Page 9

SHIT SHOW

XANDER

A year and one month ago

July

Fucking Miller!

It’s hot and humid, and I’m drenched in sweat as I crunch up, then down again. The sun is high in the sky, and out here on the field, there’s no hiding from it.

Miller stands about ten feet away with the team’s PT, Leah. He’s flirting with her, making her laugh.

He’s fucking human trash. How can she not see it?

I look away, keeping my focus on my warm-up.

Thirty-one, thirty-two, thirty-three, thirty-four ?—

“Walker!”

Annoyance runs through me, heating my blood further. Why can’t he leave me the fuck alone? I have no desire to play his game and act like we’re friends.

“Xander!”

I roll up and hop to my feet in one move. “What?”

“Come here; don’t be a pussy.” Miller holds my gaze, challenging me.

I focus on breathing, on remaining calm. I can’t let myself be aggressive or reckless. Bella is right. This is my team. I love it here. I have friends. I won’t give all that up because of this asshole.

“Sup?” I stop by Leah’s side, my eyes narrowed on Miller.

“Your teammate here doesn’t want to take no for an answer.

” Leah turns my way and tucks a strand of long red hair behind her ear, her green eyes reflecting the humor in her voice.

This woman has a very sharp tongue. She could’ve sent Miller packing a long time ago if she wanted, which means she’s enjoying his attention. “Any tips on how to get rid of him?”

“As if they’d work. Especially now.” Miller barks a laugh. “Tell her about college,” he goads me. “I was a good friend, wasn’t I?”

I snort, and his expression instantly darkens.

Does he really think I’m going to play along?

“A good friend?” I huff. “Not so much. Good on the field? Yes.”

Leah chuckles lightly but quickly tries to disguise it with a cough. “You know, it’s suddenly too hot out here. The level of testosterone on this field is more than I can handle.”

“You work with football players.” Miller sneers, his lip curling. “You should be used to it by now.”

Her smile disappears. “Exactly. I work with football players, and I’m used to being surrounded by sweat, muscles, and cursing.

But I don’t have even the slightest desire to get used to being surrounded by assholes.

Back off.” She turns to me. “I hope to see you on Friday. Your left hand needs a bit of work.”

I dip my chin. “I’ll be there.”

It takes everything in me to contain my glee. She made my day, putting Miller in his place like that.

As she walks away, Jake’s gaze burns a hole in the side of my head. Looks like I’ll need to deal with the fucker on my own now.

“What?” I ask, brows raised.

“You could’ve helped me,” he hisses through his gritted teeth.

I scoff. “Why should I?” Why the hell would I want to do that?

“Because I know the truth about you but decided to keep it to myself.” Miller takes a step closer, dropping his voice. “You should be grateful I don’t want to ruin your reputation.”

“The truth? My reputation?”

“I’ve had a lot of time to think, and something occurred to me.” He takes another step, putting us almost chest to chest. “You have a little hoe at home.”

Anger flashes through me. I flex my jaw, my fists balled. “Don’t you dare call her that.”

“Why?” he mocks, tilting his head to the side.

“When did she first let you fuck her? The first time she came to your house? Or after the club, when you took her home because she saw me with Regina?” He lets out a derisive laugh.

“Or was it after she ran away from my parents’ house and gave me that bullshit about needing a break? ”

He brings a hand to my shoulder and pushes, but I stand my ground. There’s no way in hell I’m letting him get a rise out of me. This is just a training camp. If I lose my temper now, what’s going to happen when the season starts?

“After your breakup.” I hold his gaze.

“Do you think I’m a fool?” Miller hits my shoulder again, a little harder this time.

I swear, if he does it again, I’ll break his fucking nose.

“You kinda are,” I spit, my anger boiling inside me as I take a step back.

Miller charges at me, this time with a closed fist to my jaw. I stumble back, but only a step.

I take half a second to collect myself, then connect my fist with his damned nose. It cracks, and blood pours from it.

The third time’s the charm .

It only makes him angrier. He rushes at me, and we fall to the ground. I hold him by his collar and dodge his blows and kicks, but in a matter of seconds, I’m covered in his blood. Fuck .

“I remember the call, when I fucking invited you to the gym.” He gets in a hit to my ribs. “You said you had a girl at your place.”

