Page 86 of Dirty As Puck
I check my phone one last time. No calls and no messages.
I slip into my coat, feeling the evening chill press against my shoulders. Every step I take towards the cemetery is measured and controlled.
Every thought loops back to Kai, his laugh, the way he sees me, the trust I’ve shattered and the trust I need to rebuild.
The wind tugs at my hair as I approach the iron gates. The familiar path curves past rows of weathered stones, and I slow down. My breath catches when I look up and there he is, in the distance, shoulders hunched, hands clasped together as if holding the weight of the world. Even from afar, I can feel his turmoil radiating off him.
I pause behind a row of evergreens, giving myself a moment to gather courage. This isn’t just a visit. This is a reckoning. Every late night, every risk, every piece of dirt dug up, it all comes down to this one chance to reach him. To show him he isn’t alone. To fight for him, even if it destroys what’s left of my reputation.
I take a deep breath and step forward, my heart thundering, and my boots crunching against gravel.
And right before me is the man I’m in love with… Kai Morrison, alone, vulnerable, unaware that the storm I’ve been building is finally here.
34
I kneel at the headstone, my hands gripping the cold marble like it’s the only thing holding me together. Coach Reynolds, my foster father.
I talk to him, my voice hoarse and uneven, as if speaking aloud could make sense of the chaos inside me.
“I trusted her, Coach. First time since you died, I trusted someone, and she betrayed me.” The words scrape my throat. I hate myself for saying them, but they’re the truth as I feel it.
I shove my hands into my hair, tugging at it as my chest tightens. I replay every detail, every photo Derek released, every headline calling me distracted, reckless, compromised.
Then I picture Rochelle, the only woman I ever trusted fully. Now she’s out of my life. The betrayal burns deeper than the public scrutiny, deeper than the fear of losing my career.
I let the silence of the cemetery envelope me, but it doesn’t offer comfort. It just amplifies my heartbeat, thundering in my ears. I speak again, softer this time, almost to myself. “I thought she was different. I thought she cared. I thought I could trust her.”
My voice breaks, and I close my eyes. Weeks of anger, frustration, and longing crash over me. I’ve been carrying it alone, and it’s heavier than any hockey stick, any loss on the ice.
A crunch of gravel pulls me from my spiral. My eyes snap open, scanning the path, and then I see…her. Am I imagining things? Because Rochelle is here. Standing there, thinner than I remember, exhaustion etched into every line of her face.
Yet I don’t miss the determined, unwavering fire that’s burning in her eyes. I freeze, my body taut with disbelief, my chest aching.
She looks at me, voice steady but urgent. “Kai, I didn’t betray you. I was set up just like you were.”
The words barely register. My throat constricts, my anger and confusion colliding with something else that feels like relief? Hope? I don’t know yet. I can’t move, can’t speak.
The woman I thought I’d lost is right in front of me, and everything I thought I knew about her betrayal, broken trust, and heartbreak tilts on its axis.
We just stand, staring at each other across the gravestones, the air thick with tension, shock, and unspoken questions.
For the first time in days, I feel something shift.
I stare at her, my jaw tight, the anger coiling in my chest like a spring ready to snap. “Save it,” I spit out, my voice sharp.
“I saw the evidence. You had information before everything went public. You knew about Derek, and you said nothing.” Every word I spit out feels like a hammer against my ribs. My hands shake, but I ball them into fists, gripping the gravel at my knees.
Rochelle steps closer, her eyes fierce yet steady, unwavering in the face of my fury. “Kai, look at me,” she says gently, but there’s steel in her voice. She reaches into her bag and pulls out a tablet, sliding it onto the grass between us.
The screen flashes with documents, emails, and transaction records. “This is what he’s done, Kai. This isn’t about me, and it never was.”
I glance down, my chest tightening further. My eyes skim the evidence she’s placed before me.
Derek’s network, the payoffs, the threats, the falsified photographs, and the private investigator files. I see his meticulous planning laid bare, the manipulation, the web of lies he spun around both of us.
She crouches beside me, careful not to invade my space too much. “Kennedy Walters came forward. She confirms what I suspected about that bar fight. Derek orchestrated it. He paid someone to attack her, knowing you’d step in during yourmeeting with the rookie. That night, you were protecting her, not causing harm.”
Her voice trembles slightly, but her gaze never wavers. “He’s been controlling, manipulating and blackmailing you. Kai, he’s dangerous, and he’s been using everyone around him to get what he wants.”
