Page 81 of Busted Dreams

That was fine. I had their backs.

“All right. What do you want, and why did you come here?” Crossing my arms, I positioned myself in front of them. Even if everything Beck said was true, it didn’t make it okay for them to act like fools.

The sneer on Brent’s face made me brace for whatever annoyance he was about to fling my way. His buddy though, he shot straight to the point.

“The championships next month. We want you to throw them.” The dead serious look in his eyes said he was not bluffing. Definitely fucking crazy.

“Wait. Let me get this straight. You want me, or the team, to toss the game so you’ll win. Do I have that right?”

The guys roared with laughter around me. Whatever they thought was going to happen, this wasn’t it. Both of the assholes’ faces turned a mottled purple from anger, embarrassment, or a combination of both.

“This was a fucking waste of time. I told you it would be.” Travis tried to pull his buddy back, but he shook him off.

“What would it take to do it?” Something ugly and determined flashed across his eyes.

“There’s nothing you have that I want. There’s nothing I need bad enough I would sabotage my season or my teammates. That you would even think otherwise makes you a dumbass.” I started to turn away from them, done now that I’d shot them down, but Beck’s words on the way over burned in the back of my mind. And damnit, I was too sympathetic for my own good. “Why? Why is this so important to you?”

Scrubbing his hands down his sides, he lowered his voice. “We need a better chance to get scholarships.”

His logic didn’t make sense to me. “The scouts have already watched us. Invitations have already been extended to visit schools. If you were underclassmen, sure, I’d agree winning a championship would help you, but you’re not.”

“There’s still a chance it would help. Late offers go out all the time. You don’t even need the scholarship.” He stepped closer and spoke so low no one else could hear him.

Closing my eyes, I tried to squash the guilt of a privileged life I didn’t want. I hadn’t thought to put myself in their place. But they hadn’t asked about mine either. Just because my father had money didn’t mean I wanted to be shackled to his whims for the rest of my life. I had my reasons for wanting a scholarship too, and whether they wanted to hear it or not, they were awarded to the most desirable players.

“You don’t know as much about my life as you think you do.”

For several seconds, we stared into each other’s eyes. Me trying to nail home that there was nothing that would change my mind. Him gauging if there was any bend, any way to make me reconsider.

“Shit,” Beck cursed. “Rhys, man, I hate to do this to you, but I need to leave.”

Breaking away from Brent, I turned to Beck. There was an edge of restless energy vibrating around him. “What’s wrong?”

“Something bad, I think. I’ll take an Uber. You good here?” Beck nodded to dumbass one and two.

What could have happened that would have him ready to fly out of here? Was Astrid’s mom back? Had Trey somehow found his way back?

“I can drive you. Astrid?”

“No, nothing to do with Astrid. You stay, take care of your team. Call me when you leave.” He pushed the screen door open and started jogging around the house. I almost followed after him.

“I may not know your life story, Bennet, but I know you have options for a future we don’t have.” Travis pulled my attention away from the side of the house.

Absently, I waved them away. “You don’t know shit. I’m sorry you don’t have the offers you wanted, but that has nothing to do with me.”

“This was pointless,” Travis muttered as he grabbed Brent’s arm and they left too. For a second, I was torn. Follow Beck, or talk to my team for a few minutes, then follow? One thing was for damn certain. Whatever was wrong, I was going to be there tonight. No more sitting out. No more waiting for someone to call.

“Dude, I had no idea that was what they wanted, or I would have told them no from the beginning.” Jeff cracked open a beer and took a swig.

“Heck yeah. But they bowed up to anyone who tried to force them to leave, spouting a bunch of shit about cheating. This close to championships, we don’t need any trouble. An arrest could ruin it all.”

Like it had almost ruined hockey for me, went unsaid.

“I need to get out of here. Are you all good?” I looked at each player for a brief moment.

Everyone nodded.

Giving a short two-fingered wave, I followed Beck’s footsteps at a light job.

---