Page 118 of Play Maker

“Fuck.”

“Yeah, it’s messed up. And that’s not all. The guy he assaulted? The student? He supposedly promised to help Preston get a movie audition and when he didn’t deliver, they got into a fight. Preston’s not denying he hit the guy, but he says he got struck first, and he was defending himself.”

“Do you believe him?”

I couldn’t breathe and suddenly my vision blurred as I wobbled on my skates like a newbie. Axel gripped my arm to steady me.

“No,” he insisted. “I don’t. There’s not a mark on him, not a scratch or a bruise, so he’s full of shit. Anyway, he said he needed a break from LA and figured this was a quiet place to land. He’s staying at the Sutton Inn. He called me today and I went to see him. I had to, Jace. I didn’t want him coming here on campus to find you. Not that he seems interested in that. He only talks about himself.”

“I can handle seeing him,” I whispered. “I’m fine.”

“You’re not fine. Your face is paler than this ice.”

“Why didn’t you tell me this morning, or better yet, last night?”

“I didn’t want to upset you.”

“Too fucking late,” I snapped. “Are you meeting up with him again?”

Axel nodded. “Only to convince him to go back to LA. That’s all.”

“Are you sure about that?” I threw out.

“Are you saying you don’t trust me?” he lobbied back.

Dane skated up and gave us a warning look.

“What the hell’s going on guys? Coach is ready to get back to it.”

“Preston’s in town. He arrived in Sutton this morning to see me,” Axel replied.

“Are you shitting me?” Dane looked at me. “Do you need to leave practice?”

“No!” I exclaimed and suddenly other teammates turned to stare. “No, if anything I need to be here. I’m fine.”

“It’s okay if you’re not,” Dane replied calmly. “Coach will understand.”

“I’m not going to let that asshole fuck with my head again,” I bit out and yanked my arm away from Axel. “I’m here to play, let’s play.”

“Jace!” Axel called my name, but I was already off.

Just when I thought I was rid of the past, it had to come back and kick me in the ass. I needed time to deal with this news and to figure out what to do. I wasn’t scared to see Preston in person, that wasn’t it. I was stronger now and he didn’t have any hold on me. No, the reason I was upset was because I was pissed at Axel. The fact that he’d talked to Preston, met up with him, without telling me first, set me off. Then I remembered they’d been best friends since high school. I’d only been with Axel for a month, and before that, the only contact we had was passing each other insults, along with pucks.

I’m a fighter. I fight for what I want. I’m fighting for you, too.

Was Axel fighting for me?

Axel

I couldn’t concentrate and it showed.

Silas kicked my ass when we practiced danger zone drills, and then Finn did the same. Coach was even less impressed with me than when I first got here.

How could I focus when I was worried about Jace, my thoughts on him the whole time?

Coach’s reminders about separating hockey and personal rebounded in my head.

I knew the second I’d taken Preston’s call that I was fucked. But Jace was right. I should’ve told him right away. I should’ve known that Jace was strong enough to take the news. What was even worse was that Jace seemed to doubt the reasonwhyI wentto see Preston. Hadn’t we already talked about this? How could I prove to Jace that he was the only thing that mattered?

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