Page 70 of Offside for Christmas
He didn't leave a message this time. Just listened to her voice, memorizing the cadence, the way she said "God bless" like she actually meant it.
When it beeped, he hung up and immediately called again.
And again.
And again.
By the fifth time, he was just sitting there in the dark, phone pressed to his ear, listening to the only piece of her he had left.
"You've reached Rosa Hansen—"
That evening, Cole let himself into Ellie's apartment using the key she'd given him. He found her on the couch, laptop open, so focused she didn't hear him come in. When she finally noticed him, she quickly closed the browser window, looking guilty.
"Hey," she said, too brightly.
Cole kissed her hello, then pulled back to study her face. "What were you looking at?"
"Nothing. Just work stuff."
"You're a terrible liar. Your nose scrunches when you lie."
Ellie's hand flew to her nose. "It does not."
"It absolutely does. What's going on?"
She sighed, reopening the laptop and turning it toward him. "I was looking something up. About you."
On the screen was a video player. "The bar fight," she said softly. "Cole, this is the full video. Not the edited one."
She clicked play. Cole watched footage he’d tried to forget: the three drunk men cornering Sarah Chen, their hands on her, her trying to get away. Him stepping in. The shove. The escalation. All the context the viral clip had conveniently omitted.
"Where did you find this?" His voice was tight, controlled.
"It’s been circulating on some Reddit forums. Cole, it changes everything. It shows you defending her. It proves you weren't the aggressor."
"I know what it shows." He stood up, needing space.
"Then why aren't you using it?" Ellie stood too, following him. "You could send this to your agent. Clear your name. Get your career back. Everything you lost—"
"We're not doing this. I already told you."
"But this could fix everything—"
"It doesn't fix anything!" The words came out harsher than he'd intended. "It just makes her the story. Do you know what happens when a woman's assault goes viral? She gets doxxed, harassed, threatened. Her trauma becomes entertainment. I'm not doing that to her."
"Have you talked to her? Maybe she wants people to know the truth."
"I'm not risking her safety for my reputation."
“You think protecting everyone else means disappearing,” she said quietly. “But you’re the one you keep leaving behind. So you just accept being labeled a liability?"
"Yes."
"That's not fair," she whispered.
"Life's not fair, Ellie." He saw her flinch at the sharpness in his tone. "You should know that. This isn't something you can fix."
"I fix things," she said, and there was a vulnerability in her voice that twisted his gut. "It's what I do."
