Damon stops and lifts his gaze to mine. “My dad walked in on Evan and me in bed.”
My eyes widen. I knew they’d fought, but Annie wasn’t saying anything. At least not to Cam. And Damon doesn’t communicate. All we knew was Annie looked fucking miserable, and Damon was being a cold bastard.
“We were asleep,” he adds.
“Okay. So the parents know. A bit earlier than Annie’s timeline, but that doesn’t explain why you look two seconds from dropping her, and she looks two seconds from crying or yelling at you.” I run my hand down my face. “Seriously, I’m done watching Annie cry. Swear to god, I’ll fucking deck you if you’re the reason she cries.”
His eyes narrow on me. “You think I like any of this?”
“Then what?—”
“She fucking ratted me out to my dad.” He balls his fists and looks for a target but decides against breaking his fucking hand. I was not looking forward to grabbing him before he did that. I’d likely become the target.
“I’m sure there’s more to it than that. What happened?” I blow out a breath.
“I told Heather it was her fault Evan was mine.” Damon turns and his eyes burn. “Evan didn’t tell Heather that fucker left her out in the woods, alone. She didn’t tell her mom Chase cheated on her. She only said they broke up. So Heather thinks I’m a fucking rebound and that Evan is looking for solace with the closest dick she can find—like her fucking mother does. It’s like she doesn’t know her own fucking daughter. Because she doesn’t.”
“Damon, you need to calm down.”
“Fuck that. Evan told my dad Chase was my hit and run.”
I cross my arms and look at my feet. “What did you expect?”
“That she’d keep her fucking mouth shut.” Damon flings his hands down. “Fuck. I can’t leave. Someone wanted us to get caught. They want her exposed. Alone.”
I don’t disagree with Annie. Maybe the method of delivery lacked finesse, but Adam Storm has always been on Damon’s team, whether Damon chooses to acknowledge that or not.
“You have to go, Damon.” I step away from the sinks and drop my arms. “This is your shot. You can’t miss it again.”
He runs his hand through his hair, and I can see the wheels turning in his brain. He’ll only make her hurt more if he stays. Part of him will justify it. That she deserves it. She’s strong, but she’ll break under the weight.
“You and Annie are going to shatter each other if you don’t get some space.” I shake my head. “You’ll only keep hurting each other if you don’t fucking leave. Cam and I can take care of her while you go and do what you do best, prove that you’re the right choice for their team.”
Damon looks like he’s going to argue, but fuck that. I’m right about this. And he’s not going to break the best thing we’ve ever had. The girl and relationship we’re willing to change our whole futures for to keep.
“You love her. What you do next could make or break the two of you. It could break all of us. Focus on hockey and let Annie focus on her play. Do what you two do best. Ignore the problem for a while. Watch your videos of her and tell us all what you’re doing. Clear your head and figure out where we go from here.” I clasp my hand on his shoulder and lower my head like a charging bull. “Don’t fuck this up for us. We love her too, and I don’t want to have to make a choice between you and her.”
He takes in a deep breath and argues, “She’s vulnerable.”
“She’s a survivor. And we’re here. You aren’t the only one looking out for her.” I squeeze his shoulder. “You two are stronger together, but right now your emotions are too clouded with anger. She’s still the girl you went to sleep with last night. The girl you love. Our future.”
He runs his hand through his hair, and some of the wildness leaves his eyes. “We need to find out what texts Heather has been getting.”
“Cam and I will get on that. Annie won’t go anywhere without one of us at her side.”
The tension drains from him. His voice is low and a little broken. “What if I can’t forgive her?”
I smile because he’s probably already halfway there. “You will. The real question is, how will you convince her to forgive you?”
EvanAnn
Hawk and Damon come back in after history class starts. My heart aches, but I ignore Damon. I take notes even though my hand hurts. It’s not that bad anymore. I looked it over this morning and decided not to rebandage it.
It’s healing. I also had a few new bruises this morning from last night. It feels bittersweet right now and like it was so long ago. This morning gutted me.
I glance up at Hawk, and he smiles reassuringly. I avoid looking at Damon. Those cold eyes are like knives to my heart, and I don’t know that I can take the bleeding without yelling at him more. He’s determined to ruin what we have. Just like he does everything else.
When the bell rings for lunch, Hawk comes around the table and draws me against him, heading outside instead of toward the cafeteria. I don’t glance behind me to see if Damon is following. I also don’t ask where we’re going. I don’t want to deal with other people seeing the cracks in our foundation.
