Lavi dropped my wrist, and I sprinted to Leo. I threw my arms around his neck, tears falling at the shock of the situation.
Leo wrapped an arm around my waist. “I’m so sorry, Hawaii,” he said into my ear as he held me.
“Harrison!” Coach Alvarez shouted. We broke apart and turned to face Coach who stood in the doorway of the locker room. “You want to tell me why you’re punching your teammate in my arena?”
Leo looked at me and I could tell he was seeking my permission to be honest in front of the crowd of people gathered here. But as humiliating as this situation was, I had done nothing wrong. I’d gone to a party, opened one drink, and been drugged. That wasn’t on me. Besides, the rumors that Harley had drugged me and that’s what was causing the issue between Devon and Leo had basically been accepted as fact months ago. The only thing left for everyone in this hall to discover was that Devon had been an accomplice to the whole thing.
I swallowed the lump in my throat and nodded at Leo.
“The day I missed practice before Thanksgiving was because I was taking care of Sophia. Harley drugged her at a party because she turned Devon down when he hit on her. Devon knew about it and did nothing. I found her completely out of it with Harley callously offering her to Devon. I can’t speak to what he would have done if I hadn’t gotten her out of there, but he certainly wasn’t doing anything to help her, sir.”
A few gasps sounded from the mob of hockey players in the vicinity, and I couldn’t help but feel like there was a good amount of protectiveenergy coming off each of them on my behalf as they all realized the extent of Devon’s involvement. It made me feel like part of the team in some strange way.
Coach Alvarez turned to Devon with daggers in his eyes. “You going to deny any of that?”
“No, sir,” Devon mumbled, his lip swollen and split.
“My office, now,” Coach said. “And you can clean your shit out of your locker on your way.”
The guys in the doorway all stepped out of the way, parting for Devon and Coach to pass into the locker room.
Lavi took my hand “Let’s get you out of here, Sophia,” she said, prompting us all to start moving toward the exit. Leo put his arm around my waist, and I waited until we were at Adrian’s car before I fell apart in Leo’s arms. He held me and stroked my hair while I cried, reassuring me over and over again that this wasn’t my fault. Adrian and Lavi stood nearby at what felt like a comfortable distance and I appreciated that they neither approached me nor left us completely alone.
“I’m so embarrassed that you know this happened to me,” I said to them as I lifted my head, wiping my eyes.
“Oh, Sophia,” Lavi said, rushing over to give me a hug. “You don’t need to feel embarrassed. We’re on your side, always.”
Adrian put a hand on my shoulder. “I already had a pretty good idea that you’d been drugged earlier this year.”
I lifted my head to meet his eyes.
“Leo never told me your name, but I put two-and-two together a while ago based on how concerned he was about hisfriendthat night. I’m glad Leo got in a few good punches,” he said with a smirk.
I choked on a laugh. Lavi let me go and Leo pulled me back to him. He gave me a gentle kiss before looking at his family. “I think we’re going to skip the celebration tonight.”
“Of course,” Adrian said. He stepped forward to give me a hug. “Sophia, I’m sorry to even ask. But if Devon considers pressing charges—”
“Do you think he’d do that?” I asked, my pulse soaring. That could end Leo’s career before it even started.
“I don’t know,” Adrian said, looking at Leo who shrugged. “Sutton can preemptively prepare a defense to get the charges dismissed if she knows about what happened tonight.”
“Yes, tell her,” I said.
“Hawaii, I don’t give a shit about anything except you right now,” Leo said, kissing my temple.
“And I don’t give a shit about anything except your career,” I said. “I trust your mom. Tell her, Adrian. She can call me for all the details she needs.”
Adrian smiled sadly. “Okay. You’re family, Sophia. We all love you. I promise Sutton will make it as painless as possible if it ever comes to that. And if I can do anything to make this easier on you, I will.”
“Thank you,” I said, giving him another hug. Lavi gave me one more hug while Leo and his father embraced.
“I wish you’d kneed him in the balls too,” Adrian said, patting Leo on the back.
Leo snorted. “Thanks, Dad. Me too.”
Chapter Forty-One
Leo
