Chapter 4 The Morning After
MIA
I didn’t sleep.
The contract stayed open on my phone like I could fix it just by staring at it long enough.
Six months.
One hundred and eighty days of pretending I belonged next to someone I used to hate.
It didn’t feel real. Not yet. But it was already starting to sit inside me like something heavy I couldn’t drop.
My phone buzzed before I even finished getting dressed.
Caleb: Hope you slept well. Team breakfast at 9. I’ll pick you up.
I stared at it for a moment longer than necessary.
Mia: I have a car.
Caleb: Reporters already know where you live. We go together.
Caleb: That’s the deal.
I exhaled slowly.
He was right. I hated that he was right.
Mia: Fine. 8:45. Don’t be late.
Caleb: I’m never late.
Mia: There’s always a first time.
I dropped my phone and looked at myself in the mirror.
Tired eyes. Slight dark circles. Hair I didn’t have the energy to fix properly.
Nothing about me looked different from yesterday.
But everything in my life was.
Mom was already in the kitchen when I walked out.
She sat at the table with a cup of tea she hadn’t touched yet. Her pink beanie was slightly crooked, like she had put it on without thinking.
“You’re up early,” she said.
“Team thing,” I replied.
“Since when does the team manager go to breakfast?”
I poured water into a glass just so I wouldn’t have to look at her directly.
“Since now.”
“Mia.”
I stopped.
That tone.
Not angry. Not accusing. Just tired and observant in a way that made it harder to lie.
“Is everything okay?” she asked.
“Yeah,” I said quickly. “Everything’s fine.”
“You’re a terrible liar.”
“I learned from the best.”
That made her pause for a second. Her lips twitched like she almost smiled, but didn’t have the energy to fully do it.
“I saw you come home late last night,” she said.
My grip tightened slightly on the glass.
“With a truck,” she added.
I froze.
“That was..”
“A boy?” she cut in, raising an eyebrow. “A very expensive truck, Mia.”
“It’s not what you think.”
“Then what is it?”
I opened my mouth.
Nothing came out.
I couldn’t tell her the truth. Not like that. Not casually.
So I didn’t.
“It’s a friend,” I said instead. “His name is Caleb. He’s on the team.”
“A friend,” she repeated slowly.
“Yes.”
“A friend who picks you up at night in a truck.”
“Mom.”
She leaned back in her chair slightly, studying me.
Not angry.
Just aware.
“I’m not judging you,” she said after a moment. “Just be careful.”
“I am careful.”
She nodded, but didn’t look convinced.
“Okay,” she said softly. “Just… maybe I’ll meet him someday.”
That landed heavier than I expected.
“Yeah,” I said. “Maybe.”
My phone buzzed again.
Outside, Caleb’s truck pulled up exactly at 8:45.
Of course it did.
I was already standing outside when he got out and walked around to open the passenger door.
“You don’t have to do that,” I said.
“My mom raised me right,” he replied.
“That’s convenient.”
He glanced at me. “Get in, Lin.”
I got in.
The truck smelled the same as yesterday. Clean. Slightly expensive. Like a life that didn’t include worrying about hospital bills or overtime shifts.
He started driving.
Neither of us spoke for a moment.
Then—
“Did you eat?” he asked.
“I’m not hungry.”
“You said that yesterday.”
“I was hungry yesterday.”
A pause.
Then he reached behind him and placed a paper bag on my lap.
I looked at it.
“What’s this?”
“Breakfast.”
I didn’t open it immediately.
“You don’t have to do that,” I said.
“I know.”
“Then why are you?”
He kept his eyes on the road. “Because you’re going to pass out one day and I don’t want it happening in front of cameras.”
Simple. No emotion added. Just practical.
I opened the bag.
Breakfast sandwich. Orange juice. A banana.
I stared at it longer than I should have.
“Eat,” he said.
So I did.
We drove in silence for a while.
The city passed outside the window like nothing important was happening.
I tried not to think too much.
About the contract.
About my mom.
About the fact that I was sitting next to someone I used to hate, eating food he bought for me like it was normal.
It wasn’t normal.
Nothing about this was normal.
“Why are you being nice?” I asked eventually.
He didn’t look at me. “I’m not sure I am.”
“That’s your version of not nice?”
“It’s practice.”
“Practice for what?”
He glanced at me briefly. “For being believable.”
I scoffed lightly. “You’re doing fine.”
“Not according to you.”
I didn’t answer.
The diner was already busy when we arrived.
Warm light. Loud voices. The smell of fried food and coffee that had been sitting too long.
Hockey players filled half the place.
And every single conversation shifted the moment we walked in together.
I felt it immediately.
Eyes.
Watching.
Measuring.
Caleb’s hand went lightly to my lower back as he guided me forward.
I stiffened without meaning to.
“You’re doing it again,” I said quietly.
“Doing what?”
“This.”
“It looks normal.”
“There’s no audience right now.”
“There’s always an audience,” he said.
I didn’t argue.
We sat near the window.
I noticed Chloe almost immediately. She was staring so hard I could feel it. Her mouth opened slightly like she had a thousand questions and none of them were allowed out.
I ignored her.
Eli sat across from us.
He looked between me and Caleb for a long second.
“So,” he said slowly. “This is real now?”
“Apparently,” I said.
“For how long?”
“Six months,” Caleb answered before I could.
Eli leaned back in his chair. “That’s a long time to date someone you can’t stand.”
Something tightened in my chest at the wording.
Caleb didn’t react immediately.
Just a small shift in his jaw.
Then Eli smiled like he hadn’t said anything important. “Relax. I’m kidding.”
He stood up. “Coffee. You two want anything?”
We both said no at the same time.
Eli laughed to himself as he walked away.
The table fell quiet.
Caleb leaned back in his chair.
“He won’t say anything,” he said.
“I don’t care if he does.”
“You should.”
I looked at him. “Why?”
“Because he knows.”
I paused.
“The truth,” he added.
Fake.
The word sat between us longer than it should have.
And for the first time, it didn’t feel as light as it did before.