I ruffle Alyssa’s hair, and squeeze Avery’s shoulder. “It’s okay, guys. I’ll catch you later.”
“No, don’t go.” Avery grips my wrist as he turns to his aunt. “Please, Aunt Presley. Let him stay.”
Her shoulders droop as she glances at Stephen, unsure of what to do. “Let’s go inside so we can talk.”
I shake my head. “It’s okay. I have to get ready for a game tomorrow,” I lie. “Just wanted to stop by and say hi.”
“Can I come with you?” Avery asks. “I’ll come to your game, and I’ll be quiet on the bus. I promise. Please, I just want to stay with you.”
My heart wrenches in my chest. “You have school tomorrow, kid. But I’ll FaceTime you from the hotel. How does that sound?”
His eyebrows push together as he drops his head.
I tip his chin. “Take care of your aunt, okay?”
He nods, but he won’t meet my eyes. Presley tries to reach for him as he walks past her, but he shakes her off and storms into the house.
Alyssa slinks back inside, void of her usual spunkiness.
Fuck, I shouldn’t have come here.
Presley comes down the stairs and she pulls me close to her. I breathe her in as she lifts onto her toes as she puts her arms around the back of my neck.
“Don’t give up on him,” she whispers. “Don’t give up on us.”
But it’s already too late.
I pull back and turn to Stephen. My hand twitches, dying to reach out and touch him. But he won’t even look at me.
“So, that’s it, huh?” I arch a brow, hot tears filling my eyes. “All that talk about us being together forever, no matter what...it was conditional.”
His eyebrows hit his hairline. “Youdid this. This isn’t my fault. You ruined everything like you always do.”
His words hit me like bullets. “I didn’t mean to! It was an accident.”
“Bullshit.” He charges down the stairs and shoves me back. “You and Ivanov play rough, and you knew exactly what you were doing that night.”
I step forward so we’re chest to chest. “It’s not bullshit. I didn’t mean for this to happen. You just need someone to blame to make yourself feel better.”
“This is what you do. You let all your pent-up anger from your past eat away at you, and you lash out at everyone else. Your rage cost my best friend his life.” He throws a punch, and I don’t put my hands up to block it. “He’s in the hospital right now, while his family cries at his bedside, not knowing if he’ll ever come back to them.”
Presley tugs on his arm. “Stephen...”
“It’s okay, Pres.” I arch a taunting brow at him. “Let him get it out.”
He needs someone to take out his pain on. I’ll bear it all for him.
The anger radiates off his body, his eyes like cold sapphire stones. I’ve never seen him like this before, and it terrifies me that my actions have brought him to this point.
Stephen’s fist connects with my jaw again. “Come on, fight back, you prick.” Another punch. “You love violence so much; you know you want to hit me back. This is what fuels you.”
“It’s not. Not anymore.”
Not like it used to. I’ve come a long way from the man my father poisoned.
Or maybe this is who I truly am, and have been all along.
Maybe I’ll never be able to escape it.
