Cheap Shot by Brittney Mulliner
Haley
Of all themen on campus, I had to kiss Reid freaking Bayman? He looked nothing like I remembered. Maybe if I paid more attention to my brother’s social media or team pictures, I would have recognized him.
My earliest memories were of Ethan’s hockey games. Always being in the car, going to practice or away games or special-skills training. It was his life, his passion, his gift, but it controlled every aspect of me and my family.
My parents gave me a toy or book to occupy me while they dedicated all of their time and attention to Ethan. By the time I was old enough to consider playing a sport or taking piano lessons, they didn’t give me the option. Mom couldn’t get me to practices while also making sure Ethan was always where he needed to be. After all, he was the superstar. The protégé. One coach after another fed into the dream of him being a shoo-in for the NHL, and that pushed me further and further from my parent’s focus.
It wasn’t all bad. I got to have a semi-normal childhood, outside of being dragged around, and the more attention Ethan got, the less I did. It only took me until I was about ten to realize what that meant. I was free to do whatever I wanted as long as I stayed under their radar.
“Ready?” He stepped out of his apartment and strode down the hall toward me.
“Yeah. I went to orientation yesterday, so I think I have a pretty good idea of where my classes are.” We got into the elevator and headed down the four floors to the main lobby.
“But those were just the buildings. I’ll walk you through to make sure you can find each room without getting lost tomorrow.” He pulled a baseball hat down low as we stepped outside. I was grateful summer was lingering and it wasn’t quite sweater season.
We were barely across the courtyard in front of his building when a blond ran up to us, wearing teeny shorts and a West Penn crop top, which I was pretty sure wasn’t sold at the student store. “Ethan!”
Her call came out as more of a pant. She flung her arms around his neck and pressed her body into him. I rolled my eyes and waited for this show to end.
“Hey, babe.” He hesitated before holding her at arm’s length with his hands on her hips. I was one-hundred percent certain he didn’t know her name.
“I missed you last night,” she purred.
I nearly gagged. There was nothing that could prepare a person to watch someone flirt with their sibling. It was gross, and even though it happened in high school, I refused to get used to it.
Finally, her eyes landed on me, full of venom. “Who’s this?”
“My sister, Haley.” Ethan removed his hands from her waist and took a step closer to me. “She’s new, so I’m showing her around.
“Oh!” She was suddenly back to sugary sweet. “That is so nice of you! You’re like the best.” If she batted her lashes any harder, she was going to take flight.
“Yeah, so we’ve got to get going.” Ethan winked, and she sighed. I think she might have swooned if he’d touched her. She gave him a wave and winked before tossing her hair over her shoulder as she spun and walked off in the opposite direction.
We continued down the path toward the school, but I wasn’t going to let him off easy. “You didn’t even know her name, did you?”
He laughed. “Nope.”
“Did you date her?”
“No,” he said too quickly. “I don’t date.”
“Someone needs to tell her that.”
“She knows.” He rubbed his jaw. “Dating isn’t what she’s interested in.”
I scrunched my nose. “Ew.”
I knew my brother wasn’t a saint, but I didn’t need to see the proof of that. He readjusted his hat, and I shook my head. “That isn’t going to disguise you.”
“I just don’t want to be hounded today.” He elbowed me. “I’m here for you.”
His arrogance was astounding, but as we walked toward my closest class building, I noticed the stares and waves he got, and not just from the female population. This really was like high school all over again. How had he managed to become so popular at a massive university? That wasn’t supposed to be a thing. Everyone was supposed to be on even ground here, blending in and only being friends with like thirty people, max.
“Hey, Clarkson!” A tall guy in head-to-toe West Penn clothing waved as he walked by.
“Who’s that?” I asked.
“Shawn Bennet. He’s on the basketball team.”
Bennet? His name was always mentioned on the national sports news for being the highest point scorer of the NCAA.
“You guys are friends?”
Ethan shrugged. “We hang out sometimes.”
We passed four more people that stopped us to talk to Ethan, and I could still see his dorm. Transferring here was a bad idea. I should have known this school would fall under his spell too. This was why when it came time to pick colleges, I found one that didn’t have a hockey team. A place where I wouldn’t be reminded every single day of the golden child.
But that hadn’t worked out.
“Sorry about that. Let’s start here.” Ethan nodded to the closest building after excusing himself from a group of guys. “Let me see your schedule.”
I handed him the half sheet of paper, and he scanned it as we waked inside. “Okay, stats is on the second floor.” He pointed to the set of wide stairs. “Avoid those. They get jammed up with people trying to go up and down at the same time.”
“But then how …” I trailed off and jogged to catch up to him as he headed down the hall. He opened an unmarked door and revealed another set of cement stairs that smelled a bit musky.
“I’ve used these for years and almost never see anyone else. It will save you time and patience.” I followed him up, and he checked the paper again. “Two-seventeen is right here.” He stopped in front of a door, and I noted the number and how far it was from the stairs we used.
“Okay.”
He looked down at the paper. “Do you want to go by day, so you know your route or just by proximity?”
“Can we do exactly what I’ll do each day? This campus is like four times the size of my old one, and I don’t want to get lost.”
“No problem.” We turned around to head back down the secret stairs.
Progress was slow. It took nearly an hour to get through one day of classes because we couldn’t make it more than a few yards with someone stopping Ethan. Each interruption cemented my decision to stay away from him and Reid and the rest of his team. I wasn’t interested in joining the fan club, and they were used to being adored.
We ran into some of the members of the football team, and I took a half-step back, using my brother as a shield while looking for Linc or Brown. Neither of them were with the group though.
