Page 14 of Break the Ice
“It’s the best thing I’ve eaten in da—” She cuts herself off.
I don’t let the awkwardness swallow us again. “Wait till you try room service here. One of my favorite menus.”
Inside my suite, the curtains are still drawn from the nap I failed totake. The bed is a mess from Matheo dragging me out to lunch. Finley stands in the middle of the room, hands clasped, eyes tracking me.
“Sit,” I say, nodding to the foot of the bed and passing her a menu. “Pick anything you want. The cheeseburger fries are insane. Hands down the best thing on there.”
Her smile wobbles. Her eyes shine. “Thank you.”
I back off to give her space and head to the bathroom to get ready for the arena. I move slow on purpose. Stretch, keep my legs warm, check the clock. When I come back, the room feels still in a way that makes me look twice.
She’s collapsed back on the bed, small in the huge mattress. Menu still in her hand. Feet dangling over the red carpet. The rise and fall of her chest is barely there.
Don’t touch her, I tell myself. Don’t. It doesn’t stop me from tugging the duvet beneath her shoulders and laying my old travel blanket over her. Thin and worn, but it smells like home and long road trips. It has always calmed me.
Red welts ring her wrists. Matching marks circle her ankles. Rope burns.
“What in the fuck happened to you?” I whisper to the empty air and force myself to step away.
The clawing in my chest doesn’t let up while I finish getting ready. In the mirror, I search Presley Tomes on my phone, then their hometown, as if a few links could hand me context.
A knock rattles the door.
Finally. I cross the room fast because the sooner I hand her back to Eli; the sooner I can glue my head back together and get to the game.
It’s not Eli. Matheo stands there in full scowl. “We gotta talk.”
“Okay.” I plant a forearm to block the doorframe. “Talk.”
“Aren’t you going to let me in?” He cranes his neck to see past me.
“I’m in the middle of getting ready…”
His eyes drop down the suit to my shoes, then back up. “What the fuck is going on? Since when does Sylkes have a girlfriend? Tomes’ fucking sister? Is he out of his mind? Is she why he’s all kinds of fucked up? What the fucking fuck is happening, Jayden?”
He waits me out, hands on hips, stare steady. The longer it takes, the more coiled he looks.
“Fuck. I… Jayden… I…” He scrubs a hand through his curls and steps closer. “Are you good?”
“Yeah, I’m fine... what I am not, is Eli’s keeper.”
“I know that,” he says, quieting.
“Do you? Cause you came knocking on my door with all these fucking questions, and only one pertains to me. One.”
“Because I’m worried about you. The guys are worried about you. We’ve lost Sylkes for tonight’s game. It’s like he’s on a fucking spiral and you’re the closest one to him. You and him…” He shrugs.
“Me and him…?”
“You go where he goes; he goes where you go. You’re always together. Always freakishly in sync, and…”
“And?” Another shrug. He’s got a whole theory, and if he’s at my door with it, the locker room’s already chewed it over.
“JJ…”
“We’re not fucking, Matheo.” His eyes widen. His brows pinch. “So, no, I don’t know more than you about what’s going on. I only found out today that he has a girl, and yeah, she is Tomes’ fucking sister. Which probably does mean he’s out of his mind, but fuck if I know if she’s the reason he’s all kinds of fucked up. You wanna know why?”
“Jayden—”
