An hour later, I am standing in the players' lot, by the back exit of the arena. The spring air is warm and still, despite that it is night; the inky skies are clear with dim, white stars.

With a sigh, I fix my blazer. It usually takes a while for Nolan to dress up and come out from the arena. He always wants to make sure he is looking his best, even though his hair tells a different story.

But he's my best friend. I would wait long minutes—hours—for him. I enjoy his company and all we talk and laugh about. I don't want to hurry him up or become impatient; he hates being pushed like that. I also do not want to abandon him because I don't want him to abandon me. We're friends and friends don't leave each other out of selfish impatience.

I cross my arms and gaze around the dimly-lit parking lot. Cars ranging from two door sport cars to SUVs dot the expansive asphalt. The lights shining from their poles buzz and emit white light. A few of my teammates wade through the row of cars.

"Hey, Hartsy!"

I turn to my left, where the familiar voice sounded.

Approaching me with a small smirk is Brett.

A smile springs up on my face. "Howdy!"

Brett takes my hand and pulls me into a one-armed hug. He pats my shoulder; I do the same.

"Great game." He pulls away and lets go of my hand to stuff his hands in his jacket pockets. "Congrats on winning the conference!"

"Hah, thanks." I chuckle playfully. "You must be a bit bitter, eh?"

With his eyes cast aside, Brett shrugs. "It's whatever, I guess." He turns them back to me. "Next season."

I nod. "Yep, next season."

Silence, including the buzzing of the lights and soft conversations from my teammates, takes over our conversation.

Brett glances around before stating, "So, why are you standing out here alone?" He looks back at me. "I see the others going."

"I'm waiting for Pat."

He furrows his eyebrows. "For what?"

"For...Pat."

"No, what are you waiting for him to do?" He has narrowed eyes.

I keep wide eyes on him, full of uncertainty. "Come to me...," I answer slowly. "We're supposed to eat together to celebrate."

Brett holds a suspicious look. "Are you...sure?"

"Uh, yeah." I cross my arms. "Why?"

He darts his eyes from the parking lot to behind me. "Um, well—" He lands them on me. "—he's not here. He's with someone else."

My heart skips a beat with surprise. I don't hold back the same shocked expression on my face. "What?" I drop my arms. "Wh-what do you mean?"

Brett pulls out his smartphone and taps on its bright screen for a moment.

"This popped up just right now." He holds out the lit screen at me.

Carter lean forward with incentive eyes on the screen's contents. Displayed on the screen is an Instagram story of a closeup of Nolan sitting in a dimly-lit environment; next to him, smiling along with him, is Nico. The time stamp shows "4 minutes ago."

I let my jaw hang open as hurt floods through me. "What?" is all I could say.

The screen is pulled away by its owner. I straighten up to watch Brett turn off his phone and slip it back into his jacket pocket.

He lets out a heavy sigh. "Yep."

I gaze at him with large eyes, stunned. "Wh-wh-wh-but..." I look aside and draw in a sharp breath, attempting to gather my train of thought. " ...but he told me we were going to eat together..." He turn back to him.

Brett shrugs with a slight frown. "Sorry. I guess...he didn't want to let you down." A grimace appears on his face. "Some friend."

The energy from my excitement sputters away, causing me to dip my head. My chest tightens; it is like as if I have been stabbed. My heart hurts; it is like as if it has been torn into millions of pieces. My stomach churns at the thoughts running through my head:

"Why did he go out with HIM instead?" I mutter. "What did I do wrong? Why doesn't he want me?" I peer up at him with my arms out from my sides. "I-I wanted to hang out with him; I was looking forward to it..." My arms then wrap around myself. "I guess he doesn't like me as much as his draft partner."

I look back down, focusing on suppressing the betrayed emotions raging inside of me.

"Sorry, Hartsy." I feel Brett give me a hardy pat on my shoulder. "Sorry that Nolan's such a pathetic friend." The weight of his hand disappears. "At least I had the guts to tell you what he was hiding from you."

"Yeah...," I breathe out. "...thanks..." I sigh as a way to lessen the pain.

I then hear Brett ask with concern, "You okay?"

"I guess." I then peer up at him and state what I want to be: "I'll be okay."

He gazes at me with an empathic look. "Okay." He then gazes around before announcing, "I gotta get going now; have to catch the subway, even though it's leaving in two hours." He shrugs. "You never know what obstacles can come." He taps my shoulder. "'Night, Hartsy."

With that, Brett turns around and strolls away.

I keep my droopy eyes on his minimizing back. The heavy weight of confusion and hurt continues to press down on me. I cannot comprehend how and why Nolan would ditch me for his old friend. What hurts the most is he never told me. It is like he does not trust me...

I hold my breath with pursed lips, bracing myself for the conclusion.

...or thinks I am not good enough to know.

"Hartsy!"

I turn around to the source of the friendly voice. Travis bumps my arm with a warm smile.

"Wanna join the boys and me to celebrate? We're hitting the bar." He nods to my left toward the parking lot.

I give a curt nod. "Okay."

Travis then turns and strolls into the parking lot. I follow him in the silence of my misery.