He hesitates, his left index finger flicking at the tab on the can in his right hand. “Trey developed an addiction to painkillers when he tried to come back from his injury.”
Oh. I didn’t know this. How did I not know this?Because you’ve been fucking not talking, my brain reminds me. I glance at Stephanie. The smirk has left her lips and she looks suddenly serious. Avery doesn’t know my sister’s past. In fact, no one on the team does. It’s not that I’m ashamed. It’s just that it’s in the past and that’s where it’s going to stay unless Stephanie decides otherwise. He looks up now, his face clearly awash in remorse. “I was leaving college to start my first year here and my dad…you know how he is.”
Jordan and I make eye contact and both grimace. Yeah, we know how Avery’s father is. The man is a fucking asshole, to put it mildly. He’s a relentless, domineering, micromanaging dick.
“He told me it would be best if I distanced myself from Trey, so I never stopped by to see him in the hospital or rehab,” Avery explains. “I mean he had a point. It was a big scandal that the college and the team didn’t catch his drug use. A lot of people were saying the coaches knew and turned a blind eye and that he wasn’t the only player to have substance issues. My dad thought if I was seen being sympathetic, it might be construed as approval or even, you know, like I was using too.”
I’m so blown away by this new information—about Avery, but even more so about Shay’s family—that I’m almost dizzy. I step back and lean against the counter as I try to absorb it. Jordan isn’t so stunned, apparently. “Fuck, Avs, when my brother Cole got injured, he needed his friends and teammates around him more than ever. And he didn’t have his family pressuring him the way I’m sure Glenn Beckford pushed Trey. You of all people should know the pressure his dad was probably putting on him.”
Avery coughs, and his brown eyes are pleading as he says, “I know. I fucked up. That’s why I wanted to bring all you guys to his opening. I wanted to show him I support him.”
“Well, I guess that’s something,” I say, finally finding my voice. But I know that there must be more to it. I can tell by the look on Avery’s face. “So…why is she still pissed? Is this about the endorsement?”
“Trey wanted me to do a commercial for him. I was going to, but…” He swallows hard and looks at his hands again.
“Your father thinks it’s bad for your brand,” I finish for him.
“Fuck, Westwood, come on. That’s fucking brutal,” Jordan blurts out, running a hand through his blond hair and shaking his head.
Avery stands up suddenly, his voice raw and shaky. “I know, okay? But Trey’s better off this way. The whole city is going to hate me in a few months anyway, so they won’t want to go anywhere I recommend. I’m honestly doing him a favor.”
“Why is the city going to hate you?” my sister asks, speaking for the first time since Avery’s story began. I glance at her. She looks pained. I wonder how much of Trey’s story is bringing up her own horrible memories.
Avery looks at me and then at Jordan. “My contract is up at the end of the season and…I’m probably not going to re-sign here.”
“What?” Jordan and I bark it out at the exact same time. Honestly, if someone had just driven a Mack truck through the kitchen I would be less shocked. Avery Westwoodisthe Seattle Winterhawks. When they drafted him, the Winterhawks did something that has never been done before or since, they gave him a jersey with a C already on it. That’s right; he had the captaincy handed to him the second he made the team.
Avery chose to go to college before he took it, though, which was unheard of, and I’m sure it was the one and only time he disobeyed his dad. Still, when he was done, he walked right onto the team and into the C. Winterhawks fans were instantly in love with him and the management gave him the biggest, longest starting contract in NHL history. And then he led us to the Cup, and after that I thought that he would be here till the day he hung up skates. And then he would coach here. That was the unspoken path that was effortlessly laid out in front of him. So why the hell wasn’t he going to walk down it?
“It’s not just about the hockey. I love you guys, you know that,” Avery explains and scrubs a hand over his face.
Before he can explain exactly what the fuck it is making him abandon his golden ticket and the city and team that has had his back from the beginning, Ainsley marches back through the kitchen. She stops, looks around the room, clearly either oblivious to the tension in the room or too self-absorbed to care and says, “Where’s Michael?”
Jordan points to the backyard and she heads outside.
Stephanie is the only one who doesn’t watch her go. Her eyes never leave Avery and she jumps right back into the conversation like the interruption never happened.
“It’s fine to look out for your brand. It’s even the right thing to do from a business perspective,” she says simply, her gaze holding Avery’s with an intensity that only I know is about her own struggle with addiction. “But looking out for your friends…and standing up for what you actually know is right…that’s the right thing to do as a human being.”
Suddenly Jessie appears in the kitchen entry. “Seb. Umm…Shayne is leaving.”
Chapter 33
Shayne
I honestly just intended to use the bathroom. I wanted a quiet place to take a few breaths and calm down. However, when I find their powder room, Jessie is standing outside the closed door and Ainsley is locked inside. Jessie gave me a sympathetic smile. “You can use one of our bathrooms upstairs.”
“To be honest, I don’t have to go.” I sigh as I run a hand through my hair. “I just wanted to get away from Avery before I said something I regretted.”
Jessie’s sympathetic smile deepens. “He’s definitely not that easy to understand. But I think deep down, if he would just think for himself, he’s a good guy.”
I glance at the bathroom door as I lean against the wall beside it. “So what’s up with this?”
“Ainsley and Chooch are…” She seems to search for the right words. “Not together right now, but Avery invited her because she was here last time we did this and, you know…”
“Superstition,” I finish for her and roll my eyes. “He’s an idiot.”
Jessie shrugs but nods. Then she changes the subject. “So how are things with Sebastian? I take it you’re rethinking your ban on hockey players?”
