“I blocked your number, Brody. After you showed up at my apartment uninvited the day after homecoming and refused to leave, I decided I was done dealing with you. Just like I’m done dealing with you now.”
I turn to walk off, but he grabs my arm, pulling me back to him. I wince.
“Let go of me,” I spit out, but he doesn’t. He just squeezes my arm tighter while he glares at me.
“You think you can humiliate me, Poppy? You think you can fool around with your dumb-fuck hockey boyfriend right in front of me like some slut? You think I’m just gonna let that slide?”
My body goes rigid at the anger dripping from his tone, glowering at me like he wants to hurt me.
Dread pool at the pit of my stomach. I’ve never seen Brody like this. So cruel and mean.
I glance around at the people in the stands, but hardly anyone is paying attention to us. Everyone is either watching the game or doesn’t want to get involved.
“Leave me alone, Brody.” I try to pull away, but I’m a lot smaller than him. I cry out when he tightens his grip on me even more.
“You’re such a pathetic little whore.”
People start talking in low voices around us.
“Let go of me, now,” I yell, desperate to get away from him. He shoves me, and I fall on the steps with a yelp, landing on my side.
“Dude, what the hell was that?” someone from the stands hollers.
“Oh, shit, what’s he doing?” someone else says.
“He’s coming into the stands!”
I wince as I sit up, feeling sore from the impact of how hard Brody threw me into the ground. A half-second later, I hear Nick’s voice.
“Honey, are you okay?”
I’m shocked as I stare up at him. He crouches down over me and pulls off his gloves. He cradles my face with his hands. His bourbon brown eyes are wild with worry as he gazes down at me.
The panic coursing through my body from just seconds ago disappears. Did Nick just run into the stands in the middle of his game to help me?
That warm feeling from earlier intensifies, burrowing deep in my chest, right where my heart is.
He kisses my forehead. “It’s okay. I’m here now.” I close my eyes, feeling safe and settled.
He stands up and turns to Brody, who’s looking at the two of us with disgust. He opens his mouth to speak, but Nick punches him before he can get a word out.
Everyone in the stands around us lets out a collective gasp. There’s a cracking sound, and Brody’s head flies back. He stumbles backward and falls on his back, landing on the steps.
My eyes go wide when I see the splatter of blood dripping from his nose. Nick steps over to him, yanking him up by his shirt.
“That is the first and last time you ever lay your hands on my girlfriend.” Nick’s voice is low and lethal. I’ve never heard him sound like that, ever.
It sets off something inside of me. Nick dropped everything to protect me. He left the ice in the middle of his hockey game to defend me. That’s how much he cares about me. That’s how much I mean to him.
That overwhelmed feeling from earlier swoops through me once more as I watch my boyfriend put everything on the line for me.
That uncertainty from earlier is long gone. In this moment, I know exactly what I feel for Nick.
Chapter 51
Nick
Adrenaline slams through my entire body. It feels like fire is blasting through my veins.
