Page 140 of Second-Rate Superstar

“Do you feel better now?” Dad asked with an arched eyebrow.

“Yeah.” I nodded. “Have a nice life because I sure as hell intend to.” He didn’t say another word, and I headed for the door. Pausing with my hand on the doorknob, I peeked over my shoulder for one final parting shot. “Michelle seems nice. I sure hope you’re not screwing around on her too.”

Flinging the door wide, I marched out of that house, a woman on a mission.

It was time to go get my man and pray that I could earn his forgiveness.

Chapter 33

Braxton

The trade to Indianapoliswas exactly what I’d needed. Honestly, it was the perfect situation. The Indy Speed were the Comets’ biggest rivals. If there was one place that didn’t idolize my brother, this was it.

Not only that, they had welcomed me with open arms.

The fans were wearing my jersey within a week of my arrival, holding signs saying they got the younger, faster Slate brother. It was a huge confidence boost, even if I was still struggling under the weight of Dakota’s betrayal being the reason I had requested a trade halfway through my rookie season.

My new captain, Maddox Sterling, had taken me in, offering me a room at his house until I got settled in the area. And even though I wasn’t in the mood, more often than not, he was able to drag me out after games to Pipes, the local karaoke bar the Speed frequented. I couldn’t lie; getting drunk and singing off-key did help me forget for a little while.

Overall, the team was great, and I quickly realized how lucky I was that they had brokered a deal with the Comets to take me on. Their management team must have seen something in me because they’d given uptwo draft picks—a third-rounder this year and a fourth-rounder the year after—to finalize the trade to bring me to Indianapolis.

While the Comets were getting older, the Speed had fresh, young talent, and their potential for future championships was far greater than the team I’d left behind.

The hardest part was making the call to Natalie. I was on a plane to Indy the day of the trade, and when I landed, I knew I needed to explain why. I could hear my normally mellow brother yelling in the background. Jaxon was pissed that I’d gone behind his back and essentially “quit” being a Comet without a word.

There was a reason I hadn’t told anyone before the details were finalized. I knew they would try to talk me out of it, and I couldn’t risk it. I had to get away.

Seeing her again . . . I just couldn’t do it. It hurt too much.

Natalie understood, even if my brother didn’t. She told me she loved me no matter what and that they would visit when the Comets came to town. It broke my heart, knowing my choices meant I would be forced to watch my nieces and nephews grow up from afar. I adored each and every one of them and would miss them fiercely.

Thankfully, the Speed and Comets had already played all their regular season games against each other by the time I arrived. I couldn’t bear the thought of seeing the disappointment etched on my brother’s face or, worse, having to return to Connecticut.

I’d made it a week after the move before I was forced to block Dakota’s number.

The calls, I could ignore. And why I’d left that lifeline open, I would never know. Maybe in the back of my mind, there was a tiny flicker of hope that we could fix what was broken.

As the days stretched on, I had more time to think and analyze our time together. I couldn’t for the life of me pinpoint where the shift had happened—where she’d flipped the switch to deception—and it ate at me. There had to be some sign to confirm that her words weren’t genuine or that the devotion in her eyes was fabricated. Or fuck, the sex. How could that have all been fake, a lie? No one was that good of an actress, were they?

So, when she began texting, and I saw those three little words light up my phone screen—I love you—I shut down. My heart was battered and bruised, aching to reach out and get those answers, but then I remembered this was the second time I’d been fooled. What was the saying? The second time, it was shame on me.

I’d made a colossal mistake, entrusting my heart to someone who had smashed it into a million pieces.

There wasn’t enough glue in this world to piece it back together.

The Comets hadn’t done well after my departure, sliding down in the standings, narrowly managing to snag a wild card spot for the playoffs. The Speed won the division, earning the home-ice advantage through at least the Eastern Conference Finals, and the Comets were forced onto the other side of the bracket.

Yet another small favor.

I wasn’t sure I could handle going head-to-head with my old team in such a high-stakes situation. Especially after what had happened in their playoff series last year with Saint Booker taking a cheap shot late hit on Cal Berg after the final whistle blew. Cal no longer played, but Hannah was stillpissed about it, and if there’s one woman you didn’t want to fuck with, it was that one.

There was no love lost between the Comets and Speed. That was for sure.

The playoffs went by in a blur. We breezed past the Michigan Lakers in the first round by sweeping the series four games to none. Then came the Atlanta Aviators in the second round, which was more of a challenge. A back-and-forth series had us winning in six games. The only thing standing between us and playing for a championship was four wins against the Charlotte Crusaders.

That’s when disaster struck.

During Game 5, Maddox took a bad hit into the boards, tearing his ACL. He was ruled out for the rest of the season and the future of his career was in jeopardy. He was thirty-four, and it wouldn’t be easy to come back from that type of injury at his age.

---