Page 73 of Interference
“My name is Ashley,” she grits out.
“As if I could care. Let’s go, Emery. Peyton and Grace are waiting for us. You know. Your friends because you are a decent human being.”
Cora grabs my arm, leading me toward the door. I barely have enough time to grab my keys before she is pulling me out of it. I wait until we are downstairs in her car before I speak.
“Uh, are Peyton and Grace really waiting on us?”
Cora looks over at me, and the anger slides away as she starts to laugh.
“No, but she doesn’t know that. She is jealous of you, Em. I saw it in the way she looked at us when she walked in. All those words are about her, not you.”
I nod. “I know. Doesn’t mean they don’t hurt, but watching you tear into her sure helped. Jesus, you were like a pitbull.”
“Psssh, I’m all Chihuahua. I’ll actually bite a bitch. I really think you need to consider moving out. She is toxic. I hate to say it because I believe people can change, but that doesn’t mean we have to be the ones to help her do that,” Cora tells me.
“I know. I need to find another place to live.”
She smiles. “There’s always the hockey house. Or we can make room at our place for you.”
I look down and smile. “I don’t know. I’ll think about it.”
I will because for the first time in my life, I feel like I have options.
It was a long, hard game. We stayed ahead, though.
Four to two win to the Wolves.
It feels good to be back in the game. I’m not going to miss it when I’m gone, but I’m glad I took everyone’s advice and got back on the ice now. I’ll remember these games fondly.
As soon as the game was over, I was happy to see a text from Emery on the phone. Turns out she ended up hanging out with Cora, who was getting updates from Sol on the bench. I’ll have to remember to thank the rookie for keeping her updated so my girl could be updated. I wish I had thought to ask him to do that.
Still, the text from her is everything.
Buttercup
Great game. Heard you did well. Miss you.
I wanted to text her back right away, but I knew if I did, I would be glued to my phone, so I resisted as the team celebrated around me. Then I followed them onto the bus until we got back to our hotel.
“You going out?” Kellan asks.
I shake my head. “I’m going to call Emery and see if she wants to talk. What about you?”
“Cora has already texted me twice. So same.”
“You two go do that. I’ll be down at the bar,” Wyatt says, giving me a look.
I know he is going so that he can give me the room to myself. I love that about Wyatt. He is there when you need it, but he will also disappear when you need some space.
Kellan laughs. “Hopefully, Ramirez is out too. Otherwise I’ll be in the bathroom.”
“Gross, dude. That’s like my sister,” I tease.
He laughs, slamming his door.
Wyatt comes into the room with me, changing before grabbing some things.
“You don’t need to leave,” I tell him.
