Page 31 of My Brother's Best Friend

“It’s not all about pussy!” I shouted at him. “That’s all everyone cares about in this fucking town, isn’t it?” I grabbed him by the collar and threw him out of my bedroom and down the hall. “You don’t know shit about what’s happening.”

“Then, why don’t you tell me, if it’s so much more important than hockey?”

I glared at him, but didn’t say a word. How could I? I couldn’t even tell Maddie. And Coach … when I had mentioned it to him, he had just fucking laughed it off. Why would Oliver be any different? All the guys on the team were this way.

“Get out,” I said between gritted teeth one last time.

After glaring at me for a couple more moments, he stormed down the hallway. I slammed the door and headed right for my shower. He had no fucking idea what this felt like. I wasn’t choosing to feel this way. I didn’t want to skip out on hockey.

I wanted to go back to the way things had once been.

After contemplating my life for an hour in the shower, I wrapped a towel around my torso and stepped into the bathroom. Water droplets dripped off my hair and rolled down my chest. I ran a hand through my hair.

God, I felt like a total idiot.

Breaking down in front of Maddie like that?I gripped the porcelain sink and stared at my heavy eyes in the mirror, wanting to slap the fucking asshole out of me.Come on, Wolfe. Way to impress her. She probably thinks you’re some kind of loser now.

I snatched my phone from the nightstand and scrolled to her contact.

Me: Sorry about earlier …

As soon as I sent the message, a phone buzzed on my nightstand.Maddie left her phone here? Was she in that much of a rush to get out of here that she sprinted out of my bedroom as soon as I fell asleep?

I eyed the phone and her sweatshirt. She’d probably at least want the phone back before school tomorrow. I tossed the sweatshirt onto my bed, deciding to keep it, and stuffed her phone into my pocket to return it to her.

It’d give me an excuse to get out of a million and one questions with Mom over dinner.

So, I slipped out a side door to head to my car. Instead of heading straight for Maddie’s place—because I needed to figure out a way to get in without Oliver spotting me—I stopped at the hospital.

No way would I be able to provide evidence or a case of sexual assault now. But I wanted to at least get tested in case anything did happen between Maddie and me. I doubted that it fucking would, but I didn’t want Maddie to get sick because of how stupid I had been for even being at that party.

Once I finished at the hospital, I slipped back into the car. Maddie’s phone buzzed.

Because I was a jealous bastard, I peered down at her phone screen.

A couple of messages from Vera. A missed call from Piper. And then …

Unknown: What did I tell you about staying away from Wolfe?

Unknown: You don’t want anything to happen to your friend Vera, do you?

Unknown: What about Piper?

What the fuck is this?

I tapped on the message, typed in her password that I had memorized from being the biggest fucking creep in existence, and opened up the conversation between Maddie and this unknown number.

There had been a series of them throughout this weekend, starting Friday night.

Unknown: Stay away from him.

Unknown: You don’t want to know what will happen to you, to your friends and family.

Unknown: I’ll make sure you pay for touching him, you little fucking creep.

Unknown: I hate you.

Unknown: Fucking hate you.

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