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I walked through the living room, ignoring the tension from everyone’s eyes on me.
“Where are you headed?” Alex asked from the kitchen.
“Out.” I slid my headphones over my ears and blocked any other questions before pushing through the front door and letting it slam behind me. At least the rain had died down.
“Lucas, wait up,” Jax called from behind me, and I stalled. I didn’t know what the hell I would do if he started asking questions.
“What?” I asked and took another step toward my car.
He caught up to me, gripping my shoulder, and turned me toward him. “What the fuck’s going on?”
“Nothing.” I lifted my gym bag. “Getting a workout in.”
Jax huffed out a breath. “You barely said hi to her. Her fucking brother died. What’s your problem?”
Pain laced through my chest, and I clenched my teeth, taking several deep breaths through my nose. “Nothing’s my problem. I’m doing exactly what I’m supposed to be doing, so stay out of it.”
“I’m not going to stay out of it. That’s Marcus’s little sister. You know he’d want us to take care of her.” Jax’s voice cracked, and I gripped his shoulder, putting us in a semi-hug.
“She’s got you. I can’t be a part of that.” I let him go and opened my car door.
“You’re going to regret this.”
I knew all about regrets. I stepped into his space and lowered my voice so he had to listen. “I regret a lot of things. But I won’t regret this. You don’t want me to be an asshole? Keep her away from me.”
“I don’t even recognize you. Just fucking go.” Jax pushed off my chest, and I stumbled a step backward. His jaw clenched, and his fist tightened at his sides, but he didn’t stop me from getting in my car.
I reversed out of the lot and headed to the only place I found peace anymore, working my body to the bone.
* * *
I got home hours later, my legs burning from the extra hours of skating. The ache was a pleasant distraction from the shit show that was my life. I opened the door slowly, listening for any signs of Piper, but stepped through when I was met with silence.
River sat on a wooden stool, hunched over a bowl of pasta at the island. He eyed me as I walked in and dropped my stuff off at the door. Out of the three guys, River was the quietest, the most likely to leave me to my own devices, but the way he was eyeing me with one eyebrow raised let me know even he wasn’t going to let me off that easily.
“She’s gone to move into her dorm.” He twirled pasta around his fork and took a bite, chewing it slowly. My nerves hummed under his calm gaze. What was this fucker up to?
“The boys go to help her?” I asked, then cleared my throat.
“Nah, she said she was all good. Something about only having a suitcase.”
I grabbed a bottle from the fridge and took several deep sips before turning to River. “You’ve clearly got a question. Ask it.”
He sucked on his top teeth and tilted his head. “We’ve been roommates for the last year, and I’ve never seen you act that cold toward anyone. I know you’ve got history there and that you’re still beat up about Marcus, but that girl didn’t deserve any of your bullshit.”
I clenched my jaw and took deep, calming breaths. “I didn’t say anything to her.”
“Exactly. You were a closed-off dick. Jax said you all grew up together. What did she do, spit in your cereal growing up?” He took another bite, waiting out my answer.
If only it was as simple as childhood bullshit, then my muscles wouldn’t hurt from how hard I’d worked to keep my shit together. I pressed my palms into the island and leaned toward River, who raised both brows when I spoke. “Let it go.”
He dropped his gaze and went back to eating his pasta like the conversation never happened. I stood there, frozen andready for an argument, but he just changed the subject.
“Saw you were called into Coach’s office today. How’d that go?”
I stiffened. He’d hit on the only other topic I would love to avoid. “Nothing important.”
“You can keep your personal stuff to yourself, but I’m not leaving you alone about hockey. What did you do?” He got up and put his bowl into the dishwasher. His tone was firm but even, and he waited with all the confidence that I would answer.
