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“Ah, so now you’re paying attention.”
I scowl, looking back down at my phone.
“Wheels,” he says with a heavy exhale, walking around the bench and taking a seat next to me. “If you're gonna let her go, then let her go.”
He snatches the phone away from me, looking at the empty inbox.
He scoffs. “See. Still empty. Hasn’t changed. Not gonna change. Especially with a woman like that. She cuts you off. It’s over with. Good luck—”
I hit him in the chest with a backhand, causing him to cough out a laugh.
“Talk to me, brother. Get it off your chest so I ain’t gotta get hit in mine,” he says, settling back onto the metal bench, resting his arms across the back.
I eye the rest of our teammates as they run practice drills, the blow of the whistle screaming through my already pounding head.
“Coach told me if I walked away from her, Dr. Shelby would still give her the position. He was going to bring her in as one of the main physiotherapists on his team. I told them I was to blame for seducing her. They said if I left her alone, they would be understanding and let this situation slide. Under the rug, as they often do in these circumstances.”
“Woah, woah, woah...” Candy says, waving his hands and sitting forward. “You were sleeping with her?!”
I rotate my jaw, cracking my fingers into my palm.
He laughs. “Chill, Deck. Clearly you were sleeping with her.”
I fix my glare on him.
He shrugs, pursing his lips. “Alright, so you can’t work together. You sacrificed your love for her advancement in her career. Got it,” he says dramatically.
“It was more than that. I...” I struggle to find the words. “I made the decision to walk away. I couldn’t have her miss out on the opportunity she’s been busting her ass for her whole life. On her own. Especially when it was me who pushed her to cross that line. That line that she had set in stone to protect them. I was cold as ice as I broke her heart, hoping her hatred for me would make it easier. Anger is better than pain.”
Candy's eyes narrow as he listens.
“Afterwards, I went to my truck, and I fucking lost it. I hated myself for how stupid I was being. Everything I said I wouldn’t do, I did. I promised her I’d be different, but I was no better than her dick of an ex, and I ended it with the only girl I’ve ever loved.”
Candy blows air through his lips at that. “Shit. That’s heavy, Deck.”
“I decided to take it all back, to head back up there and explain myself. Make things right. Find a way to work it out, regardless of Coach and Dr. Shelby. I’d tell them to screw off, and that there was nothing or no one who could keep me away from her.”
His brows raise.
“But then things got worse.”
Candy cocks his head. “Worse as in...”
“Colin was going through some sort of meltdown when I got back in there. There was glass on the floor. He had her pinned against the cupboards, unintentionally choking her out. She was bleeding...it was a mess. It was awful. I...I fucked up.”
“Oh Jesus, did you punch her brother? Tell me you didn’t punch her poor, sweet, disabled brother.”
I could kill him for rubbing salt in my already throbbing wound.
“I threw him off her. Into a wall. He broke his fucking nose, Kane.” I face him, watching as his mouth parts open and his eyes widen. “It’s over with. He’ll never come near me again. I broke his trust because I didn’t know how to handle it. In a matter of minutes, I turned into the one man I hate most and put my hands on him. I put my fucking hands on him.” I shake my head, disgusted with myself. “All I do is bring them down.”
“Ha!” Candy laughs, and my eyes send daggers at him. “Bring them down? Boy, quit playin’.”
“I promised them everything and fell fucking flat.”
“Dude,” he scoffs, his helmet dangling in his fingers by the facemask. “I can’t handle this bitch shit.”
“Bitch shit?” I take a step forward, standing above him on the bench now, getting heated. “I’m fucking wrecked right now and you wanna call it bitch shit?!”
