Page 80 of Lucky Shot
Tears fill his eyes, and he turns his head away, sniffling. “I tried to tell you,” he whispers. “Every time we talked on the phone, I tried to tell you. But sometimes he was there. And I couldn’t. Then he’d tell me no one was going to believe me. He was my boyfriend and he loved me. Who was going to believe that… he did those things to me? I believed him.”
I inhale sharply and then pull him into my arms, hugging him tightly. He makes an ‘oof’ sound, huffs some muffled quiet laughter, and then trembles as he cries.
I am so fucking angry but at least part of the anger is at myself. We talked weekly. Sometimes more! How the fuck had I not figured this shit out?! What kind of brother was I that I didn’t know something was wrong with Roux?
“I’m sorry,” I say, squeezing him much tighter than necessary. But I need to feel that he’s okay. That he’s whole.
Roux shakes his head subtly. “He broke up with me because he said I didn’t love him. And I begged him to come back! I promised I’d be better. That we could do whatever he wanted in bed. Even if I didn’t like it. Sometimes he’d come back. But most of the time, he’d just call me names—pathetic. Ugly. Fat. Stupid. Other things.”
I take a deep breath as every word he says makes me itch to find this fucker and tie him to the ice rink while my teammates and I skate over him. Slicing him with blades as he had my brother with his words. His fists. His manipulation.
“What’s his last name?”
“Why?”
“I’m a hockey player, Roux. I can’t afford to go after him. Just tell me his last name.”
“What are you going to do with that information?”
I don’t answer because I’m not sure. “Tell me.”
There’s a pause before he says, “McAllister.”
Trevor McAllister. I repeat the name over and over in my head, but I already know there’s no way I can forget it.
“Will you help me change schools?”
“Yes.”
“I, uh… Longwood University. I told your friend on the yacht—Noah—I already go to LU. Will you help me transfer there?”
“Where’s that?”
“Still in California, but it’s more centrally located. Not on the coast where…”
Where Trevor McAllister is.
“I was looking into Longwood U when I looked at colleges. I chose the one close to the beach instead. It was a mistake.”
“I’ll help you transfer. It’s not too late, is it?”
“I’ve already filled out the paperwork, but will you look over it? And… help me financially? I don’t think I left enough time for scholarships or grants, but I can work on changing my student loan awards if the transfer happens.”
“We’ll make it happen. I promise,” I say.
“How can you promise that?” he asks.
“I’m a fucking hockey player with money. Everyone can be bought,” I tell him.
He laughs, but it sounds small. “Don’t waste your money on me,” he whispers.
“Listen to me, Roux. Don’t you believe anything that asshole said about you. None of it. People like him have spent their entire lives learning how to manipulate others. They prey on people, choosing those that have enough insecurities for them to exploit. Someone physically weaker than them.” I force him to look up at me. His eyes are red and his lips trembling. “You’re not the person he painted the picture of with all the nasty things he said to you. Do you understand me, Roux?”
He nods, tears streaking down his cheeks.
“Have you considered pressing charges?”
Roux’s face scrunches. “No. I just want to get away from him. I want to forget it.”
