Page 9 of The Penalty

“It’s over,” he interrupted, standing up. “Almost twenty years have passed. It’s not your place to—”

“Not my place?” I stood as well. Both hands balled into fists. I’d be more than happy to let one land on his face. I steadied myself, ready to swing at him.

But as angry as I was, I didn’t move when Bennet clasped a reassuring hand on my shoulder and squeezed.

“I know this is hard for you. I know your instinct is always attack first and ask questions later. You don’t want this trouble. Not over something that happened so long ago.”

He’s partly right. Getting jumped that night wasn’t enough to set me off. At least not to this extent. But after learning what he did to Victoria’s sister and the tragic aftermath and how she’s lived with all that guilt for so long?

All the muscles in my body tensed again.

“Xavier, don’t make the same mistakes. This isn’t— You’ve worked too hard to get yourself right. Don’t let Jordan get under your skin. He’s not fucking worth it.”

I felt Cade’s presence when he rose to his feet. “Not really sure what you two are going on about. Does this have to do with Adam and the thing that happened at the Legends stadium?”

Bennet and I shared a knowing glance.

“That’s part of it,” I responded. “It’s not my story to tell, Cade.”

The star striker glanced from me to Bennet and back to me. “Is Victoria okay?”

Just hearing her name nearly shredded me. I swallowed hard, looking at my friend.

“I can check on her if you’d like,” he offered. “Nothing dodgy or anything. Just a text here and there. Maybe—”

“Probably not a good idea, Cade,” Bennet interrupted. “Let us handle this.”

Cade shrugged and nodded. Bennet turned his attention back to me.

“Stay away from McKennie. I mean it. You’re making things worse than they need to be. Leave him alone.”

I clenched my jaw. Bennet could be a prick at times but he’s right. I am complicating the situation. Reckon I still haven’t learned my lesson from the last time.

Will I ever?

Cade and Bennet talked around me. I heard them, but I didn’t. A million thoughts swarmed my brain. None of them made any sense.

That’s not quite true.

Only one made sense.

If I continue along this path, I’m going to destroy everything I’ve achieved and lose the one person I can’t live without.

Xavier

The next week passed in a cloud of monotony: Training. Won a match. More training. Therapy. No contact with Victoria.

Cutting off all communication with her destroyed me.

It had to be this way. At least for now. Jordan was hovering too close and I need to stay one step ahead of him.

Not even Dr. Frances could convince me otherwise.

“How does pushing her away keep her, as you put it, safe?” He looked up from where he’d been writing in his notepad.

I shoved back the insistent wave of emotion threatening to reveal everything.

“I’m not pushing her away.”

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