Take Me Away novel Chapter 42

Each of the two teams readied to their positions as Spencer and Sam went to the center to represent their teams.

"Is he one of your classmates? Why isn't he participating in the game?" Spencer asked, glowering at Ryan.

Sam glanced at Ryan's direction and said with a smile, "Well, he did not come here for sportsmanship, I'm well enough to occupy you. He came here to impress a lady."

'A lady? Is he referring to Fiona?' Spencer narrowed his eyes at the thought. He turned his attention to the game as he crouched down to the starting position, Sam mirroring his actions.

"Ready!" The referee looked over them with a whistle pressed between his lips. He blew his whistle and tossed the ball into the air, starting the game.

With the ball in the air, Spencer and Sam jumped high in the air in an attempt to possess the ball, but Spencer was faster in obtaining the ball, dribbling it to the opposite side of the court.

"You can do it, Mr. Cheng!"

"Go! Go! Go! You can do it, Sam!"

Cheers erupted from the bleachers as onlookers encouraged their respective teams. It was the start of what would be a very intense match.

Fiona was seated on the rest area, her moods fluctuating in every turn of the game. She sighed with relief as Spencer had the ball in his possession, dribbling it across the court. She sneered at the knowledge that he had the tendency to rile people in and out of the court.

"You can do it, M. Cheng! Go! Go! Go!" Sophia cheered, her voice overpowering the rest of the crowd.

Spencer slipped easily past the opponents' defenses, striding towards the net, and jumped. The ball went inside the net, gaining two points for his team.

The crowd stood as their cheers erupted from the bleachers, getting louder and louder every second.

Spencer preened at the attention, his face smug as he arrogantly turned to face Sam.

"What?" Spencer asked as he raised his eyebrows in mock question, baiting Sam and the rest of his team. Sam dismissed Spencer's arrogance with a sigh as he patted his teammate's back reassuringly as he encouraged them, "Don't mind."

Ryan's mind was distracted as he sat on the bench. His mind wandered from the game towards Fiona, who was sitting on the bench of the opposite team.

Fiona tried to focus her attention to the game, but her mind was elsewhere. She was only jerked from her musings as Sophia continued to cheer loudly for the team.

'There's no way she fell for another man. What has caused her to flee that night? Did something happen to her?'

Multiple questions sprung in Ryan's thoughts. He was dying to have the answers to his questions, but at the same time, he dreaded them. Ryan was no fool. He called her that night. She was not alone when she answered his call—there was a man with her.

Ryan's hands tightened around the bottle in his hand at the mere thought of it. His eyes wandered towards Fiona once more, loosening his grip on the bottle. Regret colored his features as he thought, 'If I were in the court, would Fiona cheer for me?'

"I need to use the restroom for a bit," Fiona told Sophia as she stood to her feet. Sophia looked over to her friend and replied,

"I'll stay here and watch the game. Come back quickly."

"I will," Fiona answered as she bobbed her head with a nod.

When Ryan saw her leave her seat, he left his own to follow her. Diagonally opposite the locker room stood the restroom.

When Fiona finished her business in the restroom, she started to make her way towards the stadium. She just went out the door when she saw Ryan casually leaning on the door of the locker room. She felt dread seeping in her skin, nervous sweat starting to form on her hands. She didn't expect to run into him so soon and with so little preparation.

Ryan was tense with anticipation. He slightly lowered his head as he casually hid his hands inside his pockets. Noticing that Fiona might bolt out of him, he carefully blocked her path, aligning his body to make a wall.

"Can you spare me a moment of your time, Fiona? Just please hear me out." Ryan's Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed nervously. "Look, I'm not trying to harass you into forming a relationship with me. Just, give me the proper reason why you're rejecting me. The truth, please. Otherwise, I'll never be able to move on with my life."

Fiona stared at Ryan. Now knowing his family background, she could only feel pity for him.

She bit her lip as she fought the trembling in voice and said, "We can't be together, not in the way you want us to. Friendship is the only thing I could offer you."