Page 96 of Fierce Obsession

“You mean sabotaging,” she interrupts.

“Oh my God.” I shrug and pretend to pick lint off my jersey.

I was in the process of getting my pads on when she called, and I dropped everything to get to her. Which makes me feel a bit like a damn fool. I mean, did she even need me? Or did she just want to see how fast I could get to her?

“Anyway. Willow, you keep an eye on this one.” I slap Aurora’s ass.

She jumps a foot, and I smile.

Wickedly.

“See you later,baby.”

She scowls at me, and I salute my friends. Out I go, leaving her to clean up the mess I made for her.

Downstairs, I almost crash into none other than my brother. He holds up his phone, where a text from Willow on his screen reads:He’s out of control.

“What are you doing to fuck up my life now?” he goads. “Have you not done enough? Do I need to break your nose again?”

I scoff. “You didn’t break it in the first place.”

“Knox.”

“Miles.” I roll my eyes. “Your other girlfriend is upstairs with Willow. You might want to get your story straight with her?—”

He stares at me. “She said you thought we slept together. I didn’t actually think you meant it.”

“Well, I do.” I know what I saw. And what I heard. “I have evidence.”

Miles crosses his arms. This is the most we’ve talked since, well… since the Willow debacle. And that was years ago.

“You have evidence,” he repeats. “Evidence that you’ve somehow managed to keep to yourself for six years?”

My anger spikes. I step in closer, grabbing the front of his shirt. “Yes, baby brother, I decided to keep it to myself. Because I love you, I’d do anything for you. Even if that means not blowing up your world when you blew up mine.”

He shoves me away. “Fuck off, Knox.”

Yeah. Conversationover.

“See you on the ice,” I snap. “Let’s hope you remember how to play against me. It’s been a while.”

I storm past him and into the Titans’ locker room, my stomach flipping. I hate it when we fight. I’ve hated and regretted the years following what happened with Willow. Not because of her, but because of just how strained my relationship with my brother became.

Mom tried to get us to fix it. She pushes us closer at every holiday, watches our stiff interactions with sad eyes, but she’s like me. She doesn’t know how to make it right.

“Whiteshaw.”

Church stands in the doorway, and he motions for me to follow him. We’ve got forty-five minutes until we need to be on the ice to warm up, and about an hour and a half until game time. I was slowly getting ready when I got Aurora’s call.

She calledme. And of course, I messed that up, too.

There’s some part of me that relishes it. That wants to mess her up all the time, like smearing red paint on her white walls.

We end up in an office down the hall. Church closes us in and leans against the door.

“I was thinking,” he starts.

“That’s never a good sign.”

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