Page 94 of Look What You Made Me Do

A loud rap at the door alerted them that half time was nearly over. “Alright,” Jake said. “Let’s line up outside and run onto that field like we’ve already won.”

The boys sprang to their feet, cheering and high-fiving as they filed out and waited in the tunnel for the signal to take the field. The adults stood behind them, Jake slipping his hand into Ella’s and the full wattage of her you-were-so-hot-just-now smile hit him right in the groin.

The clatter of cleats alerted Jake to the presence of the Chiswick team emerging from their locker room.

“Well, well, well,” a voice drawled from behind him. “If it isn’t The Prince and the Pauper.”

Ella flinched and Jake stiffened as they half turned. He held her hand tight in case she decided smacking Winchester’s face was worth it.

Or he did.

Rosie took a step in their direction and he placed a stilling hand on her. No way was he going to get into a slanging match in front of his team and the press who had a clear view into the tunnel mouth. He forced himself to be calm and kept his voice low.

“It’s been a long time, Tony.”

Tony nodded. “That it has.” He flicked his gaze over Trish. “Hey Trish. Still smokin’, I see.”

Cerberus growled a Genghis-level growl as Trish smiled contemptuously. “Still a douchebag, I see.”

Clearly unrattled by Trish’s insult, Tony’s laugh echoed in the tunnel, enhancing his creepiness but then a figure appeared at the mouth of the tunnel. “Time to rumble,” it announced.

Jake returned his attention to the team. “Let’s go.”

The Demons ran onto the field, followed by Chiswick. Tony stopped by Jake and together they watched their boys line up against each other. Tony’s gaze flicked to the Deluca cheer squad and he smirked.

“What kind of cheerleaders are they?” he scoffed. “You can’t even look up their skirts.”

Jake gave Tony a hard look. “The minor kind.”

It gave Jake enormous satisfaction to see Tony’s jaw tighten. “You always were a morally superior prick,” he spat.

“Better than being just a prick,” Jake said then walked away lest the urge to beat Tony to a pulp in front of a dozen cameras became uncontrollable.

Ella’s stomach looped-the-loop as the second half started. Jake’s speech had been magnificent but had been resoundingly overwritten in her head by Tony’s awful comments in the tunnel.

The stakes had never been clearer.

But she needn’t have worried. It was as if a switch had been flicked. Chiswick looked defeated from the whistle, making simple errors and not capitalizing on a host of opportunities.

Tony ranted. The more he ranted, the worse they played.

“I’ve made up my mind,” Trish said to Ella as they tried to ignore the tantrums of a grown man and watch the play. “I’m going to the police next week to press charges against Tony.”

Ella gaped. She admired Trish’s chutzpah but being outed by a journalist was very different to voluntarily putting herself out there. “I think that’s amazingly brave but are you sure?”

“I am.” She nodded. “I need to do this.”

Trish’s expression was deadly serious and Ella realized that staying on the sidelines wasn’t an option for Trish anymore. It seemed like this whole Demons experience hadn’t just been cathartic for her and Cam and Jake. It’d been cathartic for Trish, too.

But still…

“This many years down the track it’s going to be hard to prove,” she pointed out. “Even with Jake’s evidence.”

“It doesn’t matter.” Trish shook her head. “If they throw it out of court, it doesn’t matter. I need to say out loud what he did to me. And anything I can do to see that Tony Winchester isn’t allowed to coach minors again, I’m prepared to do.”

Ella squeezed Trish’s hand, in no doubt about her conviction but wanting her to be aware of any potential ripples. “It could get messy. Miranda could be affected.”

Trish shrugged. “You and Cam are still here, aren’t you?”

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