Cheap Shot by Brittney Mulliner
Reid
I was done lettingEthan dictate my life. He was my best friend, my brother, but after what Haley told me, I was over it. He had no right talking to her, or anyone else, like that. There was something going on with him that he wasn’t sharing, but that wasn’t an excuse to treat others like garbage.
Haley needed to know she could trust me. She deserved people in her life she could rely on, and I was determined to be one of those for her. Whether or not Ethan approved.
I’d tried to stay away. I’d tried to do what he asked, but it was impossible to ignore her. Especially when we kept running into each other. It was like fate was tugging us together, completely blowing off all the reasons why we shouldn’t be together.
I wasn’t sure if I was the best person for her, but I wanted to try. She’d shown me what it meant to be strong and courageous and have true perseverance. She reminded me that there was more to life than hockey. That other things could matter just as much, if not more. She made me stop and reevaluate what mattered to me and why. I didn’t take things for granted, like my friends and brother and support system. I knew I would never be alone in the world, but I never stopped to appreciate that. She trusted me and made me want to be worthy of that precious gift.
I wanted to give us a chance to see if it could work. If there was anyone that understood how much time and energy I had to dedicate to hockey, it was Haley. She might not like it, but she wouldn’t be surprised by how much of my time it took like so many other girls struggled with.
The other major obstacle was Ethan, but a year from now, we could be anywhere. We wouldn’t always be teammates, and he couldn’t dictate my life forever. If Haley and I were meant to be together, there was nothing he could do to stop us.
I just had to make sure he understood how much I cared about her. Which was harder than it seemed. I was fired up, ready to have it out with him, but I didn’t see him until practice. He never came home last night, so the tension in me continued to grow.
When I stepped into the locker room for a morning practice and found him laughing and joking with Becker and Benjamin, I scowled. I wanted to run up to him and shove him off the bench, but that would only get both of us in trouble. I needed to control my temper as much as possible.
“Reid, there you are.” Matt jumped up and hurried over to me from his locker.
“What’s up?” I set my duffle on the bench and turned to him.
He stepped in close and glanced over toward Ethan. “I’m telling you this as a friend.”
I narrowed my eyes. What was he getting at?
“And I don’t want to see you and him have a falling out.”
Me and who? Before I could ask, he continued.
“Kevin and I saw you with Haley last night, walking back onto campus looking pretty friendly.”
We hadn’t even held hands. There was nothing he could say about us walking together.
“I saw the way you looked at her”—he raised his brows—“and the way she looked at you. I don’t want trouble starting on the team.”
“So, what are you saying?” I wanted him to get to his point so I could talk to Ethan myself.
“Things are already tense right now. We’re all on edge. There’s enough pressure on us from the coaches to pull off this season. We don’t need added drama.” It was pretty uncommon for his Boston accent to be noticeable, but right now it was thick. He must be really stressed about this.
“So, I should just ignore my feelings? Her feelings?”
He shrugged. “We’ve all got to make sacrifices, man.”
I glared at him. I didn’t need my own words thrown back at me. “I’m aware, but this is different. It’s not something being asked of me by Coach or the team. It’s Ethan’s personal problem.”
“Look, I know it sucks, but try to wait until after the season.”
“It just started. You want me to wait until April?” He had to be kidding. I would never ask anyone to do that.
“If she’s the right one for you, then she’ll wait.”
I shook my head. “I hear what you’re saying, but I’m not going to do that.”
He sighed and took a step back. “Fine, but if this impacts the season, I’m coming after you. And him.”
I turned around and started pulling out my gear. He could make all the threats he wanted, but it only added fuel to my fire. This wasn’t on me. It was on Ethan for thinking he could tell us what to do. I never once told him how to live his life. I didn’t make a big deal of the fact he went missing for days or liked to party more than he should. I let him do his thing, and as long as he made it to practice and carried his weight during games then it wasn’t my business. He wasn’t hurting himself or anyone else, as far as I knew, so he could do as he pleased. Until that line was crossed, I’d keep my mouth closed, and I expected him to do the same for me.
But he wasn’t.
And that needed to change.
Now.
I pulled on my pads and shook out my practice jersey before slipping it on. Ethan was alone, nearly ready, so I took the opportunity and went over to him.
“Hey.” I looked down at him as he pulled on his skate.
“Yeah?” He didn’t even glance up.
“Haley came over last night.”
That got his attention. “Why?”
“She was upset.”
He glared. “Why?”
Was he really that dense? I took in a breath, trying to calm down a bit. “Because you made her feel like crap.”
He shook his head and finished tying the laces.
“Don’t ignore me. What you said was really messed up. I don’t know what you’ve got going on right now because you won’t tell me, but you can’t take out your anger on her.”
He stood, inches taller than me with his skates on. “You have no idea what you’re talking about. You don’t know the full story.”
I didn’t back down. He didn’t intimate me. “No, I don’t. Because she’s too traumatized to tell me, and you refuse to.”
He gritted his teeth. “Just stay out of it.”
“How can I when she shows up at my door looking like a beaten puppy?”
He turned his head, avoiding my eyes. “I’ll talk to her.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. You’ve done enough damage.”
