Page 70 of One Shot

I must have squeezed my beer so tightly without realizing it—the neck of the bottle is shattered in my hand. Blood drips down my palm.

“What . . .” I can’t find any words. “What do you mean?”

“Let’s get your hand cleaned—”

Bren starts to get up, but I stop her.

“I don’t care about my fucking hand. It can wait. Tell me.”

Someone abused Lauren. Some guy we play multiple times a season. Some guy whose hand I’ve shaken after more than one game. Who is he? Because he will be a dead man once I learn who he is.

Bren slowly starts to tell me about Lauren’s ex-boyfriend. They dated for three years. He seemed fine, but Nick hated him. Bren and Liam even went on double dates with them. Her mom liked him. She liked his family.

“She just told us recently,” Bren says. “Nick was the only one that knew.”

Bren tells me how it didn’t start until they dated for over a year, but he was always kind of a jerk. The abuse was more making fun of her at first, then turned to mental abuse, and finally physical. Just over a year into their relationship means that she dated him for almost two years, dealing with this shit. Why would she stay? Why would she endure it?

“He hated how supportive she was of the Wyverns and Nick,” Tyler spits out with disgust. “Honestly, I think he was jealous of him.”

“The more she told us the more I could see it,” Bren says. “I can’t believe the entire time she was going through this, I was right there, but I didn’t know.”

It finally all makes sense. Laur is so back and forth. She’s flirty but says she doesn’t want to be more than friends. She constantly says how she doesn’t want a relationship again.

“This is why she says she doesn’t want to date anyone. This is why she’s sworn off love.”

Tyler and Bren both nod.

“What’s his name?” Rage starts to bubble inside me.

Bren shakes her head no.

“Don’t make me ask again,” I snap through clenched teeth. Fury and wrath replace the anxiety in my gut as I slam my hand on the table, causing Bren to flinch. I need to know who could hurt her like this.

“I’ll tell you and answer anything I can, but you really should talk to her,” Tyler says.

“Tyler. Walk with me outside.” It isn’t a question, it’s a command.

He nods and stands up, ready to leave.

Taking a deep breath, I close my eyes attempting to calm myself, but it does little to settle the outrage pulsing through my veins.

“Are you going to tell Connor and Liam?” I ask Bren before we leave.

“Yes, she asked me to,” Bren whispers. Her eyes are overflowing with tears.

“I’ll tell them,” Tyler offers. “You walk with Lucas.” I give him a pat on the back. He knows I am going to need Bren.

I go to the bathroom to clean my hand. It’s just a small cut, it looks a lot worse than it is. Bren and I head out the door. I don’t think about where we are going, we just walk.

“I don’t know what to do,” I say and stop walking.

“I don’t either.” I can’t see Bren’s face since we are in a dimly lit street, but the distress is evident in her voice. “I love her, Bren. I really do love her. I can’t protect her from the loss of Nick. What if I can’t protect her from this either?” I don’t expect her to answer, so I start walking again.

“You already are, Lucas,” she says.

“How?”

“She told us.” Bren huffs, trying to keep up with my pace. “Nick was the only person she told and that was just over a year ago. I think she’s ready to face the abuse and try to move past it all instead of hiding it.”