Page 72 of For Crosby

She deserved better than me.

She deserved to know the truth.

But the truth meant my days were numbered. And the reality was, I was a selfish bastard. And I wasn’t ready to let her go yet.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Crosby

I rolled out from under my sheets and placed my bare feet on the floor. I dropped my face into my hands and sat for a long time. I’d barely slept. So many emotions ran through me. Tonight was a huge night for me, but all I could think about was the video. And the revenge I wanted to exact on Jeremy and whoever helped him.

I grabbed my phone from my nightstand and my heart clenched. A text from Sabrina was on the screen. Hope you’re feeling better. I’m so excited 2 see you play 2nite. Good luck!!

I knew I wouldn’t see her today. It was her hectic day with back to back classes and a lab, so she clearly wanted to be sure her text covered everything she would’ve said in person. Even if we could’ve found time to meet up, I would’ve made up an excuse to avoid her. I was too much of a coward to face her. To look her in the eyes, knowing what I knew. And, knowing Sabrina, she would’ve known something was wrong. She would’ve grilled me until I told her something.

Again, I didn’t text her back. Instead, I searched online for the video and called Xavier to see if he found anything. Neither of us had, which enabled me to breathe—at least for the time being.

* * *

I stormed into the locker room. My teammates were in various stages of dress. Some taped their sticks, some laced their skates, and others finished padding up before Coach’s pre-game speech. And, while I’d been dealing with the guilt and anger of a video hanging over me like a guillotine ready to drop, they didn’t seem to have a fucking care in the world.

Screw that.

I dropped my bag on the ground. The thud reverberated throughout the room. Eyes cut to mine as I glared at them, my body quaking with rage. How many had been involved? How many had been there to record Sabrina and me? How many of them had the video? The scathing look on my face told them what my words didn’t have to. I. Was. Done.

Their guilty eyes evaded mine. Jeremy was the only one with the balls to look back at me.

Xavier stepped out from the bathroom in his shoulder pads. His wide eyes locked on mine. The subtle shake of his head said something I couldn’t read. Did he want me to wait until after the game to unleash my rage? Was the coach nearby?

Well, I had news for him—for all of them. There wasn’t a chance in hell I was taking this one lying down.

I flew across the room, grabbing Jeremy by the throat and slamming him into the lockers behind him. “Erase the video.”

“What?” he choked out.

“I know you have it.”

“What are you talking about?” His eyes flashed from side to side, desperate for his buddies to intervene. They didn’t.

I turned to look at their stunned faces. Did they think I was a pussy who was gonna deal with their shit lying down forever? Fuck that. The second Sabrina was brought into it, I wanted to rip all their heads off. “Did you and Sabrina have fun over break?” I said, reminding him of his words.

His eyes shifted back to mine and the sides of his mouth twitched.

“You messed with the wrong guy,” I assured him.

“Careful.” He lowered his voice so only I could hear. “You have no idea what I’m truly capable of.”

I stared at him with so much ire I could taste it. I wanted to humiliate him the way he’d humiliated me. I wanted to hurt him the way he was hurting Sabrina and me. My grip tightened. If I just squeezed a little harder…

“Crosby,” Xavier said from somewhere nearby.

His voice snapped me out of it. And as much as I despised Jeremy, hurting him would only give him a reason to release the video.

“Dammit,” I cursed under my breath. As much as I wanted to rip him to shreds, I couldn’t risk the video going viral—or me being kicked off the team.

I. Was. Fucked.

I relaxed my grip and stepped back

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