Page 66 of Checking Mr. Wrong
Cade’s at my side in an instant. “Hey, breathe, man. In through the nose, out through the mouth.”
I glare at him. “Breathing doesn’t fix this, Cade. I’m the reason that Clément is hurt.”
“You didn’t mean for it to happen, Asher.”
“But it did.” My voice echoes off the walls. “That’s the point. He’s hurt because of me. What kind of teammate am I?”
Cade opens his mouth to respond, but I’m already moving. I need air. I need to get out of here. My body is electrically charged and feels as if someone has tossed water on me, and my anxiety is peaking at an alarming rate. I shove past him, heading for the door, and push it open with more force than necessary.
And I slam right into Mabel.
“Asher!” She grabs my arm to steady herself, looking up at me with a mix of surprise and concern. “What happened?”
“Nothing,” I mutter, trying to step around her.
“It didn’t look like nothing,” she says, holding her ground. “Talk to me.”
“I can’t. Not right now,” I snap, my tone sharp enough to cut.Without waiting for a response, I move past her and head down the hallway. I need a minute to breathe before I talk to her. Admit what he said got to me. First, I need to calm myself. Thumb to pinky, thumb to forefinger, thumb to middle finger…breathe.
“Asher, wait!” Mabel calls, her footsteps echoing behind me.
I don’t stop. My tick is activated and I need to control it before it controls me. But when I hear a sudden yelp and the unmistakable sound of someone hitting the floor. I spin around to see Mabel sprawled on the ground, her purse skidding a few feet away.
“Mabel!” I’m at her side in two strides, reaching down to help her up. “Are you okay?”
She grimaces, rubbing her elbow as she jumps to her feet. “I’m fine, I slipped.”
“Great,” I mutter, more to myself than her. “Now I’m hurting everyone.”
“Asher, stop.” Her hand grips my arm, firm and steady. “What’s really going on?”
I look at her, at the genuine concern in her eyes, and for the first time all night, I feel the anger start to crack. But the guilt? That’s still there, sharp and unforgiving.
“It’s everything.” I lean against the wall and stare at the floor. There’s too much happening in my head right now. Spinning. Thoughts moving fast, my breathing. I can feel my heart rate speed up, and it’s showing no signs of slowing.
“Well, listen to my voice and take some deep breaths, okay?” She takes my hand in hers and I immediately feel a calm flooding my system. “I need you to hear me when I say you didn’t do anything to Clément.”
“I started the fight,” I say as I tap my fingertips, again, thumb to pinky, then thumb to forefinger, then…
“Stop. Everyone in that arena watched Jared antagonize you. He skated over to you and followed you, and even from where Isat I could see his lips moving a mile a minute.” She squeezes my hand. “You need to breathe through whatever he said to you and let it go.”
“Easy for you to say, you didn't hear it.”
“Maybe, but I hate seeing you like this,” she says. “Talk to me.”
I clench and unclench my fists at the thought of Jared. “I haven’t liked that guy since college.”
“I can tell,” she says with a chuckle. “I have to say, when I saw you throw the punch I didn’t think you had it in ya.”
“I play hockey, Mabel, of course I have it in me.”
“No, I mean the fact you were not Mr. Positive out there. We’re all fallible, but when I saw you melting down, I have to admit, it worried me.” She lets go of my hand, and I immediately want her warmth back. “Seeing you react, I knew in my heart he’d done something stupid to make you do that.”
“He said something about…” I stop, wondering if I should tell her, but then quickly course correct. Of course it’s the right thing to do. I don’t want secrets with her. “He made a comment about you. And how?—”
Mabel holds a hand in the air to stop me. “Nope.”
“What?”
