The Coach

She Needs My Help

Sebastian

    "Come on boys, one more lap and you can take a break!" I yelled from the benches while we were preparing their Gatorade to give them to drink.

    Zoey was late today, but I tried to manage without her. I was the coach after all. But can't say I didn't miss her next to me.

    "Has anyone seen Miss Torres?" I asked one of the water boys. He shrugged his shoulder and shook his head.

    The boys jogged back and got their drinks. I took the time to call Zoey, but it went straight to voicemail. She never has her phone off, which was pretty strange to me.

    "Coach, if you are trying to get ahold of Miss Torres, it might be hard. I just heard she didn't come to school today" Gale, one of the boys said.

    "Does anyone know why?" I asked, curiously.

    "No. She usually keeps her private life to herself. So if she is having an issue, she won't show or even tell"

    I needed to find out what happened to her today. I have heard she never misses a day and not seeing her here was really strange. "Okay, let's run some plays" I ordered, and the boys got in place.

    I was calling the plays with my board and they were following each one down to the T. If they kept following my directions; I was sure they would win a championship, and it was my goal to get that for them.

    Practice was over and I was in my office, trying to reply to some emails about the construction site while the boys changed. The project was going smoothly, and it would be a matter of time before it was finished.

    I also got an email from Zoey, which it was weird. I opened it and it read...

Sebastian:

Sorry I couldn't make it today. I hope the practice went smoothly. I am having an issue here and needed to stay home. Will see you soon.

Love, Zoey

P.S. Please don't come to see me...

    I was trying to figure out the email. Don't come to see me? There was only one reason why she said that. She was having problems, and she needed me.

    At the end of the day, instead of driving to the office, I drove to her apartment. Martha had to stay in after-school program, so I had time to go check on Zoey.

    I rang the doorbell, and there was no answer. I waited a few minutes before I rang the doorbell again.

    Zoey opened it just a bit. "Are you okay?" I asked, and she slowly nodded.

    "Yes, just not feeling well" she whispered. I asked to come in, but she was refusing. I put my hand on the door and pushed it open. I looked around, and there was broken glass, and torn off clothes on the floor. The furniture was also broken and moved around in fury.

    "What happened here?" I asked, but she looked away and didn't answer.

    "I just had a panic attack and started ripping everything off" she said, but I knew she was lying. There had to be something more to it than just a panic attack. I didn't know how those worked, but I am sure that it wouldn't cause this. Unless I am wrong.

    "I will clean it up, it was the only way to deal with it"

    I helped her clean and I could see the shame in her eyes. A couple of hours later, we were done, and the apartment looked decent.

    "Could you tell me what happened here? Be honest with me" I asked one more time and noticed her body tense. I knew it. There was something more to it.

    "My.... ex came over. He found out I was working with you and he got jealous" she confessed, making me raise my eyebrows. How can someone be jealous of her working with another man, if he left her?

    "Didn't he call your wedding off and break up with you?" she nodded, "then why act all jealous, especially when we are just coworkers. He didn't put his hands on you, did he?"

    "No. Fortunately he didn't. But I was still scared out of my mind. He had never acted this way" she mentioned, picking up a broken cup from the kitchen floor.

    "I will call my lawyer to see if he can get a restriction order in his name"

    "There is no need for that, Sebastian. Honestly"

    "There is. Tell me his name, and I will tell him to put it on the list as a priority" I almost demanded, until she gave in. She took a deep breath before deciding to give me a name.

    "Gabriel Huertas" at the sound of the name, my body froze. He was the man who wants to work for my company. I couldn't believe how small this world was.

    "Are you okay?" she asked, concerned. I nodded and made the call. But before I did, I called my HR manager. I knew she was still in the office, so I decided to tell her to speed the application process for Gabriel. I needed to have him near me so I could watch his every move. From the job to Zoey.

    After I made the call to my lawyer, I could see Zoey relax a bit. She sat on her couch and let out a sigh of relief.

    "You didn't have to do that, but I really appreciate it" she said, giving me a smile.

    "No problem. It is what friends are for, right?" I said, putting emphasis to the word friend and wanting to facepalm myself.

    She laughed and I couldn't help but lean over and kiss her, catching her by surprise. She kissed me back, as she let her fear go away through our kiss.

    We pulled away and we were left breathless. "I should go, I need to file some paperwork for the construction and..."

    She laughed at my nervous reaction and claimed my lips once again. I would fall in love with this woman if we didn't stop this soon. Not that I wanted it to.