Page 22 of Puck'N Enemy
Unable to bear the sight of it, I tear the envelope open and a stack of photos cascades over my lap.
They’re all grainy, black-and-white shots of me.
The first one shows me wiping tables at the food court. The second one shows me walking out of the pharmacy with Coach’s meds in a paper bag.
I shuffle through more, coming across photos of me skating at the Bears’ practice arena. The very last one is a shot of me with my helmet off, laughing with a teammate.
My fingers tighten around the edges, bending the photographs.
A sheet of paper flies loose and floats to the ground.
Snatching it up, I see it has a note on it, written in the same jagged, deliberate hand.
WELCOME TO TOWN, DYLAN.
That cold sensation slithers up my spine again, feeling like someone has pressed the tip of a blade against my neck.
Heknows I’m back in Knightswood.
I spring to my feet too fast, feeling my heart thudding like a war drum. My eyes dart to the window and the locked door. I know he wouldn’t show himself but I can’t help checking if Coach and I are truly alone in the apartment.
When the silence stretches, I realize he’s playing his games.
The envelope with the photos was just the opening move. His game always starts with an illusion of control.
This was a warning and a reminder that I’m still in the palm of his hand.
“Fuck,” I whisper, realizing everything I did to keep people safe was all for nothing.
Coach stirs in his sleep, his chest rising and falling in at a steady rhythm under the worn-out blanket.
I came back to Knightswood for Coach Becker. I risked my present and my future to take care of the only man who protected me when the world turned its face away from an abandoned foster kid like me.
I thought it’d be safe sincehewas supposed to be locked up and gone for good.
I walk into the kitchen and shove the photos in a drawer, far beneath the old takeout menus and ketchup packets. Breathing hard, I brace my hands on the countertop, trying to keep myself from punching the wall.
He’sthe reason I left Logan behind and never dared to get in touch with him.
Closing my eyes, I try to calm my pounding heart.
It’s okay, I tell myself. I’ve stayed away from Logan. And Logan...he hates me.
Everything’s better off with him hating me. He doesn’t need to get involved with me and get pulled into a mess that’d leave him broken, body and soul.
I can’t let the same thing happen again.
So, yeah...it’s a good thing that Logan and I are through.
It’s the only way to keep him and his family safe.
Maddie’s impish face flashes in my mind, bringing up memories I’d long suppressed. She’d been too young in the past to understand anything. I wonder if she still remembers me...
My hands ball into tight fists. I’ve stayed away from Logan and his family. I never made any contact except for the brief time during the hockey game last month.
This time, I have no weaknesseshecan manipulate.
This time, I refuse to run. I’ll deal with the son of a bitch myself and make damn sure he never touches the people I love again.
