AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He stood straighter, raising his chin, and looked me in the eyes. “The Hunt’s off. None of it matters.”
“The Hunt.” I shaped the words without sound.
Lucas turned toward his place, and his shoulders folded in on himself. His back rose and fell, but he didn’t look back when he said, “I really am sorry, Piper. I shouldn’t have…I shouldn’t have done any of it.”
Was this what it felt like to be gutted? To have a knife shoved into your stomach and slowly work its way up until it cracked open your ribs and left your heart exposed? I swallowed hard, taking gasping breaths.
“Lucas,” I pleaded, and he stalled midway between our homes. His fists clenched at his sides before entwining over his head, and his pained noise carried over to me. But he didn’t turn around, walking straight to his door and letting it slam behind him.
Tears welled in my eyes before pooling over onto my cheeks. I felt myself breaking, and I gripped my chest, trying to pull its pieces together, trying to stop myself from falling apart, but nothing prevented the onslaught of pain. I dropped to my knees, curled into a ball, and rested my head against the cement step. Tears flowed over my cheeks, and I tried to ignore the shame I felt for not crying until now.
A motion from Lucas’s upstairs caught my attention, but there was no one there. The realization finally hit me. That I was alone. Lucas had lied. I’d never been safe.
ELEVEN
LUCAS
ONE YEAR LATER
I swung through my shot,catching the puck just underneath the blade of my stick, and it rocketed into the top-right corner of the net. I moved the empty bucket to the side and dumped another load of pucks in front of me, using my stick to line one up for my next shot. Practice ended a half hour ago, but there was nowhere better for me to be. Not when the burn in my muscles after each shot blanked out my thoughts. My body moved on autopilot when I was playing and gave me a fucking moment of peace. Sometimes, it felt like the only reason I was able to get through this past year was by drowning myself in the game.
“Hey, let’s call it a day, eh?” Alex called from the boards. He’d already showered and gotten changed after practice. He was a big guy with long sandy-blond hair that curled from under his beanie and a set of dimples that made him look entirely too innocent. He’d used those dimples to his advantage, and I doubted he’d spent a night alone since we’d met.
He shuffled onto the ice in his sneakers and crossed his arms, watching as I took shot after shot. “You’re missing the sweet spot in the corner of every third one.”
Alex was one of the Huskies’ star forwards, and he was known for his wrist shot, but I knew he wasn’t here to give me pointers. We’d only known each other for one season, but it was already clear that despite his relaxed, almost playful demeanor, he paid attention to people. He’d noticed when Jax was having a hard time and made sure to help him, and I’d been forever grateful for that.
I ran out of pucks and skated to the net to collect them into the buckets before setting up again. As a defenseman, I rarely had the opportunity to charge the net, but like fuck I was going to mess it up when I did.
A large hand landed on my shoulders and pushed me to the side. “Seriously, man. Your arms must be killing you. Go change.”
The muscles in my shoulder and abs ached with the punishment of nonstop practice, but with that pain came a blankness that was like an addiction. I needed to blockhimout. I needed to blockherout.
Alex raised a brow that told me he’d do this all day if need be, and I nodded, giving up.
“Yeah, okay.” I turned toward the board
“I’m grabbing groceries. Want anything?” Alex asked.
“Nah, I’m alright.”
He patted my back with one of his giant-ass hands. “Sweet. See you at home.”
I needed a steaming hot shower, something to burn away the ache of my muscles. I walked into the empty dressing room and pulled off my skates and jersey, only to be stopped by our assistant coach, Mattie.
“Get dressed. Coach wants to see you in five.”
I pointed to myself, gesturing to my sweat-soaked hair. “Seriously?”
His jaw tightened, and I swallowed hard. “Are you talking back to me?”
“No. Sir.” One did not fuck with his coach, even an assistant one.
He raised a brow. “Good. Get your ass in there.”
“Yes, sir.” I stripped off my gear and dumped it in a pile at the bottom of my locker. I sprayed myself down with all-in-one body spray, but nothing was going to cover the stench coming off me in waves from my unwashed gear.
I knocked two knuckles on Coach’s open door, and he looked up from the papers he’d been reading on his desk. “Sit down, son.”
