Page 90 of My Brother's Teammates

“Who I sleep with is none of your goddamn business! And what’s more, you know it.” I jerk my chin, trying to will strength, resolve, something other than the tears still trickling down my face to show through. And I can’t bring myself to look at the guys to see how they’re reacting.

There’s another weighted silence as the air sizzles with anticipation between us.

Harrison shakes his head, holds up both hands, and backs up toward the door. “Fuck this.”

THIRTY-THREE

Jace

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

“Harrison, wait.”

He’s halfway to the door when my words halt him in his tracks. I didn’t exactly expect him to turn around and welcome me with a hug, but the chill in his gaze freezes me to my core. I brought this on myself, I know I did. I chose Charlotte over the team—my family—and over our friendship, and now it’s time to pay the price.

“Not another word.” He takes a single step toward me, anger radiating off him in waves. “Not another fucking word, Theriot. You of all people should have had the balls to tell me the truth. Years of friendship. Years. Everything we’ve ever been through. Did it all mean nothing?”

“Harrison—”

“I’m done with you and your bullshit. You can lie to the rest of these guys, but you’re done lying to me.”

He doesn’t give me another second of his time before he’s storming out the door, slamming it so hard behind him the walls shake.

I turn around, taking in the chaos behind me. Roman and Mateo are disheveled messes, and Charlotte? Well, Charlotte is dropping to the floor in her borrowed clothes, tears streaming down her face.

I’ve never felt so helpless in my life. I don’t know what to say, what to do. This is my fault. I did this to us. I cost them everything.

There’s an ache in the center of my chest, growing larger by the second, and I can only imagine what Charlotte must be feeling, what they’re all feeling. Harrison is the only family I had left, and I let him walk out that door.

I sink down to my knees in front of Charlotte, reaching for her hands, but she beats me to it, framing my face with hers.

“Your face.” Her voice is soft and cracks on the last word.

My face hurts, yes, but it’s nothing compared to the agony written across hers, and nothing compared to the bone-deep throbbing in my heart.

With a gentle swipe, I clean the tears from her cheeks. “Don’t worry about me, wildflower.”

“He… he hit you.” She manages to choke out between sobs, her hands coming to rest on my bare shoulders.

Mateo and Roman hover behind her, both of them still wide-eyed and slack-jawed.

Yeah, I get it. Never in a million years would I have expected him to walk through the door at that exact moment—right when we were the most compromised. We didn’t expect him to take it well, but living it is a completely different story.

Where does that leave us now?

The four of us are inevitably broken.

Charlotte… So long as the rift continues to grow between her and her brother, there’s a good chance she won’t want us. Me. And maybe she won’t want anything to do with her brother either. He made her feel less. Accused her of sleeping with half the team.

She was already afraid of taking this thing between us public, and her brother did nothing but prove her fears were valid.

I don’t regret punching him, but I hate that I had to. No one gets to talk to Charlotte like that, including him.

I hit my team captain.

We don’t stand a chance at making the playoffs now. Our team’s shattered, possibly beyond repair. Harrison could request a trade, and who knows where the rest of us will end up. Probably scattered across the country, rounding out the rosters for all the worst teams in the league.

There’s no way I can sit here and do nothing.

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