Page 102 of Blindside Me
Because when it comes to Jade? There’s no line I won’t cross. No consequence I won’t face. Anyone who hurts her deals with me.
I meet Coach’s gaze, refusing to look away even as the full weight of what I’ve done starts to settle. Blood from my lip has dried in a tacky line down my chin.
“Sir—” I begin.
“Not now.” He cuts me off with a sharp gesture. “Get cleaned up. We’ll discuss your future with this team tomorrow.”
He turns to leave, then pauses. “Whatever he said, whatever he implied, I hope it was worth it.”
“I was serious back at your house. She comes first. I’ll always protect her.”
There’s a slight softening to his hard stance as the realization of how serious I am hits.
That bastard won’t trash Jade.
I won’t allow it.
No matter what it costs.
The locker room door slams behind Coach, and silence settles in the aftermath. My pulse is still hammering. My fists ache.
But the adrenaline’s fading now. And what’s left behind is worse.
My chest clenches at the memory of Jade’s face as she stood in the crowd, frozen. The horror in her eyes.
She didn’t look proud.
She looked scared.
Not of him.
Of me.
And that? That’s what wrecks me. Not the blood on my lip. Not the bruise swelling on my ribs.
But the idea that I just became another reason for her to flinch.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Jade
The crowd pours out of the arena in a blur of navy jerseys and leftover adrenaline. I stand off to the side, arms wrapped tight around myself, pretending to scroll my phone. I’m not. I’m watching every doorway, every face, like a desperate girl who got stood up after the final buzzer.
No texts.
No updates.
Not even one of his dumb memes or a half-assed winking emoji.
Just silence. Thick, endless, and loud.
Callie appears at my elbow, face flushed from the cold. “You good?”
I nod,lie, and swallow past the lump pressing into my throat. “Yeah. Just waiting on Drew.”
Her eyes flick to the empty sidewalk, the thinning crowd. She doesn’t press.
The last wave of fans stampedes down the steps, and still no sign of him. My pulse stutters and then drops, leaving that hollow, bruised ache in my chest, like I’ve missed a step in the dark.
