Page 4 of Clean Point

Jon lowered his head, his eyes wide with shock. ‘What?’ the word stumbled out of his slackened mouth.

My back stiffened as I tapped into that white hot rage that lived inside of me. ‘I have no intention of ever stepping onto a tennis court again unless Matteo Rossi is trapped inside, and I have a tank of fuel in one hand and a lit match in the other.’

He took another sip of his tea as he made me wait for his response. ‘Well,’ he shrugged. ‘I think that’s a waste.’

I laughed. ‘Of what? Human organs?’

‘Of talent.’

‘I only won because I cheated,’ I reminded him, and beside me, my mother stiffened, her reaction reminding me of her presence. I looked over at her and found her brows crinkled with worry. When she noticed my gaze, she smiled weakly, a hand coming over to rest on mine and giving it a tight squeeze of comfort.

Jon coughed to clear his throat, before he continued, ‘I can assure you, Scottie, you can absolutely win without cheating. You could be one of the greatest in this sport, but somebody robbed you of the chance to see it. To prove that to yourself.’

While I was quiet, he continued. ‘I’ve been watching the others. Emilia, Inés – you must’ve seen she won the French Open. Even Dylan Bailey. They haven’t changed tactics in the last two years. All of your competitors, playing the same way, the same old tricks. You were the one who caught them out, saw their plays before they could take advantage of you. You knew how to wear them down. How to trap them. That’s how you got to the finals, and I know, with training, good honest training, you could do it again.’

I closed my eyes, shielding myself from his praise. I didn’t need to hear how good I once was. It all counted for nothing. ‘I-I can’t go back.’

‘Why not?’

‘Nobody will trust me.’ Cheat. ‘They’ll say it’s all drugs.’ Cheat.

All I could think of was how they would look at me with whispered snide remarks, judging for what had happened to me, thinking I was the culprit instead of the victim. They’d think I’d brought it on myself.

Cheat

He shook his head, eyes filled with determination. ‘We will prove them wrong. The ITIA will test you to within an inch of your life, anyway.’

He was right. They’d suck me dry like a vampire.

‘I’m too out of practice; there’s no way I can catch up.’

Jon shrugged my concerns away. ‘All the more reason to start as soon as we can. It’s a challenge, but people have come back from worse.’

I rubbed my clammy palms along the denim of my jeans, trying to soothe the rising nerves. I hadn’t dared let myself wonder what I’d do when my ban was up. Part of me thought nobody would care anymore. They all had me labelled as a cheat. Besides, with the way the tabloids had reported on my every single move the past few months, my reputation was in near tatters. That was what I’d wanted, what I’d needed for revenge. To reclaim everything from the person who had stolen it.

‘I-I can’t win. Matteo … he will—’ I stuttered, the chaos of my mind erupting out of my mouth. Mum’s hand squeezed around mine once again.

I hadn’t realized Jon had gotten up until he sat down next to me, the couch dipping under his weight. Even sitting down, he towered over me. I was tall myself, long-legged like my mum, but closing in at six-foot-eight, Jon was a certified giant.

‘Matteo thought you couldn’t win on your own. Prove him wrong. Prove yourself better than he ever was,’ Jon said, his arm wrapped around the back of the couch to face me. I could see fire and resolve burning in his eyes, the very same that I used to have.

That was what it took to win. You had to be prepared to fight for every strike. Meanwhile, I still felt the weariness in my bones, the fear of losing it all again. If I was going to do this, I had to turn fear into fight. Turn anger into ambition.

And it had to be enough to fuel me.

Jon’s smile turned crooked as he changed tactics. ‘And if it’s revenge you’re looking for …’

I hesitated, something flickering inside. The strike of a match. ‘Yes?’

A wide grin stretched across his lips, like a hunter realizing its prey has fallen into a perfectly laid trap. ‘Then I have the perfect doubles partner in mind for you.’

3

Nico

Body And Mind – girl in red

Smashing the tennis racket against the ground did nothing to alleviate the throbbing pain in my right knee, but it sure was cheaper than anger management classes.

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