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Theo Kline steps into the equipment room with his wife, Charlotte, on his heels. His eyes land on me and then shift to Kellan. He comes to a dead stop, causing Charlotte to run right into him. She knocks him forward a step, sending a rack of sticks toppling.
"Fuck my life," Theo growls, not even trying to catch the sticks as they clatter to the floor.
"Sorry," Charlotte whispers.
I don't think he's talking about the sticks, though. He's talking about me and Kellan.
"You're fucking Jonas's little sister," he says, confirming my suspicion. He knows.
My heart sinks.
"It's not even like that," Kellan growls, but there's no hiding the fact that we're hiding in the equipment room together, my clothes are all messed up, and we're both breathing hard. Had he not moved so quickly, Theo would have caught us mid-make-out.
"It certainly looks like it to me." Theo crosses his arms, scowling at Kellan. "If you're hiding in here to do it, I'm guessing it's because Jonas doesn't know."
Kellan hesitates for a long moment. Too long, maybe.
"Motherfucker. He doesn't know."
"Um, maybe we should go, Theo," Charlotte says, placing her hand on his arm. She shoots me a look full of sympathy, as if she understands my predicament all too well. Maybe she does. I don't know. But tears burn at the backs of my eyes, and I feel about two inches tall.
My brother is right down the hall with the rest of the team, preparing to hit the ice in less than an hour. And I'm making out with his best friend in an equipment closet. How much more selfish could I possibly be? He could have been the one who walked through that door. What would we have done then? What would I have said?
"We're a team, Kellan," Theo says. "We don't run around behind each other's backs and keep secrets like this, especially not during Playoffs. Have you lost your damn mind?"
"Theo." Charlotte tries to tug him out of the room, but he's not moving.
"It's not your business, Theo," Kellan says, his voice level. "I'm handling it."
"Right." Theo snorts. "Jesus Christ. You're supposed to be smarter than this. Don't fuck up a good thing being an idiot."
He thinks Kellan's an idiot for being with me.
"Excuse me," I whisper, trying to brush past him.
"Rebel, wait." Kellan reaches for me, but I duck under his arm, slipping past Theo. Charlotte doesn't try to stand in my way. I think she knows that I need to get out of here right now. She steps aside, leaving the door clear.
I practically throw myself through it, my stomach in knots.
"Parker, wait," Theo calls. "I didn't mean it like that."
"Parker!" Kellan shouts behind me.
I ignore both of them, stumbling down the hall as fast as I can as tears spill over, running down my cheeks.
Chapter Nine
Kellan
"Kellan, man." Theo scrubsa hand through his hair, blowing out a breath as he stops in front of me in the locker room. "I didn't mean for her to take it the way she did."
"I know." I lace up my skate, mad as hell. Despite checking everywhere, I couldn't find Parker. She slipped into the throng outside of the locker room and then vanished. I've tried calling her several times, but she isn't answering. Part of me wants to plant my fist in Theo's face for upsetting her, but the fact is that he was right.
I've known since day one that hiding this shit from Jonas was wrong, but I chose to do it anyway. I wanted a shot with Parker badly enough to take that risk, even knowing how it could end.That's on me. I'm not mad Theo called me out for it. I made my choice, and I deserved what he said.
I'm pissed that Parker's hurting, and there's nothing I can do about it at the moment. She's probably scared out of her mind that Theo is going to tell Jonas, and everything will come crashing down. Isn't that what usually happens in her life? No one ever fights for her because they're too goddamn afraid of what Jonas might think. He stands between her and the rest of the world like a wall, oblivious to the fact that he's even doing it.
I doubt she's ever told him. She doesn't blame him for being who he is. She adores him. So she carries her burden in silence, letting him shine. That's who she is. That's how she loves. But she wasn't made to stand in his shadow.
