But no one, not even a member of her family, will say a word against her.
I acted without thinking.
Although, if I’d given it another minute, I probably would have caught him in the chin, no matter what.
He had it coming.
Maybe it had to come to a head. We never actually talked about last year and the Bowl game. We never had any conversations about how he felt about me, and knowing him, he didn’t want to. All of his peace and love chi didn’t want to rock the boat, especially after my parents died.
My best friend, the saint.
Well. That’s done now, I suppose.
It’s what he shouted at me as Beck towed him off me.We’re done.
“Have a seat,” I tell Malcolm, gesturing to the other couch while I move Nadine’s feet, positioning them in my lap, holding on to them so she doesn’t move. I want both of us to be as comfortable as possible for this conversation, which I know will be very uncomfortable.
“Hello, Nadine. How are you?” Malcolm asks after removing his long winter coat, and she offers him a half smile.
“I’m okay.”
He nods then shifts his attention to me. “I know I don’t have to ask you, but I will anyway. How are you?”
I reply with the fakest, widest smile I’ve got. “Grand.”
“Your charm will not save you with this one.” He wiggles his cell phone in front of him. “This wasn’t an accident or a mistake. That punch you threw had purpose behind it, so I’m here to know why.”
I glance to Nadine, finding her eyes cast down, fingers toying with the edge of the blanket.
“Riv?”
She lifts one shoulder, shaking her head slightly, mumbling, “Tell him, I guess.”
I reach for her hand, brushing my thumb over her ring. “Nadine and I are together, and we didn’t tell Erik. He saw us and lost it. I punched him because of the way he was talking toNadine. Doesn’t matter that he’s my best friend, brother, teammate, or whatever. It’s not okay.”
Malcolm exhales a noisy breath and nods as if it’s what he suspected all along.
“But I don’t want that becoming public knowledge,” I tell him. “Nadine needs and deserves her privacy.”
He sends me a dubious look because if it were possible before, it certainly is not now that I got into a fight with her brother and it’s all being replayed on every major news outlet, whether they cover sports or not. “Nadine, you are not required to do anything you don’t want to, but we all need to understand the severity of the situation.”
She nods but doesn’t speak. Not until he says, “Social media is not only tearing through Camden, but you as well.”
“What are they saying?” She sits up, knocking my hands away from her. Not that she did it on purpose, but at the moment when we should be a team, it doesn’t feel like we are.
Malcolm speaks kindly yet firmly. “All of the usual things to tear women down.”
“Bitch, whore, ugly…?” she guesses, and he nods solemnly.
My throat constricts like I’m about to puke, and I reach for my water, downing it. But that only makes me feel more nauseous.
Malcolm goes on. “They’re blaming you. Already betting the team will lose because of you and?—”
“Okay. Okay.” I hold up my hands to stop him. “We get the picture.”
“But do you?” He aims his gaze at me, irritation radiating off him. Not the empathy he had for Nadine. “We’re in this situation because of you.Sheis in this situation because of you.”
I feel terrible about what happened, but not so much as when he lays it all at my feet, and I turn to Nadine, biting into her lip to keep her chin from wobbling, eyes glassy.
