Page 4 of Agony of Our Regret

“He called me out for pulling away and creating distance between us, and he was right.” He looked down at his clasped hands. “It got to be too hard to talk to him without lying, so I just stopped.”

“What did you have to lie about?” My heart began to race. Did I want to know?

“Something I hadn’t told anyone.” His eyes flashed to mine before dropping again. “Something I had to talk to Vince about too.”

I couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe. Everything about this felt wrong. “What?”

“I’m the reason the Society knew about Vince’s scholarship. I’m the reason they got involved and told him he couldn’t take it.”

I blinked. That didn’t make sense.

Luca squeezed my feet, and I looked at him.

“I don’t understand.”

“The Society has been pretty busy. They were keeping tabs on us, but as long as we were safe, they didn’t care,” he began, but Gavin jumped in.

“Vince told me he got the scholarship to play football, and I had a horrible feeling. He was so excited, but wouldn’t listen when I reminded him of the risks, not only to himself and the Society but to his teammates and opponents.” He sighed. “He wouldn’t listen, so I told the Council. That’s when they stepped in and stopped it.”

I didn’t know what to say.

Vince could have gone to college. He could have at least had a chance, but Gavin got involved.

His best friend.

Fuck.

I couldn’t grasp that new level of betrayal.

“You did the right thing,” Luca affirmed.

I narrowed my eyes at him and snapped. “What? He prevented Vince from achieving his dream. Everything he worked so hard for.”

Gavin dropped his head into his hands.

“Ave, Vince easily could have injured if not killed someone. One slip, one mistake, one tiny lap of him losing control, and the results would have been devastating.”

I shook my head. “His control was––”

“Not perfect,” Gavin interrupted. “No amount of training could get him there. He might have been willing to take that risk, but he wasn’t thinking long term. Could you imagine the guilthe’d have to live with if he hurt someone? He could have caused life-altering damage. Do you think he would have survived killing someone?”

“You’re speaking in hypotheticals. He might not have.”

“You’re willing to take that chance?” Gavin stared me down.

I closed my eyes and tried to calm down. I was pissed on Vince’s behalf, but I had to think rationally. The possibility of Vince hurting someone was high. With or without his ability, he was strong. Getting caught up in the heat of a game, letting his focus slip for even a second...they were right. Vince couldn’t live with himself if he was responsible for seriously injuring someone.

“It still wasn’t your place.”

“No,” Gavin agreed, “but no one else was paying attention. Someone had to put it on their radar and make the right decision. People who could look at the situation objectively. My parents and Bruce removed themselves from the decision because they couldn’t be unbiased. The other Council members voted unanimously.”

I let out a sigh. “And you told Vince?”

“Yes,” Gavin barely whispered.

“And how did he take it?”

“Not great.”

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