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I hadn’t thought of it like that. Sure, Reese has his complaints about the people he plays with. He absolutely hates Bastian and he feels that everyone could push themselves a little more the way he does. But at the end of the day, those are his people. His brothers-in-arms. He’s getting traded, but it isn’t like Marcus and Dante will be going with him.
He’s lost his family once. What happens if life strips it away from him again?
“I hate when you go all logicky on me. I’m so mad at him right now. I don’t want to forgive him.”
“You don’t have to. But it might help to understand that maybe, with this, there’s just a lot going on right now, sugar pop. Maybe you two need a break.”
I can feel the color drain from my face with how cold I get. “I don’t want to break up?—”
“I didn’t say break up, I said break, you weirdo.” She chuckles. “You know, get out of the penthouse for a little, maybe…?”
“With everything going on, I don’t know if that’s possible,” I whisper. “I won’t be able to get ten feet from the apartment with the paparazzi around, and even then, I won’t actually be alone alone. Samson’s around after all.”
“Well, shit.” Quinn hums. “What if I come there?”
“I don’t want you getting dragged down in all this, too, Q. Like, I would love to see you, but…” I trail off.
“Yeah, I get it.” She sighs. “Maybe I will have to wring Reese’s neck after all. Listen. When all this blows over or gets fixed, you two really need to sit down and figure out what you’re doing with each other. All this drama isn’t good for you and there’s a new baby on the way. This isn’t the best situation to bring a new little one into the world. But, Livvy… I’ve seen how you look at that man. So, for the sake of the Olivia that I know loves him with all her heart, try to work it out. You know I’ll be here no matter what happens.”
In the background, I hear someone yell. “When we heading out?”
“Hold on!” Quinn shouts back.
I frown. “Someone there?”
“Yeah. Marcus. We’re supposed to have a little lunch date soon.”
My heart clenches. I’d kill to be able to do something normal like have a lunch date with Reese instead of having to look over my shoulder at every single turn.
“You should go,” I say. “I don’t want to hold you up.”
“You sure? He can wait?—”
“Don’t worry about it,” I tell Quinn. “I get it.”
Before she can answer, I hang up. Regret fills me, but there’s nothing I can do about that. Quinn has her knight in shining armor. A distraction to fill her world with light. Right now, my world is a dark chasm. I can’t see a way out of it.
She doesn’t need me bringing that darkness down on her.
48
REESE
There’s nothing colder than being benched. I’m totally iced off from the team but I still have to show up to games, even though all I’m doing is sitting off to the side alone like the unwanted stepchild. Not even Marcus and Dante have spoken a word to me all night.
They don’t look my way.
They don’t say shit.
Maybe they’re running on the same wavelength as I am. The less attention aimed in my direction, the easier it’ll be to let all this shit blow over. When it does blow over, Coach will see that benching me and trading me are silly things to do. He’ll remember that gossip is just gossip and I belong on this team.
That approach requires patience, though, which is something I sure as shit don’t have much of. I want to storm out onto that ice and show everyone I belong here. I want to shove it in Bastian’s smug ass face that I’m the center that the Bulls deserve.
I want to remind the world that no matter what they say, there’s only one Reese Dalton, and I can’t be replaced so easily.
This has been my life since day one. Before I had hockey, I had nothing. No future, no hope to get out of the hellhole I was in with my father. Hockey changed all that. The Bulls changed all that.
It crushes me that I’m here on the bench while my team is out there struggling. They’re fighting but they can’t pull through. And the kid from Seattle, Beckett Daniels, is pouring in goal after goal on us.
