Page 96 of College Hockey Bully

“Don’t look at me likethatafter putting someone in the fucking hospital. You’re going. Either that, or I call the cops.”

“Going where?” I ask, especially curious with how my ex-best friend is spazzing out. Sobbing, he sinks to the floor, both hands clasped in a prayer pose.

“Where I should’ve taken him when he had his first psychotic break. Keystone,” she replies.

The same behavioral health center they’d sent Chelsea.

“Mom, please,” Cameron begs.

Mrs. Randolph sighs. “Cam, you’re not the only one who lost your dad. Like you, I miss him like crazy. It still hurts like hell. Unlike you, I don’t let it define how I operate, how I treat people, even how I treat myself. I don’t wallow in self-pity.”

“Do you think I want to wallow?” he asks, pushing himself to stand. “I want to move on, but I don’t know how.”

His mother reaches out and pats his cheek. “I’m sure you’ll figure it out at Keystone. I’ll talk to the college and have them work out your last semester. It’s up to you to decide on whether you’ll take those courses from a cushy suite or a jail cell, honey.”

Cameron’s throat bobs as he swallows hard. “Keystone,” he finally mumbles.

“Good choice.” She pats his cheek again. “Now, get upstairs and let me speak to Aiden for a bit.”

He pushes off, then stops halfway to the door and turns to me. “If you truly didn’t know it was her, I’m sorry,” he says.

It sounds like a back-handed apology, but I nod anyway. I’m too mentally drained to argue.

As he climbs the stairs, Mrs. Randolph turns to me. “The girl he attacked; I need her contact information.”

“For?” I ask, the unexpected request making me frown.

Mrs. Randolph reads the suspicion on my face, scoffing softly. “I’m not my son, Aiden. I simply want to make amends.”

“By paying her off,” I finish. “We both know she’s going to press charges once she finds out.”

She pushes up to her full, five-one height, her fierce expression adding another two inches. “And we both know my father runs this city. Those charges will go nowhere.”

She’s right, but it’s still fucked up.

“Cameron will get the help he needs, and she’ll get a decent settlement. It’s a win-win,” she goes on.

With a conceding sigh, I reach for my phone. It’s no use arguing on behalf of someone who took money to end our affair. Whatever Scarlett decides is totally up to her.

“Thank you.” She hands me back the phone. “Aiden, I’d appreciate it if you kept this between us. Cameron has been through a lot.”

“Yeah,” I mutter, ordering an Uber. My car fob is still upstairs, but I’m in no mood to see Cameron right now.

Nor do I want to stay in this house another minute.

As I exit the kitchen, she calls after me. I stop, not turning.

“I’m sorry for pulling my gun on you,” she says.

Without replying, I walk out, not taking a breath until I step into the night where I suck a lungful of cold air in, breathing it out on a long, weary sigh when a sudden realization hits me like a slap in the face.

Chapter 38

Scarlett

“For the last time, Theresa, I can feed myself,” I mutter grumpily, snatching the spoon away from her. It’s bad enough that I’m forced to eat this tasteless glob the doctor insisted on me having. I don’t need someone smothering me, too.

“Your hand is shaking,” she points out, trying to grab the spoon back.

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