I started to walk away, but he grabbed my elbow and pulled me back. “Why do you care so much?”
I knew what he was really asking, and I was done pretending.
“I care about her. I like her.”
His gaze turned lethal. “You have one chance to clarify your meaning.”
“I’m interested in her. I have feelings for her. I’m attracted to her. How much clearer can I get?”
His fist came out of nowhere, connecting with my left cheekbone.
“Guys!” Benjamin called behind us, but I didn’t care anymore.
I threw my fist before Ethan could block me and landed a shot against his jaw. He spit blood before looking back at me.
“Stop!” Becker yelled, pulling me back while Benjamin shoved Ethan against the lockers. We glared at each other, neither of us willing to be the first to back down.
The room was silent, but I heard a heavy sigh and knew we’d been caught. Ethan’s eyes flickered to the entrance, and I finally relented and turned to face Coach Hiller.
“Get on the ice. Everyone’s late. Blue line to blue line.” He glared at the room as the guys filed past him until it was just me, Becker, Ethan, and Benjamin. “What is wrong with you?”
I wasn’t sure who he was directing the comment at but assumed I was a potential target.
“A misunderstanding, Coach.”
Ethan scoffed.
“What is it, Clarkson?” He stared past me.
“A personal problem, Coach.”
“This is your second fight.” Hiller shook his head. “You two, get out of here.”
Becker didn’t have to be told twice. He shoved past me and left the room. Benjamin hovered for a second before sighing and following him.
Hiller made his way toward us and crossed his arms. “Talk.”
I glanced over to Ethan, but he was glaring at the floor, jaw working back and forth.
“I’m dating his sister.”
“You’re what?” Ethan barked.
“I’m interested in dating his sister,” I rephrased.
Hiller looked like he wanted to hit our heads together. “I know you two aren’t telling me you got in a fistfight in my locker room in front of my team over a girl.”
“My sister,” Ethan growled.
“Yes, your adult sister who is more than capable of making her own decisions,” Coach deadpanned, and I wanted to give him a fist bump.
“I told them all to stay away from her,” Ethan protested.
“You don’t control her or your teammates. You can only control yourself.” I wanted to look at Ethan with an ‘I told you so’ expression but now wasn’t the time.
Hiller turned on me. “But you should have enough respect for him to talk to him as two calm, levelheaded men before going behind his back.”
I would have if Ethan was ever around, but now wasn’t the best time to bring up that problem.
“You’re right, Coach.”
“It looks like you each got a hit in, so I’m considering this over and done. It will not be a problem again, especially not in front of the team.”
“Yes, Coach,” we said at the same time.
He waved us off, and I hurried to finish getting my gear on while Ethan stomped out of the room.
Hiller was gone by the time I finished tying my skates so I hurried out onto the ice and joined the guys. They were huffing and sweating next to me, and I knew they would make me pay later for subjecting them to this form of punishment.
Practice was grueling, more intense than normal, and I knew the coaches were sending a message. As soon as the final whistle was blown, I hurried to the locker room and changed as fast as possible, not bothering to shower. I wanted to leave before any of the guys had the chance to corner me. I didn’t need their anger or resentment right now. I didn’t want to see Ethan either, but I had a feeling he’d be avoiding our room for a while so I went back and showered there.
As soon as I was done, I sent Haley a message, asking her to meet me. She replied a few minutes later saying she was free.
I walked over to her building and waited out front. When she stepped outside, her bright smile disappeared, and she ran down the few stairs toward me.
“Reid, what happened?” Her hand reached up to touch my face but stopped just inches away.
“We should talk.” I knew everyone hated those words, so I quickly added. “There’s something I need to tell you.”
“Okay.” Her voice was quiet, but she fell into step next to me.
I longed to reach out and take her hand, but I waited until we were in a deserted area and found a bench to sit on.
“What’s going on? You’re kind of freaking me out.” She sat facing me. Her eyes flicked over my face, probably looking for other injuries.
“I told Ethan about us.”
Her eyes widened. “He did this?”
I nodded. “Don’t worry. I got a hit in too.” I tried to smile, but it hurt too much.
“Oh, Reid.” She sighed and took my hand, holding it in hers on her thigh.
“I was planning on talking to him sooner, but I didn’t see him until practice. I was going to wait, but then Matt was saying stuff and I just snapped. I confronted Ethan about what he said to you, and then it sort of came out.”
She didn’t reply, but after a few long, silent moments she scooted closer and leaned her head on my shoulder. “I’m sorry.”
“You have nothing to be sorry about. He has a problem, but he won’t talk to me. I think there’s more going on with him than just us.”
She nodded against me. “I didn’t want to come between you two.”
She was worth it to me, but I didn’t want to tell her that and scare her off. “He’s been my best friend for three years. We’ve been like brothers. I don’t want to lose him, but I’m not going to let him control either of us.”
“I need to talk to him too.” She didn’t sound very excited about it.
I had a lot of apologies to make. My team might turn against me, taking Ethan’s side, if I wasn’t honest with them. Would they understand? Would they think it was just a dumb fight over a girl? Would they forgive me?
“It will be okay. Eventually.” I wanted to believe my own words, but it was hard to see how Ethan and I could ever get past this.