Page 43 of Weak Side

The sound of restraints snapping was congruent throughout the hallway.Uh-uh. Nope.I stepped forward without even meaning to, but Aasher’s hand gripped a bundle of my shirt, and I stopped at the last second. Anger split down my spine, but I snapped out of it a moment later when I realized I had actually growled like a caveman.

Well, that’s new.

Taytum was the first to step forward, nearly facing off with Chad, who lingered at the end of the hallway like Jack Nicholson inThe Shining. “Leave, Chad. No one wants you here.”

“Tay.” I snapped my head over to Claire so quickly I felt a pop in my neck.

Claire moved in front of Taytum, and although I wanted to push her behind me to protect her from him, I didn’t. It wasn’t my place, and I knew it. That wasn’t to say I didn’t want to knock him on his ass again or, better yet, stickmytongue down her throat—farther than I did last night—just to see how he liked watching her kiss someone else.Fuck, why am I so mad?

Chad crept down the hallway with caution, which meant that he was smarter than I thought. His gaze ran over my teammates and me, even shooting Taytum a wary look before saying, “We need to talk.”

“Why?” I asked. My arms went across my chest, and I was literally seconds from pulling Claire closer to piss him off. Instantly, I seemed to find my new hobby. It was no longer irritating Claire with pushing the limits within our roommate rules, or using her scrunchies on the doorknobs to irritate her. Instead, it was pissing off her ex. I wanted to pull her in and taunt him over and over again. I wanted to take the knife out of Claire’s back that he’d put there and cut him with it each time I touched her.

Claire peeked over her shoulder at me, and it was a heeded warning. Something silent was there that I wanted to ignore, but instead, I looked away and clenched my jaw in a subtle reminder that this wasn’t my problem.

“Come on,” I said to my teammates who were all just as bent out of shape as I was. One by one, they walked down the hall, each of them sending Chad a look that should have made at least a tremor of fear run through him. Taytum blew a bubble with her gum and waited until she was right beside Chad to pop it in his direction.

“You sure you don’t want me to stay,” I whispered, leaning in a little too close to Claire’s ear. I skimmed my eyes down to her bare arms and watched as goosebumps broke out along her soft skin. I flicked my attention to Chad and noticed his red ears.Oh, am I too close to the girl you cheated on? Allow me to step closer.

My smirk dug even deeper, but a moment later, I stepped away and looked into Claire’s eyes, waiting for her answer. She turned away and ran her hands down her arms. “I’m fine. I’ll see you...later.”

My teeth clanked against each other so hard it felt like I had been sucker-punched. The voice inside my head was telling me to go.But there was something keeping my feet from moving forward.

“Look at me, Bryant.”

Chad was approaching, and each step he took closer to her, the tenser she became. Claire’s blue eyes were heavy and clouded by something when she finally glanced up at me. “Are you sure you want me to go?”

One second.

Two seconds.

Three seconds.

She finally squared her shoulders and sent me a curt nod. “I’m fine.”

I nodded and slowly moved past Chad, sending him a chilling look that I had only ever used on the ice.Don’t fuck with her.

A gulp moved down his throat, but his expression remained steady and set on Claire. I pulled myself down to the end of the hall where Aasher was waiting for me, and I let him drag me the rest of the way to my car because there was something urgent that was trying to get me to turn around, and I knew that I shouldn’t.

20

Claire

What little respectI had for my boyfriend of four years was long gone as I stared at him from across my room. He stood with his hands on his hips, demanding that I explain why I was surrounded by a bunch of hockey players this morning.

My jaw dropped slightly before I righted myself and pretended there wasn’t a sting burning my cheek from the slap. “You actually think you have any right to question me?”

Chad scoffed before running his hands through his hair. I stared at the shiny strands, remembering how the girl from last night had pulled on the ends while he plunged his tongue into her mouth. I dodged the blow to my heart and dug down deep for the anger that I knew I needed to fuel this entire encounter.

“Oh, please. Don’t give me that, Claire.” Chad kicked the half-empty vodka bottle across the room, and it went underneath Theo’s bed. “I’m surprised you even care.”

I sucked in my stomach, righting my spine like I was about to take the stage. “You’re surprised that I care? I watched you openly cheating on me last night. You’re my boyfriend, Chad.”We’ve been together for nearly four years. Of course I care.

Chad crossed his arms over his chest and waited for me to say something else. Silly me to think that he’d come crawling back this morning to tell me that he didn’t mean it and that he was sorry.What was I thinking?“How would you like it if you saw me making out with some guy? Wouldyoucare?”

The memory of Theo kissing me came the second I closed my mouth, but I quickly disregarded it, knowing that it was nothing but a slip in time. I didn’t want Theo to kiss me to rub it in Chad’s face. I was just desperate to feel anything except the hurt I was feeling. Chad had a way of making me feel like I wasn’t good enough, and for once, I wanted to feel the opposite.

“As if you’d even have time to make out with someone.” He laughed it off, as if it would never happen. “You’re too busy for anything but dance, school, and work.”

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