Page 78 of Clean Point

‘As always, it’s all about you, isn’t it?’ He shook his head, eyes stuck to me. ‘It can’t be about anyone else.’

‘Then who?’ I challenged, itching to really know why he was here, who had fallen into his grasp. ‘Who are you coaching? If you think I’m going to allow you to come back and ruin someone else’s life, then you can think again. Whose life are y—’

I cut off as my eyes caught Dylan stepping out from the building, brown glossy hair down. Without any hesitation in her step, she headed straight over. My throat went dry as she stopped beside Matteo, a sly grin stretching across her blood-red lips.

‘Hello, Scottie.’ Her voice was a light sing-song thing, but I felt anything but jovial. Instead, a pit of regret had ripped open, and I’d fallen through the cracks.

‘I’m sure I don’t need to introduce the two of you,’ Matteo said, but his voice sounded so distant, my attention and horror glued to the women beside him. This was her revenge. She’d always blamed me for what happened, and I’d let her.

But by doing so, I’d sent her directly to the true enemy.

This was her revenge, but it was the wrong kind. It was payback for not telling the truth, for not being strong enough, for taking the easier path, pretending this only affected me when the ripples were still being felt. The consequence of my running.

‘What are you doing with him, Dylan?’

Her eyebrows pressed together as she scoffed at my words. ‘I’m winning, of course.’

I wanted to grab onto both her shoulders and shake her. Shake until she saw the truth and understood who it was she had partnered with. Everything he had done, everything he masterminded, what he had stolen from both of us.

‘Did he tell you what he did?’

‘He didn’t do anything, Scottie. We all knew you’d go changing your story because you want to come back now and play like nothing happened.’

My hands were shaking, fingers rubbing together as I searched for some control in all of this. I couldn’t just scream out the words, but the secret was on the edge of my tongue. I knew if I said it aloud, it would be wasted. There was little chance she’d believed me before, and now that he’d sunk his teeth into somebody else, there was none.

‘Dylan, you need to listen to her.’ Nico’s firm voice was a welcome surprise, the noise wrapping me up, relaxing my tense muscles, even slightly. He appeared beside me, jaw set, his narrowed eyes set on Matteo.

‘Nico, it’s been a while.’ Matteo grinned at his former competitor.

‘Not long enough, if you ask me.’ His voice was a soothing grumble as his attention slid to me, Nico’s eyes searching as if to ask if I was okay. I fought the urge to take his hand, root myself in his stability and protection, and instead, I simply nodded.

Dylan sighed. ‘And here’s Prince Charming coming to her rescue.’ Her nose scrunched up as if the thought disgusted her.

‘Dylan.’ Nico stepped closer to her. ‘You used to be better than this.’

‘You used to be better than working with a cheat, but I guess we all change.’

‘Now, shouldn’t we be nice?’ Matteo interrupted, his calm demeanour leaving me with hives. ‘Let’s just play out on the court. I’m sure it will make for an excellent game.’

I couldn’t help but run my fingers through my hair in frustration. I refused to fall into this man’s trap again. Refused to become a pawn in his game again. I refocused my attention on Dylan, taking a deep breath. ‘I swear right now, you don’t deserve my help. But you can come find me when he fucks this all up for you.’

‘Sure, thanks for the offer,’ she dismissed, but all I could do was hope she would take me up on it, that she would get out earlier than I did.

‘Enjoy your new coach.’ I turned around, meeting Nico’s eyes and making sure he turned with me and didn’t make more of a mess of this situation than it already was. I managed to control my pace, just fast enough to get away from them, but without looking like we were running for the hills.

‘Enjoy fucking your doubles partner,’ Dylan shouted, louder than necessary. ‘Can’t wait to see what kind of mess that gets you into.’

We slipped into the back of a car so quickly I had to rely on Nico to confirm that it was the correct driver, desperate to get away, desperate to wrap myself up in him and pretend the rest of the world didn’t exist.

34

Scottie

Tennis Court – Lorde

Sinclair vs Murphy

1st Round – Court 4

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