Needing.
“Nah.” I kick my feet out and rest my arm along the back of the sofa. “I’ve got everything under control.”
Possibly the biggest lie I’ve ever told in my life.
“Interesting.” Dr. Sparks scribbles another note on the legal pad and I swallow hard, my mouth dry.
Glancing over at the clock, she picks the journal upfrom the desk. I lean forward to take it from her but she pulls back, opening the notebook. She runs a finger over the spine, the torn edges making a soft ticking noise.
“What did you write about first?”
“What?”
“What was your initial answer? You tore at least one page out of the journal.” She peers at me and my stomach churns.
No fucking way am I answering this honestly.
“Same thing. Anger. I just didn’t like how it sounded. I rewrote it.”
Dr. Sparks doesn’t respond. She smooths her finger over the page, squinting.
“You write hard. Leaves deep impressions.”
My chest squeezes, air sucked from my lungs as she traces over the indentation with her manicured fingertip.
“Anger isn’t the first word you wrote, Bennett. And anger doesn’t start with a ‘T’.”
Blood rushes out of my face and the room spins a little. I open my mouth to say something, but nothing comes out.
“You have to be honest with yourself. That’s the only way through this.”
I close my gaping mouth, suck in a breath.
“Which one’s the bigger liability—anger…or ‘T’?” She sets the journal down, giving me space to answer.
I don’t.
“Name it, Bennett. So it doesn’t blindside you on the ice.”
CHAPTER 17
TORI
Oh my god.
I stare at the blinking cursor on my laptop screen, the columns of data on the spreadsheet a blur.
I kissed Bennett Steele in the elevator at the arena.
Where he works.
Where my father works.
I’m losing control—of myself, the situation.
Of my whole damn life.
My pulse ticks in my throat like a warning light. I force my fingers back to the keyboard. Inputs. Outputs.
