“Oh my god,” Poppy says. She walks over to me and pulls me into a hug. I’m instantly comforted by her embrace.
“He took me to one of the bedrooms upstairs, threw me on the bed, and tried to take my clothes off,” I say. “I was able to fight him off. But he got so mad.” I let out a sob. “I pushed him away from me and ran out of the bedroom. I was done with him. I thought that would be the end of it, but then he started this awful rumor about me. He told all the guys on the team thatthe only reason I dated him was so I could sleep with the other guys on the team. Everyone turned against me. Even my friends. I went to the school administration and told them he assaulted me, but they said they couldn’t do anything about it. There wasn’t enough evidence. It was my word against his.”
My voice breaks, and I let out another sob. Poppy doesn’t say anything. She just hugs me tighter and lets me cry.
When I start to calm down, she lets go of me. She holds me by the shoulders and looks at me. Her face is wet with tears too.
“Briar, I am so sorry.”
Anna comes up to me. Tears are shining in her eyes as she hugs me.
“I’m sorry too,” Anna says. “I’m so sorry that happened to you.”
She holds me tight.
“Your ex is a piece of shit,” Anna says, her voice hard. “So are all of your so-called friends.”
That warm feeling inside of me burrows deeper. They don’t think I’m a liar. They’re not calling me names.
They believe me. They’re not questioning me. They don’t doubt me.
When Anna lets me go, I see the guys looking at me, a mix of rage and sadness on their faces.
“We’re so sorry, Briar,” Nick says. Travis and Leo nod along.
“Anna’s right. He’s a piece of shit for what he did to you,” Travis says.
Leo grabs a tissue from his pocket and hands it to me. Then he hugs me. “I’m sorry, Briar.”
I tell him thanks and wipe my face when he lets me go. Nick and Travis come up to hug me too.
My body feels wrung out from crying so hard. But I also feel…lighter. Less burdened.
I’m not holding onto that secret anymore. I told them, and it didn’t change the way they felt about me. They’re still here. They’re still my friends. They’re by my side, supporting me.
Emotion surges through me as I process just how amazing my friends are.
“He’s not gonna get away with this,” Blake says.
I turn to look at him. “What?”
“We’re gonna make him pay,” Nick says. Travis and Leo nod along.
I look between the guys, waiting for them to say more. But they don’t. It’s like they’ve made a silent decision, and they’re all quietly in agreement.
It takes a moment to process it. How different their reactions are from all of Logan’s teammates and friends. This group of guys—this group of hockey players is siding with me. Defending me. Protecting me.
Something warm swoops through me.
Blake wraps his arm around me, pulling me close. “You don’t need to come to the game when we play Chicago,” he says again.
Determination surges through me. A few minutes ago, the thought of even being in the same hockey arena as Logan sent me into a panic spiral.
But now, when I think about going to the game, I don’t feel panicked. I feel calmer. I feel okay.
Blake is here for me. So are Poppy, Anna, Nick, Travis, and Leo.
That’s all I need. Their support, nothing else.
