Page 109 of Aftersome
“In all honesty, I don’t even know what’s going on between us. I never expected to feel any type of way toward Mal other than anger, but somewhere along the way, I…” I trailed off, struggling to find an ending to that sentence.
“I found a depth to Mal that I never thought was possible. That he isn’t just the grumpy, pissed-off-at-the-world hockey player that everyone thinks he is. He’s much more than that. He’s sweet, unbelievably caring, so many things that I never thought were possible.”
“I sense a but,” James added, as my heart soon deflated.
“But… it won’t work. He’s Hayes’s best friend. Everything about us is not meant to be, not to mention wrong.” I felt a crumbling sensation in my chest as I admitted it to him, but I refused to let any tears fall. “You don’t fall in love with your dead boyfriend’s best friend.”
He looked torn on what to say as his mouth opened and closed. Part of me was hoping that he would disagree with me. That he would tell me it was okay to be with Mal and see a life with him, but I anticipated the worst.
“Wren, who am I, or anyone else for that matter, to tell you who you can or can’t fall in love with? For you to have even found a side to Mal that is something other than closed off tells me just how important you are to him. And I’ve never—I repeat, ever—seen him act like this before.”
A small smile curled my lips, but I quickly dropped it.
“Seen him act like what? More angry now than ever because I forced myself back into his life?”
He shook his head sternly.
“So determined to be yours.”
Something had caught in my throat as I tried to process his words. It took a second for them to sink in and when they finally did, I let out a long breath.
“He needs you right now, Wren. Despite what happens, you’re the only one who can help.”
My chest caved.
“Even if I’m the one who hurt him?”
“Especially if you’re the one who hurt him.” He shoved himself off the dresser. “You could do anything to that man, and you’d still do no wrong in his eyes.”
I wanted to believe him, but I wasn’t so sure.
“He needs me?” I asked, needing some more reassurance for my own selfish reasons. My heart began to flutter rapidly as I waited for the answer I had deep down already knew.
“He needs you, Wren. Now go, before he decides to fuck his shoulder up even more.”
How would it look? To others who knew both Hayes and Mal? To Greg and Shelia?
I thought your whole reason for being here is to get him back home?
But in this way, I didn’t seem to care.
All I heard was that he needed me. So, hopping off the bed and changing into some different clothes after James had walked out, I headed for the Orchids’ stadium to face Mal.
To hopefully apologize and figure out what the hell was going on between the two of us once and for all.
38
WREN
My heart felt like it was about to burst from my chest as I raced through the building toward where Mal was. I pumped my arms and legs as hard and as fast as I could without overdoing it, and when I finally made it to a barely lit-up arena, my eyes zeroed in on the one person that changed my life inside and out.
Just like James said, Mal was out there running drills with his good arm while the other was hanging loosely at his side. His movements were jerky and forced, almost like he was taking out his frustrations on his skates and hockey stick.
I hadn’t prepared a speech, an apology, or any words to say to Mal. Instead, I was going in blind, with my nerves and heart rate peaking to a dangerous level now.
Then just as he made a sudden movement that caused him to flinch, I reacted hastily.
“Mal, what are you doing?” I shouted over to him, but he kept on skating as if I never said anything. Without a helmet on, I could see his facial expressions and just how focused he looked.
