Page 120 of Hits Different

“You barely know me”. I say, incredulously. Volchok and I have had a rivalry, sure, but it’s never been that serious. For me, anyway.

“I know your stupid fucking reckless game playing got us both injured”. I blink. “Oh, you didn’t think about that? Big surprise. You weren’t actually the only one who got hurt!”

“That was an accident. I’m the one who came off worse”.

“Yes, it looks like it”, Volchok snaps back. “An all-expenses trip to the country’s premier training facility. My heart bleeds. Meanwhile some of us miss a summer’s worth of coaching due to bullshit concussion protocols, not to mention a wave of online abuse from your insane fan-club”.

“Online abuse?”Fan-club?

He jams his phone in my face. “The army of Carter-lovers—Cartels, if you can believe it—who think I’m responsible for their pretty-boy crush becoming roadkill. You think I like waking up to see your psychotic stans flooding my DMs, Carter?”

I catch a glimpse of wolf-shaped emojis, followed by some NSFW language. Even though it’s not aimed at me, my stomach still drops. Volchok’s DMs looks a lot like mine before I made it private.

“I kept my mouth shut. Got on with recovery. But then I find out, not only do I lose my place at Summit, but you took it instead. Worse still, my fucking team are paying for half of it!” My jaw drops. “You’ve got no idea what it’s like for those of us who aren’t Brandon Carter”.

“And you don’t know what it’s like for the one of us that is. But I’m sorry about Summit. I didn’t know you were meant to be going too”.

“It’s all political”, Volchok sniffs. “I stay at school and make nice for the scouts. You keep your mouth shut”.

“It’s not an excuse for what you did”. Freddie says protectively. “You outed him”.

“How did you even know I’d be there, anyway?” I ask. “Were you stalking me all summer?”

“Was I stalking you—” Volchok repeats in disbelief. “No, Carter, I wasn’t stalking you. Someone reached out to me online. Said that if I wanted to get my own back all I needed to do was to show up at your house on a specific date and follow you”.

“Doesn’t sound like you needed a lot of convincing”.

“I didn’t”, Volchok shakes his head. “They told me that you were on something. To help your game. Like, performance-enhancing drugs. That you met your dealer in your hometown. I figured I’d follow you, see if it was true. I didn’t even realise what I was taking pictures of until it was too late”. He scowls. “My sister’s gay. I’d never intentionally do that to anyone. Not even you”.

“How did it happen then?” Freddie asks. I can tell from his tone that he’s having a hard time believing Volchok.

“Damned if I know. I go and meet this guy, tell him that you’re clean. He says he’ll give me $3000 cash in exchange for the pictures”.

“What guy?” I ask, but I’ve got a crushing feeling I already know the answer. Winston Deville was the only person who knew I was coming home. And the only person who had a reason to fire a warning shot to keep me in line.

“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry”, Volchok says, shortly. “I thought you were a cheat”.

“I’m sure the $3000 helps you sleep at night”.

“It barely covered the bills for my x-rays”. Volchok shrugs. “Not everyone has Senator-level insurance”. Freddie and I share a glance, as my stomach twists. I’d never given much of a thought to how the accident could have impacted Volchok. I’d only ever seen him as a threat. “I’ve got mutuals with your boyfriend. He’s got an MMA fight coming up right?”

I glance at my watch. “Five hours and counting”.

“It’s tonight?” Dmitry looks between Freddie and me, in genuine confusion. “Summit is nearly three hours away. Why aren’t you there?”

“Dmitry, we’re ready for you”, A man with a clipboard and whistle pops his head around the corner. I recognise him immediately as one of the scouts who used to come and see me play in high school. Michael something. “Which one of you is Freddie Dyer?”

“That’s me, sir”, Freddie shakes his hand. “I’m up after Volchok”.

“Great stuff”, Michael says. He looks at me, his eyebrows raising in recognition. “And, sorry, it’s Carter, isn’t it? Brandon Carter”.

“That’s right, sir”.

“I’m sorry, Brandon. For some reason, you’re not on my list”. Michael flicks through pages. “Let me check with our admin team”.

Freddie comes to stand by my side. I clear my throat. “You were due to see me at Summit”. Michael’s eyes widen with recognition. “But recent events might have made that difficult for you, or me a less desirable prospect. I don’t know. Either way, Summit’s where I’ll be if you change your mind. And I’d encourage you to do that, because I am good. Very good. Almost as good as these two”, I nod toward Volchok and Freddie.

I shake Michael’s hand, and turn to Freddie. “I need to get back to Summit. To Parker. You’re going to crush this, okay?”

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