Page 192 of Stick It
My throat tightens, and I don’t know if he leans in or just the rest of the world falls away, but his gleaming, menacing face takes up my entire field of vision. He sneers down at me, insanity gleaming in his pale eyes. I always knew Kyle was a misogynistic prick who couldn’t stand to lose, but did I really drive him to this level of lunacy? Or was it there all along, hidden beneath arrogance and getting his own way?
Dropping his voice, his breath is warm and sickly against my cheek, twisting my stomach violently. Oh God, I think I’m going to throw up.
“I’ll be seeing you around, Dylan.”
The world is spinning as he walks off, like he didn’t just upend my life…again.
Wren turns to me immediately, grabbing my arms. “Dylan. Are you okay? Talk to me.”
But I can’t speak.
I can’t breathe.
The cold that nipped at my skin a moment ago has sunk deeper, rooting in my bones.
He’s back.
And this time, he isn’t going to go down without taking me with him.
I’m curled on the couch in the living room, still in a haze. Coach, Griffin, Ethan, Jax, and Finn are all here—because Wren called the guys the second Kyle walked away, and they called Coach in a demand for answers. Coach’s office was too small to house four humongous hockey players with anger issues, so we’re packed into the living room instead. Which,large as it is, is barely big enough to contain the fury vibrating through the floors and up the walls.
Griffin paces like a caged animal. Jax is beside me, his hand rubbing circles over my arm and shoulder. Finn and Ethan have been snapping questions at Bear since the second he showed up on the porch.
“I thought he was locked up,” Ethan growls. “How the hell did he get out?”
Bear’s jaw clenches, his head hanging low between his shoulders. He looks at me with such ravished pain that it twists my heart. “His lawyers are claiming he was trying to save Dylan,” he states, his words a near snarl. His leg bounces with pent-up aggression. “Said he found her drowning and that Imisinterpretedthe scene.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Finn snaps. “Why the hell would she be drowning in a shallow-ass tub she could stand up in?”
Bear throws his hands up.
“They’ll say she had a concussion,” Ethan answers grimly. “Or that she passed out. Seizure. We all saw the hit she took on the ice—they can claim any number of things to justify their version of the truth.”
A shiver crawls up my spine.
Lies. Their version of the truth islies, but I know better than anyone that the truth means jack shit. It’s not a matter of what you know, it’s what you can prove. I’ve been in this situation before—with Lucas—except the stakes weren’t so high then. My life wasn’t on the line—just my career, my future.
“What if she goes to the police?” Finn tries, running his hand through his messy red hair. It’s something he does when he’s frustrated. “She can tell them what happened. Thetruth.”
Coach looks pained as he shakes his head. “It won’t matter. It’s her word against his. There’s no evidence. No witnesses.”
Griffin snarls as he turns on his heel, wearing a path in the wooden floor with his pacing. “So what, we do nothing? Let him get away with it?”
“He’s off the team,” Bear states firmly. “I’ve notified security. He’s banned from the arena, from our facilities, from every game. But I can’t stop him from attending class. That’s out of my hands.”
Finn’s resounding laugh is bitter. “So that’s it?”
There’s silence. Defeat hangs like smoke in the air.
My eyes close, my head falling forward to rest on my bent knees. This is never going to end. I came here for a new start, and it’s turning into an even bigger nightmare than at my old college.
I sense a presence before someone takes my hand in their warm one and I open my eyes to find Ethan kneeling in front of me. His eyes search mine with such intensity I feel stripped bare.
“We’re not letting anything happen to you, Thorn. Not ever again. What happened in that tub—” He swallows hard. “That won’t happen again. He won’t get near you.”
I nod, but the movement feels hollow.
The conversation buzzes around me, but I barely hear it. Bear eventually stands, grabbing his coat. “I’ll do what I can. But for now…be careful.”
