Cheap Shot by Brittney Mulliner
Reid
I wasn’t expectingto get hit by a freight truck when I turned the corner in the hall, but my reflexes worked faster than my brain, and I kept myself—and my assailant—from falling to the ground.
I grunted at the impact of hitting the brick wall behind me and tightened my arms around the body against mine. It took several seconds to realize that this wasn’t one of my teammates or a serial killer. It was a small female that felt all too familiar.
“Haley?” I pushed her away from me, holding onto her shoulders so I could look her over.
“Are you okay? What’s going on?”
Her eyes were full of terror, flicking from one side of the hall to the other. “Is he gone?”
There was no one else here. I had to stay late to get a very long, uncomfortable lecture from the coaches after everyone else was long gone.
“Who? What are you talking about?”
“Jay, he was here. He attacked me.”
Ice shot through my veins, and I looked her over more closely. I slid my hands over her arms and lifted them so I could see better in the dim light. Angry red marks at her wrist had my stomach twisting. My eyes roamed over her body, neck, and face. More marks and her clothing was rumpled, the neckline of her shirt torn.
I stepped around her and took off through the backdoor. I ran out and looked around. I didn’t know what that monster looked like, but I didn’t see anyone around. He was smart enough to leave before he got caught.
I didn’t want to leave Haley alone for a second longer, so I hurried back inside and took her into my arms.
“He’s gone.” I ran my hand gently over the back of her head while cradling her body against mine.
That seemed to break the dam that had been keeping her emotions at bay. She crumpled, and I caught her, holding her up as she broke in my arms.
Her wracking sobs split my heart wide open.
I was going to find that sorry excuse for a man and make him pay for everything he’d done.
“I’ve got you, baby. You’re safe now,” I whispered as I slowly led her to the closest open doorway, the training room, and flipped on the light. I situated her onto one of the massage tables but never released her. Not that her grip would have allowed that.
I pulled my phone out of my back pocket and sent a text to Ethan, telling him to come back to the arena. Haley needed both of us, whether or not he could stand to be in the same room as me.
“Haley, will you let me call campus security? We need to report this.”
She sniffed and looked up at me with empty eyes. “Will it even matter? I made it an anonymous call when I told them he drugged me.”
“Yes, it matters. He assaulted you and left marks.” I held up her wrists, and in the brighter lighting, it was even easier to see the beginnings of bruising.
Her eyes remained on the space between us, not really seeing.
“Is it okay if I call?” I wasn’t going to force her to do anything, even if I really wanted to end this.
She nodded once, and I took out my phone and pressed on the number I saved in my phone after the night I brought her home from the party. I wished back then I would never have to use it again, but I’d had a feeling.
“West Penn campus security,” a male voice answered.
“My friend was just assaulted. We’re in the ice arena.”
“Is your friend breathing?”
“Yes, she is awake and sitting up.”
“We’re sending over officers now. Where in the ice arena are you?” he asked.
“In the training room closest to the back entrance.”
“They’re three minutes out. If possible, listen for them and call out to help them find you.”
“Thanks, I will.” I hung up so I could focus on Haley. “They’re coming now.”
I wanted to ask what happened so I could help her when the officers got here, but I didn’t want her to have to relive the experience twice. All I could do right now was hold her and make sure she knew she wasn’t alone.
“Haley?” Ethan’s voice called out.
“In the training room,” I yelled out and seconds later he came barreling into the room. He froze when he saw us, his eyes narrowing on me.
“What the hell happened?”
Her eyes flicked up to his. “He assaulted me.”
Rage washed over his features in a flash. “You!”
He flew across the room, arm aimed at my face. I didn’t think I’d be able to stop him in that state, but Haley circled her arms around me and buried her face in my chest. Ethan wavered and froze inches from me.
“What?” He looked from his sister to me.
“It wasn’t me. It was Jay, the guy that drugged her at the party.”
How could he even think I would hurt her? I had to blame adrenaline and stupidity.
“I’m sorry.” His body deflated, and he shifted to his sister’s side, putting an arm around her shoulders.
“Hello? Did someone call for campus security?” a deep voice came from the hall.
“In here,” I replied, and Ethan slid off the table to step out into the hall.
“Right here.”
He came back with a man and woman in uniform. They surveyed the room before focusing on the gentle cries of the woman in my arms.
“Miss, I’m Officer Walsh, and this is my partner Officer Manning,” the man said, gesturing to the woman at his side. “Can you tell us what happened?”
His demeanor was so much softer than I’d expected. I appreciated he was being calm and not demanding anything from her.
I tried to pull back from Haley, but her arms tightened around me. I kissed the top of her head and started with the information I had.
“A few weeks ago, she attended a party at the Alpha Gamma Nu house where a guy she met slipped a roofie into her drink. She was able to recognize the symptoms and got to a bathroom where she called me to come get her. She reported that incident. The next week he cornered her at a cafe on campus, but she was able to get away from him again.” I sighed and rubbed my hand over her hair. “I was still inside so I’m not sure exactly what happened tonight, but I caught her when she ran inside and she told me that the same guy assaulted her.”
