Page 62 of Puck King
“I told her she had to choose – you or the money. Guess what she chose?”
“No.”
“I’m sorry, Colton. I know you liked her.”
I didn’t just like her. I’d loved her like a fucking idiot. “Better to know now, I guess.” My voice sounded foreign to my ears, like my throat had been squeezed with a glove. “I can’t believe I was wrong about her.”
Alison squeezed my forearm. “I’ll always take care of my brother.”
“Thanks, Everleigh.” As cruel and cold as she could be, my sister had just saved me from a terrible mistake. As I walked into the cold, clear night, I realized that’s why Alison hadn’t been at the game; why she’d been avoiding my phone calls. My feet crunched on the freshly fallen snow as I tried to figure out whether or not I wanted to never speak to Alison again, or whether I wanted to give her a piece of my mind. Like a tic-tac-toe passing drill, both scenarios played in my head as I walked home instead of calling my driver. I needed a clear head, and the cold and rhythmic sound of my footsteps helped to calm me down.
By the time I reached my building, I knew what I had to do.
Twenty-Eight
Allison
Our half-furnished apartment was cold,and no matter how high I turned up the thermostat, I still needed two pairs of socks and a scarf inside.
The shock from the day was slowly wearing off, though something about the afternoon wasn’t sitting well with me. My brother, Stuart, had dated many small town farm girls. They had all been lovely, but they’d all eventually left town. I’d liked every single one of them, but if I hadn’t – if I’d thought that they were trying to take advantage of my brother, would I have been as cutthroat as Everleigh?
Everleigh was a top executive, and she knew how to manipulate people. Had I walked right into her trap?
Pacing the living room like a caged tiger, I bit my thumbnail and replayed the conversation. Why had I just believed her? Out of the two King siblings, she was the one with the shady moral compass, not Colton.
I picked up my phone and hovered my thumb over his name. One quick call would solve all of this, but could also ruin everything for my family. I dropped the phone onto the sofa. What did it matter if Everleigh had lied about Colton cheating? It would be better if he was a damn cheater. It would make spending the rest of my life without him bearable. The idea of walking away from the only man who’d ever given me butterflies; who’d made me laugh so hard my stomach had hurt; who’d made me feel like the most beautiful woman in the world, hurt like hell. The idea of walking away from a cheater – well, that was easier.
Sighing, I pulled the thick, fuzzy blanket from the back of the sofa around me, and clicked on the TV. My heart leapt into my throat when my phone rang. With shaking hands I flipped it over, but it was Hollie, not Colton.
“I just finished my date with Travis.” Her voice was breathy, like she was walking at a fast pace. “I’m on my way home. Want to have a glass of wine?”
I didn’t. I wanted to curl up into a ball and feel sorry for myself. “Sure, Hollie. I could probably use one.”
“Are you okay?”
“No, Hollie. No, I’m not.”
“I’ll be home soon.”
Minutes later, Hollie’s boots echoed up the four flights of stairs. I was ready to open the door before she could even knock. Hollie didn’t know yet that we’d been fired, and I didn’t know how I was going to break the news to her.
“What did he do?” Hollie’s rushed into our apartment and dropped her handbag on the sofa.
Behind her, an entertainment show flashed a photo of Colton, and then cut to an interview with Brittany, Colton’s ex. Transfixed, Hollie and I sank onto the sofa in slow motion, our eyes glued to the screen. A serious looking Brittany dabbed a tissue at her eyes and told the interviewer that the Kings had offered to pay for her silence.
That sounded familiar. Maybe Brittany wasn’t the vapid, money-grubbing influencer she’d been made out to be.
I was done. But first, I threw up all over the brand-new rug.
Twenty-Nine
Colton
The only thinggoing well in my life was hockey. And for once, I didn’t give a shit. I hunched my shoulders as I walked around the block for the third time. I had this intense urge to go to Alison, and walking was the only thing that cleared my head. But after hours of pacing, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right. Ali wasn’t a gold digger. Deep down, I knew that what Everleigh had told me wasn’t true.
After a night of tossing and turning, I got up and just did it – I called Ali. The phone rang and rang, and then just disconnected. I couldn’t even leave a voicemail. But I had notifications on almost every app, and five missed calls from Everleigh. I sighed and clicked on her latest text, a link to a news video.
I watched as Brittany shed crocodile tears on national television, and fury roared through my body. Everything had gone to complete shit in the past twenty-four hours. Each playoff game coming up would be the most important game of my life, and I wasn’t going to be able to focus unless I got some answers.
