“Who sent you that message?” he asks.
Tears burn my eyes. “My ex. Logan.” My voice is so weak and shaky. I hate how I sound.
“Motherfucker,” Blake mutters.
Gently, he wraps his arms around me.
“He’s coming here…to Hollis…I-I didn’t know…” My throat aches as I fight the urge to cry. I don’t want to fall apart. Not in front of everyone.
“It’s okay,” Blake whispers. “It’s gonna be okay, I promise.”
I close my eyes and fall into his embrace. He holds me up with his big, broad body.
I want to believe him. I want more than anything for everything to be okay.
But I don’t know if they will be.
Chapter 46
Briar
“Are you guys okay?” Nick asks.
When Blake and I break apart, I notice that everyone is staring at me with concerned expressions.
A wave of self-consciousness hits me. I don’t want them to know…I don’t want to tell them what happened to me…what Logan did to me. They’re my new friends, and everything is going so well now, but if I tell them what happened, they’ll think I’m weird or weak and pathetic, and it’ll change everything…just like what happened in Chicago…
“We’re playing Chicago University next week?” Blake asks the guys before I can speak.
They look at him for a second, clearly confused by his question.
“Uh, yeah. They changed the schedule at the last minute and just updated it,” Travis says. “I guess they forgot to account for that last-minute change between conferences at the beginning of the season, but they fixed it now.”
Blake tugs a hand through his hair. “Just fucking great,” he mutters. His arm is still around me, holding me close to him. It’s the comfort I need in this moment when my nerves and anxietyare through the roof at the thought of Logan coming here…at the thought of him being in the same city, the same campus as me…
Everyone looks between Blake and me. They’re all quiet, but I can tell how confused and concerned they are.
I swallow hard and dab the sleeve of my Hollis U sweater under my eyes.
Blake cups my face in his hand. “It’s okay. You don’t have to go to the game,” he says softly.
My chest aches. I want to be there. I want to watch Blake play and cheer him on.
But then I think about seeing Logan on the ice, and every muscle in my body goes rigid with fear.
I hate this. I hate that even just thinking of being around him scares the crap out of me.
I look at everyone. “My ex, Logan Casler, plays for Chicago University,” I say. “We, um, had a bad breakup. He…”
I trail off, my stomach churning. I think about stopping there. I think about not telling them the rest.
But then I look at them. I see the care and worry in their expression as they watch me.
They care about me. I can see it. I can feel it.
I take a breath. I push through the urge to clam up. And then I tell them.
“He, um, he tried to force himself on me at a party.” My voice breaks, and tears stream down my face.