Ethan’s breath caught, and he shifted closer to his sister.
“And who are you?” the woman asked him.
“I’m her brother.”
She nodded and looked at me. “And you?”
Well, wasn’t that a complicated answer? “I’m her friend, as well as his roommate.” I nodded toward Ethan.
She jotted down some notes. “And what is the name of the man that drugged and assaulted her?”
“Jay,” I supplied. “I’m not sure of his last name, but he lives in Granger Hall.”
She added that to her notes and looked at Haley. “Can you give us a physical description of him?”
She sucked in a breath before answering. “He’s taller than me. Probably five-ten and fairly muscular. He has thick blond hair that he wears parted to the side.” She closed her eyes. “Brown eyes and smells like sandalwood and musk cologne.”
The officers asked more questions and took pictures of all of Haley’s injuries. Listening to her tell them what he’d done to her just yards away from me filled me with rage.
She’d been waiting for me. I should have left sooner. I should have been there for her, but Ethan and I were letting drama and crap get between us.
All I could do was comfort her now and let her know I was there for her. I held her hand as she went through the details of him pressing her against the building and holding her down. How he said she was waiting for him. The man was clearly deranged. A danger to so much more than just Haley.
“I’m sorry for what you went through,” Officer Manning said as she and her partner straightened from where they’d been leaning against the counter. “With the information you told us, the report you filed before, and the physical evidence he left behind, it won’t be hard to detain him. Once we have him, we’ll pass this off to the city police department. They can press criminal charges against him while we can only suspend him or suggest expulsion, which we will do as soon as evidence is gathered.”
Haley nodded, appearing exhausted from the ordeal. “Thank you.”
The officers shook my hand and Ethan’s before leaving. We stared at each other, silently communicating the things we should have said before this. We were sorry. The past didn’t matter. The only thing that did was Haley.
“Do you want me to take you back to your room, or do you want to stay with us?” Ethan asked her.
They locked eyes for several moments, and I knew they were having their own silent conversation. Then he turned to me. “Do you think you could stay with one of the guys tonight?”
I hadn’t been expecting that. If anything, I thought she would ask him to give us space, but I nodded.
This was probably for the best.
Everything that happened today, then my talk with the coaches, was forgotten until now. There was still so much to figure out with both of them. Things I needed to say.
I wanted to keep holding Haley and put off everything else for as long as possible, but that would only make the inevitable more painful.
She needed her brother right now and in the future. It was best that I took a step back.
“Yeah, no problem.”
I pulled away from her, but she caught my hand. She gave me a look I couldn’t decipher before walking away.
I worried about her all night. I wanted to text her to check how she was doing, but I needed to trust Ethan would take care of her. I waited until nine before going to my room to shower. I thought she would be gone, but she was waiting for me on my bed with her legs crossed.
“Hey,” I took her in from head to toe looking for any injuries.
“Hi.” She looked at her lap. “Can I talk to you, or do you need to get to class?”
I moved toward her and sat on the end of the bed, facing her.
“Before what happened… I spoke with Ethan. I wanted him to accept us together, maybe even be happy for us, but he made me realize something I hadn’t even thought about. Something I should have seen sooner, but I was too selfish to think about anything but myself and what I wanted.”
I squeezed her hands, not knowing where this was going. Ethan wasn’t exactly a ray of sunshine lately, and I could only imagine what he’d said to her.
“He made me realize that I wasn’t thinking about what you needed. This year is probably the most important of your life, and I’ve done nothing but cause drama and distract you. It doesn’t change the fact that I’ve fallen for you, and it breaks my heart to walk away, but it’s what I have to do. For you, and me.”
I closed my eyes and let her words wash over me.
“I’m so sorry, Reid.” Her voice cracked.
With a solid breath, I snapped my eyes open and held hers. “I was thinking the same thing. I’m not sure if being together right now is the best decision for either of us. Coach put some things into perspective for me last night. I need my priority to be the team and my training. I owe it to myself and the guys to give them all my attention and energy.” I clenched my jaw. “This is one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do, but you deserve so much more than I can give you right now.”
Her head tilted to the side and a single tear slid down her cheek. “I know. I know better than most what you’re going through. I told myself I could handle it, but that doesn’t make it the right decision. I didn’t stop to think how hard it would be on you.”
My stomach tightened, and I felt like I was going to be sick. I hated seeing her hurting and because of me. This wasn’t what I wanted, but it was what had to happen. “This doesn’t have to be it. We can see how we feel when the season is over.”
She nodded and tried to smile, but it fell flat. “You’re right.”
“Maybe we can try just being friends for now?” I hated those words, but I’d rather have her in my life at a distance than not at all.
“I’ll think about it.” She slid off the table and went to the door. With one last glance, she turned and left to find her brother. The only man she needed right now.