Page 82 of Call the Shots (For The Arena #1)

BEAR

I HOPE YOU’RE HAPPY

The following day, there was a notice in snap shot sluts!

from Denali. It was an emergency team meeting—the first one June skipped.

She tossed and turned for hours, it’d taken her forever to fall asleep.

I wouldn’t wake her up for this. I wrote her a note and unplugged her alarm. I’d swing back to wake her for classes.

After all of the recent changes Sémajuste made for the Colo, it was so weird to see the place quiet and deserted. The only ones who arrived for the meeting were my teammates. We headed into the locker room together, silent. Nobody looked at each other, nobody said a word.

I leaned against the lockers, arms crossed. I didn’t want to sit down. My teammates kept stealing looks my way, everyone was on edge. I knew they were waiting for me to do something.

Denali cleared his throat. “We need to talk about the party.”

The silence was deafening.

“It’s unfortunate what happened,” he said carefully.

“June’s one of us. She’s a Gladiator. That makes King ours by proxy.

What happened at the party, stays at the party, because if his coach finds out…

he could lose his spot on the football team.

" His gaze flickered to every player, his words ringing.

"No one beyond this room hears about it. Everybody nod.”

It was a sea of nods, and I nodded slowly. At least we could agree on something.

“There’s—uh—something else we need to…” He gestured to the office behind him and the door opened.

Elijah.

My muscles clenched, the anger paralyzing me, keeping me rigid against the lockers. It took everything in me not to jump him. The benches creaked as heads swiveled my way and a few other guys shifted closer to me, waiting. It felt like the spotlight was on me and I exhaled through my nose.

The space was too cramped. If I went after Elijah, I’d be stopped in seconds. I sloped against the lockers, biding my time.

At least his appearance made me feel better. King had done a number on him, his body was splattered in dark bruises, and his voice cracked when he spoke.

“I—I want to apologize for my behavior.”

What?

I’d seen Elijah fucking with people all summer, he didn’t care.

Elijah didn’t apologize. This didn’t make sense.

My frown slipped away and I stared, confused, as he wiped at his eyes before he spoke again, sputtering out words.

“I—I didn’t mean to hurt him that badly, I—I didn’t think. I—I’m sorry.”

Denali put a hand on his shoulder. “That’s enough.”

Elijah stumbled away and the door closed behind, the only sound in the locker room.

I was suddenly grateful for Sémajuste’s ostracizing punishment.

While the rest of the team got ready to hit the ice for practice, I ignored the pointed questions from Fridge and took to the hallways.

Memories hounded me, Elijah grabbing the bottle by the neck.

The blood gushing to the floor. The way June sobbed, curled up against me on the couch.

Montoya, I’d deal with later, but I had to find Elijah.

Denali was missing from practice too and I knew the friendship bracelet motherfuckers were together. If I had to hit my captain to get to Elijah, fine, so be it.

King didn’t beat him nearly hard enough. Not even close.

Towards the inner gyms, I heard the first sound outside of the whir of the AC units. I listened intently, trying to place it. With the Colo’s winding hallways, sometimes things sounded weird and out of place, and I’d never heard this before in our arena. I stalled, finally realizing what it was.

A broken sob.

I followed it, pushing the door open to an empty gym.

Elijah was a stocky guy, broad shoulders with heavy muscle, a standard build in hockey. He could take a punch and keep going— that was Elijah. Except…there he was, sitting on one of the benches, hunched over. Head in his hands, his body wracked with sobs. Denali sat next to him, quiet.

I’d seen players get messed up from knee injuries that had paramedics swearing. The kind of injuries that ruin your hockey career. But this was different. I’d never seen anything like it.

The door creaked and Elijah glanced back, his eyes puffy and red, shining with tears.

I had a plan, but I didn’t think I’d stumble upon this.

Denali sighed. “Bear, can you shut the door?”

“I didn’t mean to hurt him that bad,” Elijah croaked. “I—I didn’t, I wasn’t trying to kill him, I swear. I thought Willow was going to get hurt and—and—” He took ragged breaths. “Willow’s one of my best friends, she blocked me on everything?—”

He wiped away the tears while I remained silent.

“Sloane found out—I don’t know who told her—” He trembled. “I—I love her so much and she said she’s—she’s done with me. She never wants to see me again—I’m banned from Gianna’s for life. I—I fucked up.”

This was the same guy who landed King in the hospital, who made June cry, why was the anger hard to hold on to? The pain inside me didn’t make sense. It constricted me, squeezing me tight, while I struggled to remember why I came in at all.

