Page 66 of Faking the Play

“Best-case scenario? A month or two of PT and you’ll be able to walk and probably run a bit without too much difficulty. Maybea slight limp if you push yourself too hard. Worst-case, you need more surgery and you’ll have to walk with a cane.”

No one bothered to ask Dr. Chin about football. We all just sat in stunned silence as the doctor said to call for a nurse if we needed anything. Ethan looked like he was going to be sick, and I couldn’t even look at Logan. He was a brilliant quarterback. The kind who’d get signed to some big team and get endorsement deals and make millions before he turned thirty. And then he’d use it for charity and helping disadvantaged kids because that was the sort of guy he was.

And one jealous bastard had ended it all.

“Tell me the guy who did this isn’t getting away with it.”

Ethan raised his head to look at me. “Suspended for the rest of the season, but Coach said if you guys were hurt bad, he’d make sure that kid never plays again.”

“It’s not enough,” I said.

“It’s okay, Ryan,” Logan said quietly.

“No, it’s not okay,” I argued. “You’ve worked your ass off for years and it’s not even some stupid accident that ruins all of that! It’s some asshole who did it on purpose!”

“I’ll walk again,” Logan said. Despite his words, his expression was bleak. “Besides, after everything else we’ve already lost, this doesn’t seem like quite as big of a deal.”

After a long stretch of silence, I asked the question. “Did she text or call any of us?”

Ethan shook his head. “Let’s get real. She probably doesn’t even know what happened. I mean, would you be watching the game after that fight?”

I shook my head and tried not to let my disappointment show. I knew it was stupid after the way she’d played us, but a part of me had hoped that this changed things. That maybe, magically, all of that could’ve been erased.

A knock on the door had us all sitting up straight. We could see just a shadow from the hall, but it looked like it was under five and a half feet tall and slender, which meant it wasn’t my mom. Logan’s mom was who knew where and Ethan’s wouldn’t have come for this.

“Amelia?” Logan whispered her name.

But when the door opened, the young woman who came through was a blonde. And the last person I expected—or wanted—to see.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Ethan snapped.

Megan’s face was pale and her eyes were rimmed with red like she’d been crying. Not that I gave a damn. No matter what Amelia had done to us, unless Megan had been fucked over the same way by Amelia and Jason, I didn’t care why she was upset.

“I know my timing sucks, but I just can’t stay quiet any longer. Not when you guys are like this and she’s worried and all of this is my fault and—”

“Stop babbling and get to the damn point,” Logan said.

Megan nodded and took a deep breath. “There’s something you guys need to know.”

Chapter thirty-six

Amelia

Ijerked out of a fitful sleep to the sound of someone knocking on my door.

“Please open the door.” The young man on the other side sounded desperate. “I’m gonna be late for work. I can’t just leave these here because they said I had to actually hand them to you and I really don’t wanna piss these guys off.” The knocking resumed. “Please, Miss Fine. Open the door.”

With a sigh, I rolled out of bed and staggered to the door, yawning as I went. I probably looked like a mess, but my head was too fuzzy to remember why or even care. I barely remembered to check to make sure I wouldn’t flash the guy, but when I was satisfied that my clothes were in place, I opened the door.

And found myself staring directly into the eyes of a giant stuffed panda.

I let out an undignified squawk and stumbled back a couple steps.

“Sorry.” The guy lowered the panda enough for me to see his face. “Are you Amelia Fine?”

“Uh, yes?”

At the uncertainty in my voice, his eyes narrowed. “Are you sure?”

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