Page 48 of Clean Point

‘Bullshit,’ I swore at him. It was impossible for someone as observant as Jon not to have noticed the unnatural speed of Scottie’s recovery. It was his damn job to notice things like this. ‘I’ve known you long enough to know nobody can get shit past you. When?’

The room filled with tension as we held each other’s gaze.

Jon’s hands were shaking as he tried to explain himself. ‘It’s the truth. When I came home, he was crushing the pills up … I didn’t know what else to do.’ His eyes darted around the room, looking for any sign of forgiveness. ‘I-I’d noticed she was recovering quickly, but her training regime was advanced. I thought that it might be diet, even age or genetics … It was easy to explain away.’

I held Jon there for another moment, reading him. The anger in me boiled over at his betrayal, making me want to lash out again. But I took a step back and released him from my grasp. My simmering rage had cooled enough for me to think clearly.

‘You were supposed to protect her.’

Jon’s hand rose to his face, to where I’d punched him, as his gaze dipped to the floor, his voice sullen as he spoke. ‘I know.’

‘You let him do this to her.’

Scottie interrupted, taking a couple of steps into the room. ‘It’s not his fault, Nico.’

My heart split in two as I took in her appearance. Her skin was so pale that it looked almost translucent, dark circles appearing under her red-rimmed eyes. The fatigue etched onto her face showed how much she’d been through.

Jon replied for me. ‘It might as well be.’

I took a few steps back, away from them. With shaking hands, I rubbed at my face. But when I closed my eyes, all I could see was her standing in the centre of the court, vulnerable with guttural hurt. It made me want to scream.

‘I’m so sorry for failing you, Scottie,’ Jon said earnestly. ‘It’s haunted me every single day. Nico’s right. It was my job to protect you, and I … I let Matteo explain it away. That night, when you came home, I swear that’s when I found out. I guess he was getting lazy with his preparation since he thought we’d all be out. I wasn’t going to let it continue.’

‘Were you going to tell me?’ Scottie had asked hesitantly, arms wrapped tightly around herself.

Jon exhaled deeply, his hand still rubbing his face in self-disgust. ‘I was trying to convince him to tell you. I couldn’t have kept a secret like that from you, kid.’

Scottie nodded, her eyes assessing, glancing from Jon to me. ‘Are you done now? Is it safe for me to leave the two of you and get him some ice for that face?’

I swallowed, nodding. My voice was hoarse, almost burning up my throat as I spoke. ‘I’m done.’

She looked at Jon, a silent question exchanged.

‘It’s fine. Nico and I should probably talk,’ he answered, and with that she slipped from the room, the sound of her retreating footsteps echoing against the tiled hall. Slowly, the tension in the room began to dissipate like fog burned off by sunlight.

‘I guess she told you?’ he asked. I nodded in response, slumping into a chair opposite the desk, my knuckles stinging and my gut twisting with guilt. He ran his hand through his hair, wincing at the pain that seemed to radiate from his cheek.

‘I needed to know,’ I admitted, the throb of my knuckles stinging as I flexed my hand. It was far from an excuse, even further from an apology.

He tilted his head, a hiss of pain escaping him with the motion. ‘I … understand. I can’t say I didn’t want to do the same to him when I found out.’

‘Why didn’t you?’

He paused for a moment, lost in memory. ‘I was trying to reason with him when she came in. I knew we had to tell her, even if it was the hardest thing I had ever done. Even if it meant losing my job. But I didn’t mean for her to walk in and find out like she did. I didn’t know what she was going to do next. I tried calling her afterwards, but she wouldn’t answer, and then two days later I got a call from the ITIA.’

My stomach twisted further at the thought of her learning about it all so suddenly. She found out like that? Walking in on her father mid-way through, arguing with her coach. The two people she had trusted the most, wrapped in a scandal she’d been pulled into? I’d had a coach bring it up once, when the problems with my knee started to get worse and even training started to feel impossible; they suggested some ‘outside resources’. The decision had been in my hands that day, and I chose to walk away, firing him on the spot for the insinuation. I hadn’t wanted to be involved with it at all.

Even the idea of partnering with Scottie had been too much. If it hadn’t been for Jon, I wouldn’t have done it.

‘She took the blame for it all?’ I asked.

He let out a heavy breath. ‘She told them she had done it all on her own, kept both of us out of it.’

My brows pressed together, distaste twisting me up at the very idea. ‘Why?’

He shrugged. ‘Only she can explain that. I would’ve wanted the world to know.’

I hummed in agreement, silence falling between us for a moment. I coughed, clearing my throat before I spoke again. ‘I’m sorry … For your face.’

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