Jake and I were good friends in first year. We both got onto the team and like all my other teammates, we bonded instantly. Carter was never really a fan of him. He always thought Jake was too much for the team. Too much chaotic energy and not in a good way. He always took things a step too far, especially during prank week. Then he started dating anyone he could get his hands on. He dated Scarlett which didn’t last very long when he cheated on her. Considering who her family are, he’s lucky he got away without a scratch. He’s a good player which is the only reason anyone on this team tolerates him.
“Are you, Davis? Because I haven’t seen you on the ice in over four months,” he drawls, coming closer to me. I swallow, suddenly feeling rage and nausea at the same time.
“Dude, calm down. No one has been feeling it since Carter died, especially Miles. They were practically brothers. Give it a rest,” Xavier cuts in, coming to my rescue.
“Don’t give me that dead friend bullshit. If Davis wanted to play, he would have by now. Instead, he’s too busy flaunting around with his girlfriend,” he says, moving closer in my face. I take a breath in, trying to calm myself down. “What’s her name? Wren? Hacks’ kid?”
“Keep her name out of your mouth, Callahan,” I bite out, my fists clenching and unclenching at my sides. I feel bile rising in my throat, but I swallow it. I’ve never felt this kind of anger and exhaustion all at the same time. I hate the way it makes my pulse quicken and my jaw clench.
“Or what? You going to go crying to Coach about it? Grow the fuck up, Miles. If you ever want to play in the NHL, you’re going to have to stop moping over Carter and stop drooling over that whore. If you’re not careful, she might follow in her friend’s footsteps.”
I get closer to him, our faces inches apart.
“Talk about her, or her friends, again and see what happens.” I growl. An evil smile spreads across his face slowly. “I swear to God, Callahan, if you so much as breathe near her, I’ll crack your fucking head open.”
“Oh, shit,” he laughs. “Does she really fuck that good, Davis?”
I bite my tongue so hard that it almost bleeds. I take a deep breath in before turning around. I can do this. I can take the high road. I can walk out of here and leave him to crawl back into whatever hole he came from. If I mess up now, I could be off the team for good. I walk close to the door before I hear him again behind me.
“Yeah, go home and cry to your little slut,” Jake shouts.
I turn back around.
Fuck this.
CHAPTER 19
WREN
I'm standing outside in the cold, practically shivering as I wait for Miles to come back from doing whatever he was doing. I’ve tried calling him, but he hasn’t picked up. I could walk home from here, it’s only ten minutes away but I don’t want to leave him. He drove us the short distance here and if somethings happened, I don’t want to leave him alone. So, the least I can do is be here when he comes out. I sit down on the curb outside the sports centre, and I wait for him.
“Wren,” I hear a quiet voice from behind me. I stand up quickly and I see him. Miles walks towards me gingerly, as if his legs don’t work properly. “You waited.”
“Of course, I did.” He comes closer to me, and the bright streetlight shines on his face. That’s when I see the bruises. His right eye is shut while marks and bruises cover his face and neck. I reach out to touch his face, but he pulls his head back. “Jesus, Miles, what happened?”
“Can you drive? My eye hurts,” he murmurs, holding out his keys to me. I nod and get into the driver's seat of his truck. I’ve never been in this kind of situation before. I’ve never had to take care of someone like this. Me and the girls take care of ourselves pretty fine but when we do need each other it’s not because we’ve been punched in the face. Miles and I drive in silence.
“Are you going to tell me what happened?” I ask quietly. He shrugs and looks out of his window, not meeting my eyes as if he's embarrassed.
When we get to his house, no one is there. It’s eerily silent as we trudge up the stairs. We go into his bedroom, and he sits down on his bed, resting his head against the headboard, his legs stretched out straight. He's barely said a word since we left campus. Which is worrying since he talks a LOT.
I run down into the kitchen, feeling helpless as I put some ice into a Ziplock. When I get into his room again, he's still sitting there, his eyes closed. I put my knees on both sides of his legs, straddling him but not sitting down as I press the ice to his face gently. He winces at the sensation but relaxes after a few seconds.
“What happened, Milesy?” I whisper as I put the ice down, touching and examining his face carefully.
“It doesn’t hurt that bad. You should see the other guy. I’m fine,” he says, trying to be cheerful as his lip twitches. I tut and shake my head.
“Oh, you’re fine?” I ask sarcastically as I gently prod my finger on his cheek, and he hisses. “This looks really bad. We should get it checked out.”
“I’m fine, really,” he retorts more convincingly this time. My chest pinches as I look at him, opening and closing my mouth, trying to tell my brain to say something. Miles beats me to it. “Can you stay tonight? I need you.”
The whine in his voice undoes me. After what happened at the hotel, I told myself to be more cautious around him but then things like this happen. Where he says that he needs me in that whiny voice of his. Or he says ‘please’ and bashes his eyelashes at me. Or when he convinces me to do things that I said I wouldn’t. Like wearing his jersey and straddling him as I tend to his face.
“Fine,” I breathe out and he smiles wide. “But no funny business.”
“Whateverdo you mean?” he drawls, innocently, blinking up at me.
“You know what I mean.”
