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Ringing woke me from a restless sleep. I had nothing to do but try and sleep the pain away, but it didn’t really work. I was restless, furious, and bored. I wanted to get the hell out of here. My father had a tight hold on my leash, and with everything going on with Coach Eric, I couldn’t afford to fuck around or look like I was making trouble right now.
Asher’s name flashed on my cell. I answered, relaxing back against the bed.
“You still taking up a hospital room?” Asher’s voice was familiar and nearly as comforting as a shot of morphine would be.
Nearly. Not that I missed my little habit. Not at all.
“Yeah, well, what can I say? The nurses love me here. My sponge baths happen four times a day.”
Asher laughed. My best friend had no real idea of how unlike him I was. He thought we were the same. Handsome, popular, and big-shot hockey players to boot. He thought the girls flung themselves at me, and he was right, they always had. He just had no idea I flung them right back, untouched.
Until his own sister. That was a piece of information that would see me staying a much longer time in the hospital if Asher ever found out.
“I’m sure they do. How are you feeling?”
“Like shit, but at least I look it.” I sighed. “I’m fine. Just on track for a boring summer and then college. Though, it was really a dick move on your part to desert us for Denver.”
“Yeah, I know. Believe me, it sucks to be here alone. If I want to come back to HHU, I don’t even know how I’d go about it.”
“You want to come back, I can make it happen,” I said with total certainty.
I might have jeopardized my own hockey career, but Asher was a great player, and Coach Eric would always welcome him home to the Hellions. I felt a fleeting moment of jealousy. I’d fucked everything up. My reputation in the coach’s eyes, one of the few people I actually respected, my hockey career, potentially, and my face. Now, whenever someone asked me about the scar, it would remind me of that night.
“Good to know. Hey, while I have you, can I ask you a favor?”
“You know I’m the one lying in a hospital bed, right?” I joked.
Asher wasn’t aware of what had gone down with Eve on the night of the attempted robbery. He had no idea that I’d been there to see his sister. I had kept Eve out of things as much as possible when talking to the police. Asher had no clue my relationship with his sister had changed so much overnight, so I was surprised to hear him say her name.
“Wait, what?” I asked, zoning back into the conversation.
“I said, since I’m not there, can you keep an eye on Evie at HHU?”
A heavy lump landed in my gut.
“What do you mean, keep an eye on her?”
“You know, look out for her. Make sure no fuckers are messing with her or disrespecting her. I don’t want her getting her heartbroken in the first few months of college, because she has no idea the kind of guy she should be staying away from.”
Asher didn’t realize that I was exactly the kind of guy that Eve should be staying away from and was putting me on her tail.
“She’s eighteen, soon to be nineteen. Isn’t it time to let her make her own mistakes?” I didn’t want to have anything to do with Eve. I didn’t want to see her face or hear her name.
Asher sighed. “Yeah, but that’s the problem. She’ll make too many and get hurt. She doesn’t know how to act around guys. It’s my fault. Just – don’t let anyone take advantage of her, okay?”
I knew Asher wouldn’t give this up until I agreed. I didn’t give a shit about who took advantage of his bitch sister; they could pass her around the football team for all I cared.Yeah, right. I pushed the hot, possessive jealousy down that welled in my chest at just the thought.
I’d get this girl out my head if it was the last thing I did.
However, what Asher didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.
“Sure, of course, I will. I’ll look out for her,” I lied.
Eve Martino was dead to me, and I couldn’t look out for a dead person, but Asher was thousands of miles away.
Too bad. This time, she’s on her own.
Eve