“Well, hello. I haven’t seen you around.” A guy with a buzz cut and beard eyed me up and down. “I don’t think I would have missed that body.”
The guy next to him nodded and winked at me.
“Who’s this?” one of the brawny guys asked, and Ethan grunted as I took a step closer to him. I didn’t particularly like the way they were looking at me. None of the football players from the party acted like them.
“My little sister.”
That seemed to squelch any interest in me, but Ethan took it a step further. “She’s off-limits, just in case any thoughts about her dare to enter your mind. Although, I know how rare your thoughts are, so I’m not too concerned.”
The dozen of them burst into laughter, hooting and shoving the guy that asked.
Ethan hit him on the shoulder. “Seriously though, make sure the guys know to stay away.”
“Yeah, man,” one of the others called, and they headed off, calling their goodbyes to Ethan.
“Really?” I glared up at him when he faced me.
“What?” He grinned and wrapped his arm around my neck. “I’m just watching out for you.”
“I don’t need you to warn every guy away. I can do that on my own.”
“I know, but I’m just worried about you. After last year. . . I just don’t want anyone messing with you.”
Me either.
“I’ll make sure the guys on the team know to watch out for you too. You’ll have an army of brothers as backup.”
“Great,” I muttered and pulled away from him. I wanted to fly under the radar, not have his teammates babysitting me.
My transfer was a necessary move, and I had no choice but to accept that this was my home for the next three years, but that didn’t mean I had to include Ethan or this aspect of his life in mine. I didn’t want anything to do with hockey players or any athlete. I had enough experience with them, and I wasn’t going to make that same mistake again.
Last night had been a mindless mistake. I was too hyped up on being somewhere new and got caught up in the moment and Reid’s hypnotizing eyes. It wouldn’t happen again.
After we found my next class, another girl ran up to Ethan, and this time, I stayed back. It was exhausting talking with so many new people, and I wasn’t even the one having to deal with the attention. Once he shook off the girl clinging to his arm, he fell into step with me. “Sorry, it’s not usually this bad.”
I didn’t believe him, but after today, it wouldn’t be my problem to deal with since I planned on steering clear of him in public as much as possible. “It’s fine.”
“We didn’t really have a chance to talk over the summer. How are you doing?”
We didn’t talk because he hadn’t come home. He’d stayed and trained with some of the guys on the team. They hired a fancy coach that treated them like they were in hockey boot camp, according to Mom. I didn’t know for sure since Ethan never returned my calls. Fine, I only called him twice and sent one text, but still. I put forth some effort, and he gave none in return which was why this sudden change was confusing. Since when did he care?
“I’m okay.”
“Mom and Dad said therapy was working well for you.” He stared straight ahead as we went to my first class of my Tuesdays and Thursdays schedule.
This wasn’t something I really wanted to discuss out in the open where one of his groupies could spot us, but at least we could get it over with.
“Yeah, it’s helped a lot.” I stopped walking, and it took him a few steps to realize and turn around.
“What’s wrong?” He looked me over with brows pulled together.
“I don’t want another ambush, so let’s just do this here.” I crossed my arms, and he shifted closer.
“Do what?”
“The awkward conversation we never had, but need to do now that we’re going to be close”—I glanced around—“at least by proximity.”
A flash of hurt crossed his face. “Fine, you’re right. You never talked to me about what happened last year. You didn’t tell me what you went through after either. Everything I know came through Mom and Dad.” I opened my mouth, but he held up his hand and continued. “I know that’s partially on me. I’m sorry I never reached out to you. I didn’t know how. I didn’t know what to say to make it better. When Dad asked if I thought it would be a good idea for you to come here, I agreed, but only because I thought it was what you wanted. Then it was like I blinked, and you were already here. I should have called. I should have figured out something to say. I should have checked on you, and I should have made sure this was what you wanted before encouraging them.”
I dropped my gaze to the sidewalk. I never expected an admission like that from him. I assumed he simply didn’t care. That if something happened that didn’t directly affect him, he dismissed it. I never would have guessed he felt bad about how he ignored me. “It was the least terrible option they gave me.”
His mouth twisted into a knowing smile. “I know what you mean. Staying at home was never a serious option, I wouldn’t let them do that to you.”
“And thanks for apologizing.” We’d never been super close, but it felt like he was at least trying. Now. “I don’t think I would have talked to you if you had called me before I went home for the summer. I wasn’t ready to talk to anyone about it.”
His jaw rocked back and forth. “I’m so sorry, Haley.” He blew out a breath and pushed his hand over the top of his hair. “You’re the strongest person I know.”
I didn’t feel very strong. Most of the time I was barely keeping it together, but I was trying and, according to Angie, my therapist, that was the most I could ask of myself.
“How’s the insomnia?”
I shrugged. “Some nights are better than others.”
He nodded as if he understood. “And the panic attacks?”
I cringed. “Geez, Mom and Dad didn’t hold back, did they?”
“They wanted to make sure I knew what’s been happening and what to look for. I can’t help you if I don’t know what’s going on.”
I didn’t need his help, period, and he genuinely seemed to care, but I wasn’t ready to just let him in.
“I know most of my triggers now, and as long as I can avoid them, I do okay.”
He nodded. “That’s good.”
We walked together for a few seconds before he stopped again. “You know you can always call me if you need help, or if you want to talk. I haven’t been great in the past, but I promise I’ll do better.”
His eyes lacked the teasing I was used to from him. This was serious. He meant those words.
“Thanks, Ethan.”
Too bad I knew better. People’s intentions and actions didn’t always align.