Page 25 of Play Maker

“Funny,” I sighed and shook off my unease.

Ethan chuckled. “It’s the truth.”

“Coach was there to play peacemaker. It’s all good.”

I was a pretty good liar myself.

“If you say so,” Ethan nodded. “Where are you off to now?”

“Dorm. I need to shower, eat, and pass out.”

“You sound like a rookie.”

“You add two more hours of ice time to your week and see how you feel,” I snarked.

Ethan wiped his eyes dramatically. “Aw, poor Axel.”

Everyone on this freaking team was a comedian…

I was about to reply to his sarcasm when my phone rang.

“See you around.” Ethan waved and stalked off.

Looking down at my phone with a cautious glance, I wondered who the hell was calling me. I hated talking on the phone. Not that I had anyone to talk to since arriving at Sutton. Except for Ethan’s parties, I didn’t have a full social calendar. Not like Jace.

Stop thinking about him.

Only, it wasn’t a friend calling. It was my brother, Jonas.Not now.

I hadn’t replied to his earlier voicemail, and he wasn’t one to give up. I tappedacceptwith extreme hesitation, like I was worried about being contaminated.

“What?” I answered.

“Nice to talk to you too, Ax.”

The sound of my brother’s voice had me shivering in the worst way and I started walking again, desperate to get rid of the feeling.

“You never call me unless you want something. What is it?” I bit out.

That sounded harsh but it was the truth. We had nothing to say to each other. My brother was two years younger than me, but we could’ve been ten or twenty years apart for all we had in common. He was smarter, got perfect grades without effort, and always knew just what to say to get his way. Especially with my mother. Our parents picked a favorite early on, and Jonas was it. He was popular in school, invited to every party, and the center of attention. I could never measure up to him. And when I found hockey, I didn’t need to. It was the one thing that was mine, and that even Jonas couldn’t compete with or take away. Still, always being made to feel like I was the screwup of the family messed with my head. You’d think I’d be jealous of Jonas, but I wasn’t. The opposite, in fact, because for years I was confused as to why he hated me when I’d done nothing to warrant it.

The reason only became clear last year when I discovered that he was my half brother. The reason I used as leverage to get the fuck out of Redgewick.

“How’s college? And hockey?” he asked. “Still coming in second best?”

My footsteps faltered at his dig, but I kept walking.

“You have three seconds before I hang up,” I replied, my heart hammering in my chest.

Whatever was about to come out of Jonas’s mouth was not going to be good.

“I need money,” he hissed.

I bit out a laugh. “Be serious.”

“I can’t ask Mom or Dad. They’ve cut me off.”

“The fuck you say.”

---