“Ethan, please listen to me. Yes, that was Brody. He ambushed me in the parking lot, and I agreed to one conversation so he would finally leave me alone. I told him it was over, and then I came back. That's all it was.”
“And you couldn't tell me that? You couldn't say 'hey, my ex showed up and I need to deal with him'?”
“I was trying to protect you. You had just skated for the first time, and I didn't want to ruin your moment with my drama.”
“We've been together for what, a few weeks? And you're already lying to my face. What else have you lied to me about?”
“Nothing. I haven't lied about anything else,” she says in a small voice.
“How would I know that?” My voice rises. “If you can lie that easily, how many more lies are coming? How many times will you decide that the truth isn't convenient enough?”
“It wasn't like that.”
“It was exactly like that. You made a choice. You chose to deceive me instead of being honest. And now you're standing here asking me to trust your version of what happened with Brody. Why should I? Give me one good reason.”
“Because you know me,” she says in a pleading tone, but I’m not moved. “You know who I am. You know I would never betray you.”
“That's just it, Natalie. I don't know you. I thought I did, but clearly I was wrong. Because the woman I thought I knew would never lie about something like that.”
“Ethan, please.”
“Trust is everything to me. It's the foundation of everything, and you shattered it in one phone call.” I grab my towel from the bench. “I can't be with someone I don't trust.”
“So that's it? One mistake and you're done?”
“One deliberate, calculated lie.” I meet her eyes and hold them. “If you'd told me the truth, we wouldn't be having this conversation. I would have understood. I would have been angry that he showed up, but I would have understood why you needed to deal with him. But you didn't give me that chance.”
“I made a mistake. People make mistakes,” she says with tears running down her face.
I've heard those words before from countless people who have let me down. Everyone makes mistakes, and they all have excuses. They cry and beg and swear it will never happen again. But a lie is a choice. And people who choose to lie once will choose to lie again.
I walk out of the treatment room and don't look back.
The hallway is empty, and I head to the locker room. I sink onto the bench and put my head in my hands, my knee throbbing and my chest aching.
My phone buzzes in my pocket. I pull it out and see her name on the screen.
Please don’t do this. I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I was wrong.
I stare at the message, then I lock the screen and shove the phone back in my pocket. I'm not interested in listening to more explanations.
23
Natalie
Ivory spreads a stack of files across the desk in front of me, each one labeled with a player's name and number.
“Consider this your crash course in New York Renegades personalities and bodies,” she says. “You'll learn them eventually, but a head start never hurts.”
It's been a week since Ethan ended things. A week of barely sleeping, crying into my pillow, and replaying every word of our last conversation. But today is the first day of training camp, and I don't have the luxury of falling apart. I have a job to do.
Ivory taps the first file. “Cole Maddox, as you know, is the captain. The guys call him Robot because nothing rattles him. He's serious and no-nonsense, but he's also the heart of this team. If you earn his respect, the others will follow.”
She flips open the file. “Physically, he's a machine. Rarely misses games. He had a minor groin strain two seasons ago but recovered fully. Just keep an eye on his hip flexors during heavy training weeks.”
I nod, knowing that much about Cole from what I've heard from Avery and his girlfriend, Harper.
“Theo Anderson. You already know him.”
