Page 43 of Hard to Break

“You’re right,” he says after a moment. “I shouldn’t have confronted Garrett. I was bitter and I wanted to prove something to myself. After what happened in college, it took a long time to earn my family’s trust back. We handled it internally, but I promise that I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about it. And I’m sorry for the pain I’ve caused you.”

I nearly choke on the wine. “You’re sorry,” I echo.

“Yes. But Brooke, let me tell you something.” He leans in, urgency written across his smooth features. “If you’re smart—and I know you are—you won’t cast your lot in with him. He might act like he cares, but you’ll be the one left picking up the pieces.”

There’s soft music streaming from a speaker in the corner of the room. I let a few bars of it wash over me before I respond.

“Your problem, Kevin, is that you don’t know how to lose. You take it out on everyone else. Me, when I outed you for your lies. Miles, who tried to hold you accountable. Caroline, who only ever had your back. I honestly hope there’s a point at which you’ll feel better.”

Showing desperation is always a bad idea, but it slips out before I can stop it.

Kevin cocks his head, a shadow flickering across his eyes. It’s a response to my vulnerability, or maybe a trick of the light. “Me too.”

He brushes his cold lips over my cheek before I can jerk away, then moves past me toward the dinner.

By the timeI catch a ride from the dinner, I want to take a scalding hot bath and curl up with Miles on the couch with a TV show and popcorn. We’ve started watching K-dramas. I love the twisty plots and Miles is fascinated by the families and unlikely friend groups.

I’ve texted Miles more than once, but there’s been no answer.

Weird. It’s after ten, and media for the afternoon game should’ve wrapped hours ago.

I head up to the condo and grab Waffles, who’s impatiently whining to go out for a walk.

I call my brother from the sidewalk, the Frenchie sniffing desperately around a fire hydrant.

“Jay,” I say when he answers on the fourth ring. “I can’t get hold of Miles. Have you seen him?”

“He’s with management.” His voice sounds wrong.

“Are they still upset about his apology? I told him that wouldn’t work?—”

“They found cocaine in his locker.”

My heart plummets. “What?”

He repeats his statement.

A gust of cold wind blows through my coat, but I barely feel it.

“How could this happen?”

“I don’t know, Brooke.”

Waffles tugs me half a block, happily oblivious. I stumble along the sidewalk after him.

“He’s a professional athlete. He’s serious about his career, he wouldn’t do that,” I say.

There’s a pause long enough I glance at my phone to see that the call is still connected.

“He is serious, but he can’t say he’sneverdone it.”

The words land deep in my ribs, scratching like a thorn.

“What? When?”

Jay sighs. “A long time ago. Before he got drafted.”

I process that. It’s not wild that a kid would experiment a little, but it bothers me that he never mentioned it, especially given the issues I had with Kevin back in college, the role that drugs played.

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