Cheap Shot by Brittney Mulliner
Reid
Whatever waswrong had to be told to us in person and couldn’t wait for us to finish dinner, so it had to be bad. Haley was freaking out over the possibilities, but when we walked in to find Ethan sprawled out on his bed, staring vacantly at the ceiling, I felt her relax next to me.
I was going to kill him.
My so-called best friend was the most dramatic person I’d ever met. I expected to see Ethan gravely injured or an emotional mess due to some disaster involving their parents.
“What’s going on?” She moved to his side, but he didn’t bother reacting.
I glared at him from my side of the room, waiting for the theatrics to begin. I was tempted to take Haley’s hand and drag her back to the restaurant to finish the three courses I had planned. Things obviously weren’t as dire as he made it seem. Whatever was causing his freak out could wait an hour.
“Ethan? Come on? We’re here, so tell us what happened,” Haley pleaded, the patience quickly leaving her voice.
He didn’t even twitch.
I stepped forward and shoved his side, but he didn’t react. I picked up his leg closest to me and started to pull, intending on dragging him off the bed, and when he realized what I was doing, he kicked out of my grasp and sat up.
“I’m in mourning, dude. Careful.” He dropped his head into his hands.
“What are you mourning?” Haley asked. “Did something happen to Mom or Dad?”
He grumbled something, but I couldn’t understand him. I smacked his wrist, and his head shot up so he could glare at me. “No. They’re fine as far as I know.”
She let out a relieved sigh. “Then what is it? We rushed over here for you, so start talking.”
I smiled at her, enjoying seeing this new bossy side.
“It’s the worst thing that could possibly happen,” he hinted.
I rolled my eyes. “You’re not dead, none of your family is dead. You aren’t injured, and you’re still on the team. So, we know it’s not actually anything close to being the worst-case scenario.”
His head snapped to me. “Oh yeah? Well then, where does being in class with and assigned to partner with the one person that hates me more than anyone else in the world rank? Huh?”
Haley and I exchanged a look before she faced her brother again. “Who’s in your class?”
Ethan stared straight ahead, through us. “Kennedy.”
My jaw dropped at the same time Haley reached out for him. “Oh, Ethan.”
He shook his head, still in a daze.
I rubbed my jaw, covering the smile I couldn’t contain. He was right. This wasn’t the worst thing that could happen in the world, but it was definitely up there, for him.
He had a long line of scorned women from his time here, but none hated him with the same passion as his high school sweetheart. She gave up her Ivy League dreams to follow him here where he had the best chance of starting on the team. She trusted him with her entire future, and within the first semester of freshman year, he dumped her.
Granted, he has his reasons, and they had a whole truckload of issues before they ever stepped foot on campus, but I couldn’t blame her for hating him. He pulled her along with promises of love and a life together only to quit and walk away the second things got hard.
I wasn’t sure why she stayed. Everyone on the team avoided her at all costs, so it wasn’t like I had a chance to check in and see how she was doing. I was terrified of her too.
But Ethan’s luck had officially run out. His past was coming back to haunt him, and this time he couldn’t run away.
Want more from the guys of the West Penn Bobcats? Check out Trick Play!
Ethan is at risk of losing it all, and the only person that can save him is the one woman that has every reason not to.
As the West Penn Hockey series continues, you'll also see more of Reid and Haley’s story!