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“What?” I rear back, my heart lurching. “I’ll miss the first preseason game.” What the fuck? I wasn’t the one looking for a confrontation, yet I’m being suspended? “What about him?”

“He didn’t touch you.” Coach shrugs, and my heart drops. “You got physical when you spat on him. This shit between you needs to end. This is not the way my players behave. So take the two weeks to get yourself together and figure out what you want. Then we’ll talk.”

“Unbelievable.” I throw my hands in the air and storm toward the building. If I don’t get the fuck out of here, I’m going to lose it.

Miller appears in the locker room as I’m heading out. He blocks my way, his eyes cold and distant.

Rage swims inside me, setting my skin on fucking fire. I clutch my duffel tighter and fist my other hand to keep from strangling him.

“Better figure out how to play nice, or you’ll find yourself in big trouble,” he warns, his voice low.

I huff. “My days of looking past all the shit you’ve done are over. When I’m back, I’ll continue pretending you don’t exist. You are nothing.”

“Suit yourself.” Smirking, he takes a step back. “I don’t have a problem admitting you’re a pro on the field.”

“I never said you weren’t a good player. You’re a fucked-up, trashy human being, that’s all.” I walk past him, bumping his shoulder with mine as I go.

I head straight to the exit with Drew on my heels. I was on a tight schedule to begin with, and after cleaning up my bloody nose and changing clothes, I’m late.

Fuck . The last thing I want is to be late tonight. Bella needs me.

As I throw open the door to the parking garage, Miller’s voice echoes down the hall.

“Let me know when you’re done with Isabella. She’s mine, and I want her back.”

I grip the door, calculating how quickly I’d be thrown off the team if I go back and smash this asshole’s smug face into the wall.

“Xander, let’s go.” Drew claps my back, urging me to move. “He’s riling you up on purpose. He’s not worth it.”

I know that.

Shaking my head, I barrel outside. I don’t have time for this…even if my knuckles are literally itching.

“Stop letting him get to you,” Drew says.

The urgency in his voice makes my shoulders relax. He’s genuinely concerned about me.

“Yeah. When it comes to that asshole, using my temper instead of my brain clearly doesn’t work.” I hang my head low, kicking at a pebble near my foot. “I’ll do better when I’m back… if I’m back.”

“You will be back.” He clasps my shoulder. “How about you and Bella come over for dinner next week? Kelly will be happy to see you.”

I inhale, allowing my lungs to expand for the first time since that football hit my face. “I’d love to.”

Drew smiles. “Awesome. I’ll talk to Kelly and let you know when.”

“Thank you for all your help. I owe you.”

He shrugs. “You’re my friend.”

With a nod, I head to my car. “I gotta go. Bella’s waiting for me.”

I hurry into my house, apologies on my lips. I’m so sorry for so much. For Stacey, for yesterday, and for being late. She’s been so keyed up about this dinner, and I barely remembered it. And now, here I am walking in late.

“Bella,” I call out. “I’m really sorry?—”

Milo’s there in the foyer, tail wagging.

Shit. He never waits for me at the door when she’s home.

Which means…

No . She couldn’t have left already.

I dash through the house, searching for her, my heart sinking when I don’t find her anywhere.

Why didn’t she wait? Why didn’t she call?

Because she’s angry. I hurt her so much, she’d rather go see those monsters alone than face me.

Fuck .

Hands shaking, I put on black jeans and a white shirt.

I spare only a second to glance at myself in the mirror and ruffle my hair.

Frustration courses through me, bleeding from every pore.

I have no idea what I’m going to do once I see her.

No matter what happened between us, she shouldn’t have gone there without me.

Those people were horrible to her. Her stepfather… The fucker raped her.

God, I swear, if he touches her, I’ll break every bone in his body.

I jump into my car and throw it in reverse. At the end of the driveway, I stomp on the brake. I don’t know which way to turn. I don’t know where her mom lives.

Meg would know, or Ben and Tom. I can ask one of them.

I take my phone out of my pocket and am immediately met with a slew of notifications.

Every one of them signals a new text from Stacey.

I swipe them away and scroll through my contacts.

When I find Tom’s number, I tap it without second-guessing myself.

He’s easier to talk to than Ben. He’ll understand.

I hope .

The line connects, but Tom doesn’t speak.

Heart in my throat, I say, “Hey. It’s Xander.”

“Uh-huh.” He told me himself he loves gossip; he probably knows all about the pictures.

“I have a favor to ask.”

“Really?” he huffs a sardonic laugh. “Need me to cover for you with Bella while you go see your ex?”

Fuck . With a groan, I drop my forehead to the steering wheel and close my eyes. “Definitely not.” I take a deep breath. “Can you please send me Bella’s mom’s address?”

The silence that follows is deafening. Finally, though, Tom clears his throat. “Please don’t tell me she went there alone.”

“She did,” I admit, my voice cracking. “ Please , give me the address.”

“One second,” he mumbles. A moment later, my phone dings, indicating a message from Tom. “I can’t believe her. It’s the one thing I asked her not to do, and she went and fucking did it.”

“She’s angry with me,” I confess. “I hurt my girl too much.”

I sit up and tap the address in the text bubble. When directions appear on the console, I put the car in reverse again and pull out. It’ll take me an hour to get to her mom’s place. I’ll probably be late, but I don’t care what they think about me. I want to be there for Bella.

“Good to know you still think of her as your girl,” Tom says quietly. “But you’re right, you hurt her, and you deserve to suffer for that.”

His words are like a knife to the chest. “I know. I don’t deserve her.”

Within minutes, I’m stuck in traffic. Dammit . For once, can’t the universe give me a break?

“Are you cheating on her?” he asks, his tone firm. For maybe the first time since I met him, his easygoing demeanor has vanished.

“No. I don’t want anyone else. I love Bella.”

“That’s nice to hear, Walker. Start acting like it,” he chides. With that, he hangs up.

My music immediately blares—a punk song from some random playlist. It’s exactly what I need to calm my nerves.

Please let her be safe.

Her mom’s yard is neatly kept, with a few well-manicured trees. The two-story house is white, with a high-pitched roof and tidy flowerbeds. The small porch is covered, giving me a reprieve from the rain that started halfway here.

I hold the bouquet of flowers I stopped for down the street.

I’m ten minutes late, and arriving empty-handed felt wrong, even though I don’t care about making a good impression.

Bella’s mother put her through hell; she doesn’t deserve anything but disdain.

Still, I don’t want to give her any reason to give my girl shit.

When the door opens, a beautiful brunette comes into view.

Damn . I’d never considered that Bella could’ve inherited her beauty from her mother—probably because the woman in front of me is so ugly on the inside, while my girl has the purest heart.

“Hello,” she greets me. Her voice is melodic and light, just like Bella’s.

“Hey, um, I’m sorry for being late.” I extend the bouquet to her, and she takes it, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth. Fuck . One more thing her daughter inherited from her. “I’m Alexander, Bella’s boyfriend.”

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Alexander.” She smiles. “I’m Samantha.”

“Nice to meet you too.” I nod. “Again, I’m sorry for being late. Practice ran long.”

“That’s okay. You came, and that’s what matters.” She steps aside. “Come on in. We haven’t started yet.”

Hands in my pockets, I step into the house. Instantly, a strange energy vibrates around me. This is where Bella grew up, the place where she suffered from her mother’s silent treatment and abuse, the place where she felt unwanted. The place where her stepdad?—

“Let’s go to the living room.” Samantha stops beside me.

The smile she gives me is also reminiscent of Bella’s, but unease fills my veins and turns my heart to stone.

Getting through this dinner will be harder than I thought.