Page 25 of In the Danger Zone
“It must take you a long time to talk to people. No wonder you’re sitting here all alone. No one wants to listen to that. I get it.”
“Just p-please go away and—”
“You can’t even talk to me without stuttering. That’s—”
“Get the fuck away from her.” I knew who the deep, harsh voice belonged to instantly.
I gasped as Evan seemed to appear out of nowhere, stepping in front of Brie. He was bigger than the both of us. Hell, he was bigger than most people. Brie’s eyes widened as she took a shaky step back, looking over at me briefly. Was she expecting some help?
“Oh, hey Evan,” Brie said, her voice suddenly getting all light and airy. “Daisy and I were just—"
“Yeah, I heard what you were doing. Knock it the fuck off.” Evan’s eyes locked on to mine briefly, and all I saw was a fiery rage in them.
Brie frown. “But Evan, we were—”
Evan suddenly stepped that little bit closer to Brie, glaring right at her. There wasn’t much space between them as she went all wide-eyed. “Listen to what I’m about to tell you. You fucking stay away from her. You don’t go near her. If Asher tells you to fuck with Daisy, you still fucking stay away from her. Don’t look twice at her, Brie. This shit isn’t going to impress anybody. Not me and not Asher. Do you know how pathetic you look right now?”
Brie whimpered, once again looking over at me with big eyes. Did she think I was gonna save her or something?
“Did you hear what I said?” Evan’s voice boomed as he leaned in close to Brie’s ear.
“Yes, I heard you! I get it! I’ll stay away from her,” Brie let out.
“Keep your promises, Brie,” Evan said, voice clear and serious.
With that, Brie scurried away from us. I didn’t miss the way she looked over her shoulder at me and Evan, an obvious frown on her face. I couldn’t deny it: that was a nice reward after the way she had humiliated me the other night.
With a shaky breath, I turned to look at Evan. His blue eyes were dark, his jaw tight, his hands balled into fists. Maybe that was how he looked on the ice.
“Evan…” I whispered, not quite sure what to say to him.
“I know you want me to leave you alone,” Evan said, his voice still so quiet. “And I will. I just didn’t want her to get away with that. If she does it again, let me know about it. Just… get someone else to tell me or something. I know you don’t like me talking to you. But I’ll still help you if you need it.”
My heart hurt. Evan didn’t have to help me, but he still went out of his way to lend me a hand that I had very much needed.
“Thank you,” was all I could say.
Evan sucked in a sharp breath before nodding at me. I watched him walk away, his broad shoulders all tensed up as I sat there alone. Brie had run off and definitely seemed like she wouldn’t be coming back. For now, at least.
All thanks to Evan.
Chapter 13
EVAN
The game wasn’t going well. I was doing my best to check guys into the boards, to keep my eyes on the prize. But all I could think about was Daisy. She really, truly wanted nothing to do with me. Even when I sat down with her at the library, doing my best to make sure she was okay and apologize on Asher’s behalf, she still looked at me like she hated me.
Shaking my head, I looked over at Tanner. Our goalie was doing his best but I kept fucking up. I just couldn’t concentrate. It didn’t help that it was an away game. I hated those.
All I could focus on was the pain that always seemed to be in Daisy’s eyes and how badly I wanted to take all of that away from her.
Why did Asher have to be such a prick?
My eyes focused on him for a second. He was on the other side of the ice, his spot not too far from the net secured. I moved fast, eyeing my opponent who was gliding along the ice, puck right there in front of him. He was getting a little too close to our goalie, but I forced my shoulder into his and he quickly lost control of the puck. My attention was on him for a second as he shoved me back, only to have me push him back harder.
It didn’t take long for another one of the Panthers players to be right there next to me. I grunted, watching him drag the puck away.
My eyes kept darting left and right over the clear, white ice below. Asher was doing a decent job keeping his side clear, and despite my shitty concentration, I forced number 17 on the Panthers back into a bad angle. He still tried to pull back and make a shot, only to have Tanner grab the puck with ease.
