Chapter 774: Norwich

Tuesday, March 28th, Morning

In the early morning light, she rolled out of bed and showered to wake up. After quickly hydrating, she dressed and stretched, walking out to the complex's parking lot. The cold air chilled her lungs and finished her waking up.

Kay put in her earbuds, adjusted her smartphone in her arm strap, and then pressed play. With a couple of bounced steps, Kay pushed off and started to do her road work in the apartment's parking lot. She was doing the cardo to get her in shape for the long basketball season.

Her lungs started to burn from the cold air. Kay was not used to doing road work in the cold. When she was in Chicago, she lived in the city and couldn't do the road work. It was the end of March, and it was still cold, but not as cold as it would be in Chicago.

Chicago, Kay missed Chicago, not so much the city, but a young woman in the city, Ivy Kowalski. Kay's girlfriend chose to stay behind in Chicago when Kay was traded. They tried to keep in contact, but as of recently, every time Kay tried to call Ivy, she was busy and couldn't talk.

Kay considered herself single now. Not because they officially broke up but because they have drifted apart. Distance doesn't make the heart grow fonder; it makes it grow cold. So, all Kay had was her career, what was left of it.

She did many things well enough, but only her art and playing basketball stood out. Love, romance, whatever you called it, was something she was absolutely horrible at. The state of her career was a result of her poor romantic choices. Because she couldn't let go of her cheating ex on a cold winter night. Kay came home for family duty and ran into Connie, her ex.

They got drinks at Club TRIC, Kay's mom's club. Kay normally doesn't drink, but she drank a lot that night. Kay had gone out with her sister Ellie. Kay sent Ellie away and spent the rest of the night talking with Connie. Kay kept drinking to build up her courage; Connie, on the other hand, kept drinking. The way Connie was acting, she was expecting to bed Kay that night. That was typical of Connie; even though her last name was Garland, she was a Drake, and how the Drakes considered themselves unique. Connie said the term they used was Dragon Born.

Kay sighed; the burn in her legs kept her grounded. But the rest of that night, Kay and Connie drank. It got fuzzy after a few drinks, more correctly, a few more drinks; Kay found herself being dragged out of Club TRIC by Connie. It was funny how Connie could always physically dominate Kay; Connie was a waif compared to Kay. Connie led Kay out to her supercar, an Asten Martin. As always, Connie drove fast, weaving in and out of traffic. As they came down Ocean Avenue, Kay could feel the car swing as it hit ice patches. Suddenly, there was crunching, and sparks were the last thing Kay remembered that night.

Suddenly, Kay stopped, and leaning forward, she grabbed the legs of her running pants. Picking her head up, she looked around the parking lot, covered in cold sweat, which mixed with the hot sweat from her run. Kay stared in the distance; she didn't know where she was in the complex. Looking down at her phone and saw the song playing by name.

Kay sighed, straightened up, and looked around the complex. Taking a full breath, she stared across the river at the casino. No matter how far she went, some people wouldn't get out of her head. Everything reminded her of Connie Drake. The only times where it seemed the only time she was free of Connie was when she was with Ivy.

Norwich wasn't Chicago, and in some ways better but in most ways worse. One of the most significant ways it was worse was no Ivy. Kay was used to being single; she had been unattached most of her life. But the times she was attached, she felt different, and each time, they were different.

Kay finally figured out where she was in the complex. Kay pushed off and started to run back towards her unit. It was a dark time after that car accident; the next thing she remembered was waking up in the hospital with an O2 Mask on, tubes running into her, and her right shoulder and arm immobilized. Her head felt like a car was sitting on it. It was a blur, but she remembered her dad sitting watching her. Over the next few weeks, she saw most of her family, but it was all foggy.

She did remember at least a second surgery. Kay glanced down to her shoulder, how it had been hanging on by a thread. It was reattached but would never be the same. It would be a long road back, and she would not be brought back to France to play basketball. Chicago offered her a prove-yourself contract, which she nailed. Now she's in Norwich playing for Connecticut. Or at least she had a try-and-see chance when the training camp started.

Kay got to her apartment and went right to her bathroom. Her clothes were shed as she headed towards her bathroom and shower. Her smartphone was placed on the vanity as Kay started her shower and set the temperature. As the steam rose through the small bathroom, Kay worked out her right shoulder. Next, Kay wiped her face.

With a nod, Kay stepped into the shower, closing the sliding glass door for the shower tub. The hot water cascaded over Kay's body as she washed off the sweat, grime, and shame. The winter congestion was steamed out, and she coughed up the phlegm.

After the shower, Kay stepped out and dried her face. With a quick wipe down to get the heavy water off her body, Kay then wrapped a towel around herself. Taking another towel, Kay wrapped a towel around her head, which would wick away the water from her short hair. Looking in the partially steamed-up mirror, Kay checked to see if her eyes were puffy from the crying she had done while showering. Her eyes weren't that bad.

Taking a deep breath, she felt the moist, warm air fill her lungs. It felt good, then she let it out. Rubbing the back of her neck, she looked at herself and smirked.

"Well, Karen, what had happened to that girl with nothing but upside?" Kay asked her reflection.

The woman in the mirror remained silent. Shaking her head, she looked herself over. "I figured as much, well, Karen, it's time to eat," Kay said.

Kay turned from the mirror and left the bathroom. She closed the door behind her. The smartphone, still sitting on the vanity, was left behind. The phone started to vibrate, and the screen came alive. The screen said an unknown number.