top of that, we were heading out on an extended road trip and then a visit with his family down in Georgia. That part I was looking forward to. A nice distraction.

"Stress. Women. Nothing important, no worries." I shrugged him off. Of course, he was a persistent asshole.

"Gemma? Are you guys having trouble already?" He leaned back, having already showered and changed after practice. I gathered my toiletries and towel, ready to shower this day away and prepare for the road.

"Already? We're not dating. It was casual. I told ya, just stress. Ready for these road games and some of Mama Sawyer's food." I didn't wait for his response, heading off to the showers.

*

Two road games down and one to go before we made it to the peach heaven that was Georgia. I'd spent every moment focused on soccer and my teammates. I was doing my best to ignore the little voice begging me to text or call Gem, or even to text Los. I suppose it had been easy to do since Reed need all the help he could get. His youngest sister had an emergency surgery come up and his girlfriend had flown out there early. He was beyond stressed and anxious as hell to get to them.

Once we made it to our hotel and our room, we always made sure to bunk together, I flopped my exhausted ass on the hotel bed. My eyes closed, letting my muscles relax for a moment while listening to Reed rummage through his things like a rabid raccoon.

"So, how are things with Gemma?" Reed muttered.

"What? Gemma?" I wanted to punch him for even mentioning her name. I tried to play it off but I doubt I fooled him. I was saved by the bell so to speak as his phone started going off. "Your phone is going off like crazy, man," I called out to him while he was preparing for a shower.

I leaned back again, letting myself drift off to sleep while Reed was speaking with I assumed his Mother. I was so mentally and physically tired, I didn't care that I was on the top of the bed, that duvet everyone knew they never washed. Or that I was still in my gym clothes. My short attempt at slumber was interrupted though when I heard Reed shouting something about his sister fighting for her life. Of course that grabbed my attention and I quickly sat up, watching as he paced the floor. When the call was finished, he sunk down onto the edge of his bed, letting his phone fall next to him.

"What's going on? Dude, you're freaking me out." I got up and sat next to him on his bed, unsure of what exactly to do. I knew his Dad had been having health struggles, but he mentioned his sister, I was so confused.

"Lizzie has leukemia," Reed exclaimed before breaking down into sobs. His whole body shook as he let the tears fall.

I couldn't help it, I felt my own tears starting to fall. I'd met Lizzie a few times. She was a spunky little girl. From what I knew of Leukemia from our charity events and TV, it didn't usually end well. I couldn't imagine such a sweet young girl going through that and how Reed must feel. When he started to calm down, I simply patted him on the back. I couldn't seem to find any words of comfort in that moment.

"I'm sorry. That fucking sucks."

"Tell me about it," Reed grunted.

"She'll be fine." I declared, standing up. "She's a Sawyer, and you guys are tough. As soon as we get to Georgia, we'll get in there and make sure she gets whatever she needs."

"Thanks, man."

We both changed and crawled into our beds; it didn't take long for me to zonk back out. I wanted to sleep away all of the emotions swirling around, hoping I'd wake up tomorrow and it would all be just a very bad dream.

Reed was solemn the next morning. I didn't talk, trying to give him time to process and handle everything on his own. On the flight to Nashville, I listened to music, zoning out thinking of the game ahead. Or at least attempting to. A pair of green eyes kept flashing in my mind, thinking about the way they looked when she ripped my heart out and spit on it. Then how happy she looked when we sat on opposite ends of the couch, playing our question game. It was mental whiplash and I hated it. Thankfully the flight was short and before I knew it, we had landed and were heading to the arena.

After a quick roster meeting, warm-ups, and the game was set to begin. I ran over and grabbed Reed for a moment, hoping to give him a pep to get through the game.

"You got this man, one game. We got one more game to win and we'll get ya to Georgia." I pulled him in for a side hug and then a fist bump before we took our lineup. The game was a shit show. Between Reed's head not being there, my heart wasn't in it either. We took a heavy loss and had the mood to show for it. Everyone was being extra snippy. It didn't help that we had to immediately catch the plane to Georgia, making everything a hurried rush. I confirmed with Reed once we were boarded that he was heading straight to his parent's house. I assumed as much and decided I'd give them some family time before I joined in. Opting to hit the hotel and get some much-needed rest instead.

"Listen, I know it's gotta be hell right now, but just know that she's young and tough. She'll be okay. I can feel it." I offered my words to Reed in the hotel lobby. "Say Hello to everyone, I'll see you guys tomorrow evening. If anything changes and you guys need just family time, I totally understand."

"Shut up you idiot. My Mom will probably be sad enough that you're not coming now." He punched my arm. "Thank you though, Bennett. I appreciate you. I know you well enough too that if something is going on with Gemma, you won't tell me now because of all this." He raised a brow as if daring me to tell him he was wrong. "But don't do that... I'm still here for you too, whatever it is."

"Yea, ok. Get out of here, I'm sick of your face."

This time I made sure to undress before passing out in the hotel bed.