Page 109 of What if I Told You

“Auggie…August, please!”

I don’t even listen to her plea anymore. I glare at Barrett until he moves from the doorway and then set off down the hall to the locker room where the rest of the team is sitting quietly. It’s evident they could hear my argument with Ella in the way they’re all watching me. After I throw my gear around and whip off my jersey I turn to them all and shout, “What the fuck are you all staring at?”

“Do you want to talk about this?” Oliver asks.

I punch my hand into my locker. “DO I FUCKING LOOK LIKE I WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT?”

I don’t even bother to shower because I’m that pissed off. I strip out of my uniform and pull on my workout clothes instead of my suit and head for the parking garage so I can get the fuck out of here. I don’t head home because I know that’s where she will be. She has nowhere else to go. So, I drive myself to a bar. Any bar but the one we usually hang out in so I can drink in peace without anyone bothering me.

I just need to numb the pain.

I need to drink away my anger until I can’t feel a goddamn thing.

And then I’ll drink one more just because I can.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

ELLA

I’m utterly and completely stunned.

Burying my face in my hands, I sob uncontrollably. “How did this even happen? How did we get here?”

I slide down the wall of the room Griffin and Barrett and I are still standing in not knowing what I should do next. My best friend in the entire world, the love of my life, just walked out on me and I’m not so sure there’s any coming back from that.

“Ella,” Griffin says softly, kneeling down in front of me. “Ella, I want to help. I want to be able to talk through this with you because Jeff Furbling was on his case the entire game. He just thought it was a drunk fan. He’s pissed off right now. I know. I get it. He’s also my best friend and he’s already gotten into so much trouble tonight. I need to…” I open my blurred eyes and see him gesture out the door and I nod.

“Yeah. Of course. Please, he needs you, Griffin.”

“I’ll talk to you soon. I promise.”

I simply nod and wipe my eyes with the backs of my hands. Barrett still stands in the doorway unsure of what he should do. I can see the compassion in his eyes for what I just went through, but also the loyalty for his teammates. He wants to be there for August too.

“It’s okay, Bear,” I murmur. “He needs you more than I do.”

Though I’m not sure he’ll let you get anywhere near him.

Because that’s what August does when he’s angry.

I’ve known that for years.

Because I know him better than anyone.

But clearly he doesn’t know me.

Bear heads down the hall too, leaving me alone in the physical therapy room. I allow myself a few solid minutes to cry before I pick myself up and step out of my costume. There’s chatter outside in the hallway that I try my best to ignore until one of those voices is close enough to be recognizable. I step out of the room just as she appears outside.

“Scarlett.”

Her eyes bulge and her brows furrow at the sight of my tears. “Oh, my God! Ella! What is going on? There’s a man down the hall screaming about assault charges and he looks pretty messed up. What is happening and oh, my God, are you okay?” She cups my face in her hands and looks me over assuming I was a part of whatever kind of brawl took place on the ice.

“I’m fine. I’m not hurt,” I tell her. “Well, not physically.”

More tears stream down my face before I can finally say aloud, “I think August just broke up with me.”

She gasps and wraps an arm around me, pulling me into her for a comforting embrace. “Noooo. There’s no way. He loves you, Ella.”

“I don’t think he does anymore.”

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