It didn’t matter—this wasn’t about me. This was about what Elijah did. What he did to people I cared about. I forced the fury to return, until the sharp taste of adrenaline outmatched the pain.

I released the door, stepping inside. “Yeah, you think you fucked up?”

“Bear…” Denali said quietly.

“No,” I snapped, staring at him to avoid looking at Elijah and his tear-streaked face. “You’re comforting him? Him? ”

I couldn’t avoid him, I had to meet Elijah head-on if I was going to beat his ass. My eyes slid to Elijah— fuck. His body was folded inward like something broke that couldn’t be fixed.

“This is what you do,” I finally spat out. “You fuck with people until shit like this happens. You’re upset they blocked you? You fucking deserve it! King didn’t hit you nearly hard enough, he should’ve knocked your head in!”

I could see him struggle to breathe, his shoulders shaking.

“You hurt June who’s been a hell of a lot nicer to you than you ever fucking deserved!” I snarled. “The summer was leading up to this, I hope you’re happy!”

It wasn’t just Elijah shaking. I couldn’t stand still.

The plan was clear in my mind. I had to grab Elijah by the shoulder and toss him to the floor—I’d land a couple of good punches before Denali stopped me.

Then I’d have get past my captain. Only my captain.

I had a strong suspicion he was the only one I’d have to worry about.

If I hit Elijah, I wasn’t even sure he’d fight back.

I knew what I had to do and my fists twitched at my sides, ready for this to start.

Elijah Contractor had been a pain in my ass since I met him, a pain to everybody .

He was impulsive, rash, and hurt people because of it.

I’d seen it firsthand. King didn’t deserve to be the focus of it and that fuck-up was inexcusable.

It wasn’t only a mistake, it was unforgivable.

But he wasn’t the only one who fucked up like that.

The longer I stared at Elijah, the more the guilt crept in, always heavy on my shoulders. Elijah hurt somebody and realized they didn’t deserve it. Just like I did.

If I could take back everything I did to June, I’d do it in a heartbeat, but I couldn’t. I carried the guilt with me during the summer, but I’d carry it a lot longer than that. Things I could never justify and apologize enough for.

I watched the tears slip down Elijah’s face, my hands shaking.

The truth was, he wasn’t just Ruthless from the news articles or Elijah Contractor in his behavioral meetings. He wasn’t just a relentless defense player who was hated by most of college hockey.

Elijah was my teammate, the guy I ran drills with.

Once my punishment ended and I was allowed in the games, we were marked as the top defense pair for the Gladiators.

He was also my neighbor, the guy down the hall who came barging into my dorm when we ordered food and kicked ass with me on Noped when we partnered-up.

The guy who wrote ‘ property of June Basil ’ on my face, and pushed my girlfriend and me together.

Elijah was my friend.

Elijah was one of my best friends.

With a shaky breath, I walked over and sank into the place next to him. Some dam crumpled and Elijah’s shoulders slumped, sobbing again. I looped an arm over his shoulders. Denali and I were silent while Elijah cried.

An hour later, my steps were heavy when I left for the locker room. The guys were finished with practice, putting their gear away before class, and everyone was surprised to see me. Fridge asked if I was okay, but I crooked a finger in Montoya’s direction.

“Montoya,” I called.

The guys shared looks together before turning, long lines of hockey players staring my way. No one said a word.

He was in the middle of shrugging on a hoodie and he fumbled with it, smoothing down the fabric. His hands tremored but he followed me into the hallway. The door closed behind us.

“Bear—Bear.” His lower lip trembled. “Is—is King okay?”

“Yeah.”

His eyes dropped to the floor. He said nothing.

I shook my head. “You swore you wouldn’t tell anybody, Montoya.”

“I—I’m sorry?—”

“That isn’t something funny you tell people over drinks.

You knew how much shit King could get into, and you told Elijah anyway.

Elijah ." I thumbed towards the gym, even if I knew Denali already took Elijah to RV. "I talked to him, you weren’t blackout drunk, you know who Elijah is, you know what he’s like, and you told him anyway. ”

“Yeah,” he sniffled.

“I’m really angry at you, kid.”

He nodded.

“King could’ve died. Do you understand?”

He nodded again, harder, and with a deep breath, I wrapped my arms around him, pulling him in for a hug. I hadn’t hugged anyone bigger than me since I was a little kid. It was weird. But with every inhale, I breathed out the anger until I could hold him tight.

“That—that was really scary.” His head collapsed to my shoulder, tears streaming down his face. “There was so much blood?—”

“He’s stitched up, he’ll be okay.”

“I’m sorry—I’m so sorry, Bear.”

“I know, Montoya. I know.”