Page 63 of The Puck Secret

Scoffing at her assessment, I rip my covers back from her hand as I snap, “Yeah, well I had an interesting night.”

Not deterred by my apparent smell, she jumps up to sit on my bed with a knowing smirk on her face. “Well, you’re about to have an even more interesting morning.” She tosses a newspaper into my lap, and I glance down in confusion, noting it’s actually two; one from FU, and one from the local news company. Both with similar headlines.

I read them once, twice, three times. No, that can’t be right, but as my eyes read them for a fourth time, I feel a beacon of hope flutter inside my chest. Hope is a dangerous thing, it can make people think things they never thought possible, want things they didn’t think they could have, and need things to be so true that they’d rather die than have them not be.

A Shaved Thorne in Business Tycoon’s Side as Football Star Son Is Exposed for CHEATING!

The article is about my fiancé, and it isn’t just about him, it’s tearing him apart piece by piece, explaining his exploits for the game he apparently loves. My eyes can’t stop scanning, word after word, that hope inside me growing with every one as they detail every aspect of his scandal from an inside source.

Has my father seen this? He can't have known about this, he wouldn’t have made the deal with Brad’s father if he did, because if it’s one thing the Mayor of Fairfield hates, it’s bad press, and my intended just got the worst bit I can imagine.

Could this be the thing that finally sets me free?

There is a truck ramming into the side of my head, there has to be. That’s the only way to explain the pounding inside of my skull. I flicker my eyes open and register three things all at once. Firstly, I’m not in my room. It looks like I’ve spent another night this week passed out on the sofa. Secondly, my mouth feels like the pits of the Sahara desert. And lastly, I can smell the scent of Maddie all around me. Don’t ask me how I know it’s her, I just do. Everything about her is now ingrained in me, hence the drinking. Her lingering presence has me shooting up into a sitting position, looking around wildly for any trace of her. Ignoring the hammering inside my head, and trying to find my perfect, little liar. When I come up empty, I frown.

What the hell happened last night?

I remember seeing her, or at least I think I do. I remember being here drinking, and then at the bar, more drinking, there may have been some fighting too, and then there was her. I was in her car and she was here, at least I think that’s what happened, I just can’t be sure. The only thing I am sure of right now is that clearly I drank more than I can easily handle. My head feels like it might implode, and the dryness in my throat is about to be treated to my vomit. I force a deep inhale through my nose and out through my mouth, in an attempt to try and force my nausea back down.

Spying my phone on the table I reach out to grab it, hoping it might bring back some of my memories. It’s almost 9am which means I have missed another workout with Archer, he is going to be pissed. Sighing, I unlock my phone and scroll through the notifications, ignoring most of them until I spy one for a new voicemail. When I click on it I see Maddie’s name, well Grim, and blinking at me is a new voicemail from. She called me. Not just that, but she left a voicemail too. What does it say?

I know I shouldn’t do it, that I shouldn’t listen to whatever she has to say and torture myself some more, but I’m just so sure she was here. I have images of her running her hands through my hair and telling me she was sorry.

Did I dream that?

Or did that really happen, was she really here, and is she really sorry? I’m pulling up the voicemail before I can change my mind, and only a few seconds pass before I hear her shaky voice.

“Shit, you didn’t answer,” she starts, and it sounds like she is out of breath. “Iguess I can’t blame you,” she adds, inhaling heavily. “But god do I wish I could hear your voice right now.” Her tone is so sincere and if I’m not mistaken, it sounds like she might be crying. Why is she crying?

“I’m at this stupid meeting and I just… well it doesn’t really matter anymore I guess.” Another trembling breath slips past her lips, and I close my eyes as I imagine how she must have been feeling when she left this message. Why didn’t I just answer?

“I’m sorry Nova, for everything, I really am.” Her voice sounds the same as it did when she said it to me last night, or at least I think it does. The words just feeling so familiar. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the truth when I had the chance, and I am sorry for being a coward and not coming after you when you walked away.” Her voice breaks further with each word, and every one is like a shard of glass to my heart. She sounds so broken, so defeated, so crushed, and the pain I have been trying to numb all week comes back in full force.

“The truth is, if I had a choice it would be you,” she cries, her breath evening out a little as it turns into a little laugh. “Well, if I am being honest, I didn’t exactly choose you. There was no choice at all.” I smile at the way she says that, at the memories it evokes of her battling me at every turn. “You consumed me from the second you got close and I knew it was wrong, but I didn’t have the power to stop it.” I can tell she means every word, and my heart breaks all over again, especially when she quietly adds, “And I didn’t want to.”

There is a long pause, the line filled with just the sound of her quick, soft, pants of breath, before she adds, “The truth is I have to get married to keep my place at FU.” Her words have my eyes snapping open. What the fuck does she mean, she has to get married? “It's not what I want, he’s not what I want, and now I am being forced into this thing for real, I’m wondering if my future at FU is even worth it.”

Forced? She is being forced? What the fuck is going on? Who the fuck is forcing her? Is it him? That piece of shit Thorne? Just wait until I get my fucking hands on him. Fury burns up inside of me but her delicate, shaky voice just keeps going.

“I guess it’s too late to find out. I just wanted you… no, I needed you to know. If I had a choice, I would choose you, every single time.”

Those words slice right through me, especially when I think about the brutal way I fucked her behind the bar before I left her. Did I make a mistake? Should I have given her time to explain herself? Clearly there is something more going on here, and I need to find out what.

“I just thought you should know the truth so hopefully one day you can stop hating me.” Truth? What’s the truth? And I couldn’t hate her if I tried, and trust me, I’ve fucking tried.

“Goodbye Nova.”

The call cuts off and I am left reeling. What the fuck? What the hell does she mean she doesn’t have a choice? I can’t comprehend the words I just heard, and before I can hit the button to play it again, Archer is bursting through the front door with Reign and Harper on his heels.

“Nova,” his voice booms, eyes cutting right to the sofa where I presume he left me, before he storms towards me. “Get up, you need to see this.”

He tosses a pile of newspapers at me before I can even move, and though my eyes flick down to take them in, I still can’t think straight. My mind is lost with her, in her words, dissecting every one as I try to come up with answers. I don’t even read the headline, just look back to my best friend as I ask, “Was Maddie here last night?”

Archer drops to the table in front of me, and it’s only then that I notice the mess I have been stewing in all week has been cleaned away. “Yes, I called her, she was here, but that’s not what’s important right now,” he starts, pointing to the papers in my lap.

What does he mean it’s not important? It’s the only thing that matters right now, I need to find out what’s going on. “She called me,” I say, ignoring him once more. “She left me a voicemail, I don’t know what it means, well, maybe I do…” I trail off, and Archer huffs.

“Read the fucking paper, bro, something’s happened.” He nods to the paper again, and when Harper and Reign both move to join him, I feel a swell of panic in my stomach as I look down to read what he gave me.

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