Page 45 of Clean Point

Dylan huffed a laugh. ‘Not me.’

Inés let out a heavy breath, looking at Dylan before meeting my gaze. ‘For what it’s worth, I believe her.’

‘Ridiculous.’ Dylan shook her head. ‘You know what you’re risking with her.’

I clenched my fists as I felt the weight of the decision I was making. Dylan was right. The wrong call here and I could be throwing away my last chance. But there was something, an itch at the back of my head, that told me Scottie was worth the risk. ‘I don’t think any of us truly know what happened with Scottie,’ I admitted.

‘We know she cheated before. This test shows that she’s more than willing to take shortcuts again.’

I knew the facts, understood there was hard evidence to back it all up. But these weeks, every glance and secret shared, they’d told me something new about her, and what I thought I knew altered with every moment spent with her.

‘If it’s right,’ I said the thought out loud. She’d sworn it wasn’t, begged me to believe her. I closed my eyes, and I could see the desperate look on her face, the worried press of her eyebrows, the sadness in her eyes. ‘I know her.’

‘You’ve only known her for a few weeks,’ Dylan retorted. The truth of her words somehow stung more than they should have.

‘And it was long enough to know she wouldn’t do that. Not again.’ I shook my head as I made a decision. I hoped I wouldn’t live to regret it. I’d seen how hard she worked. She was quick and smart and strong, and I couldn’t help but doubt everything I’d once held true about her.

Dylan bit at her cheek, anger and frustration lacing her words. ‘Once is already enough, but twice? She’s not trustworthy.. You’re an idiot for thinking she is.’

‘Dylan,’ Inés interrupted, trying to calm her friend down by reaching out to touch her shoulder, but Dylan only shook her off.

‘No, Nico is. Him playing with her only helps validate her stupid comeback. That’s probably why Jon paired them up in the first place. Give her the best tennis partner, ignoring any player more worthy.’ She turned her attention from Inés back to me. ‘He knew you were her father’s rival. Imagine all the attention it’s going to get on court. It’s a circus act, and we’re her clowns.’

‘Enough,’ I broke. ‘You don’t have to move on, but if you keep talking about her this way, then we are going to have a problem.’

‘Move on? You’re delusional, Kotas,’ Dylan scoffed. ‘Scottie Rossi, or Sinclair, or whatever she wants to be called is a fucking cheat and we all know it. Does she really think changing her last name will make us forget what she did?’

I turned to Inés. ‘You better keep Dylan away from Scottie.’ And then I stormed down the same path that Scottie had disappeared down. I nearly made it all the way to the beach looking for her before I turned back, but when I saw lights in the distance, I knew exactly where she was.

The clench around my heart relaxed as I found her, bathed in the stark illumination of the towering floodlights on the practice court. I watched from behind the fence for a moment as she bounced the ball against the opposite wall of the court, sprinting back and forth as she responded with precise, powerful strokes of her racket.

Her face was focused, teeth gritted together as she swung again and again. Each movement was perfect, her racket gliding through the air to meet every ball, knocking each one with a force I was almost scared to interrupt. Every stroke sizzled with lingering fury, each hit seeming like a personal vendetta.

Pop.

That was for Dylan.

Pop.

Probably Matteo.

Pop.

I’d stood there hoping I wasn’t next.

Finally, she missed, her footwork slipping. I still couldn’t take my eyes from her as she swore, the pain ringing as she leaned forward, raising the racket over her head before mercilessly driving it down, smashing it into the unforgiving court surface.

Again and again, she raised her arm, relentlessly pummelling the racket until it lay in shattered ruins at her feet before her knees hit the grass, collapsing alongside the remaining pieces. I kept silent, standing at the gate, watching her as she sat, slumped, staring at the ground.

She looked up, her tone accusatory. ‘What are you doing here?’

‘Thought I’d hit a few balls around.’ I walked into the light as she attempted a forced smile. It only lasted for a couple of seconds before disappearing. I lowered myself to the ground next to her, resigned to sit in silence until she felt like talking. It had been a lot, watching Dylan tear into her like that, and I didn’t want to leave her alone unless she specifically asked for it. I had also been hoping to get to the bottom of these blood test results that Scottie swore weren’t real.

It was a few moments more before she spoke again, her gaze halfway across the court, the tone of her voice resigned. ‘I can’t do this anymore.’

‘Play tennis?’ I cracked a weak smile, before nodding to the bent racket that laid in pieces in front of her. ‘Not with that racket, no.’

‘I don’t belong in this world anymore, and I’m done pretending that I do. I’m going home.’

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