Another jab. This one’s enough to make me groan, but I don’t let go.

The motherfucker is furious, and my hold only aggravates him more. “You said some shit about her being the most beautiful girl in the world. It was her… It was my fucking girl!”

I hit him in the face again, drawing a long growl out of him. My own vision blurs as I whack him in the gut, then jump to my feet.

Miller squeezes his eyes shut and brings an arm to his stomach. Half the team is here, watching, unsure of whether or not to step in. This has nothing to do with the game. It’s between Miller and me. It’s personal.

“She was never yours,” I growl.

“Xander!” Drew calls my name from somewhere on my left. “Don’t.”

Jake slowly sits up, his expression pure rage. “She’s a whore.” He hauls himself to his feet, never looking away from me. “The bitch is a slut, and I’d advise you to be careful. Once a cheater, always a cheater.”

I lunge for the fucker, but Drew puts me in a headlock, stopping me from beating the living shit out of this scumbag.

“What the hell is going on?” Coach bellows. “Miller! Walker! Are you out of your damn minds?”

With his hands on his hips, Coach scans the group, eyeing the blood that’s still dripping down Miller’s face. Then he focuses his gaze on me. I snarl in return. My irritation is at an all-time high. I’m so fucking done with all of this.

“Get the hell out of here!” Coach yells. “All of you. Practice is over.”

Surprise hits me like a punch to the gut. Really? I didn’t expect him to let us off the hook that easily.

I force my muscles to relax, silently signaling to Drew that he can release his hold on me.

Coach’s next words halt me in my tracks. “Where the hell do you think you’re going, Walker?”

“I’m just…” I trail off, threading my fingers through my hair. “Nowhere.”

“Good,” he spits. As the guys wander off, Coach keeps his focus locked on me. Once the three of us are alone, he sighs. “What the fuck are you two doing? You’re a fucking team! You should have each other’s backs! If you’re focused on fighting one another, we won’t have a chance on the field.”

“That fucker stole my girl,” Miller barks, wiping blood off his face. “He has no morals or any respect.”

“If it wasn’t for me, you would’ve raped her.” I take a step closer to him, but Coach puts a hand on my chest, keeping me away. “That’s how you treat your girl?”

“Fuck,” Coach groans, running his hand down his face. “Listen to me very carefully. Either you two assholes learn how to coexist and work as a team, or we’ll need to think about trading one of you.”

“I was here first.” Miller looks at the sky, pinching his nose to try and stop the bleeding.

“That doesn’t mean shit,” Coach rasps.

It hits me in that moment—I’ll do anything to stay. Football is my passion. My life. This team is my home, and I have no intention of being forced out because of this fucking jerk. Especially because of him.

“Do you understand me?”

“Yes.” I nod, wincing a little. Miller’s jab to my ribs was extra hard. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re bruised. Bella won’t be happy. About any of this.

“Miller?” Coach asks, his eyes narrowed.

“What?” Jake bites. “Can I go inside? I need to stop the bleeding. This fucker loves to break my nose.”

“Go.”

Miller takes off, striding across the field. He probably never imagined his spot on the team could be taken from him, but now he’s been warned. He shouldn’t get his hopes up. Neither should I.

“Is it true?” Coach asks, his tone low, somber.

I blink away my tormented thoughts and focus on him.

“That I stole his girlfriend?” I ask. “Or that he would’ve raped her if it wasn’t for me?”

“Both.” He clenches his jaw, his hands balled into fists. “Obviously, I’m privy to all the gossip the media has put out there. I never asked because it never affected your game, but I’m asking now.”

With a single nod, I tell him how Miller treated Bella. Then I explain what happened at my house when Miller found out about our relationship.

“Why didn’t you come to me about this?” Coach puts his hand on my shoulder. “Why didn’t she file charges against him?”

I shrug. “She was worried about my career.”

Coach shakes his head, taking a step back. “What he did was a fucking crime.”

I let out a defeated sigh. “He assaulted her, but all she was worried about was how it would affect my career if the media caught wind of me beating him up. She was the victim, so it was her decision to make, even if I didn’t like it.

But after he went to rehab and the news about Bella and me broke…

it was a done deal. No one would’ve believed us. ”

When it all went down, I called an old friend from college who’s a lawyer.

He said, considering our situation, if we went public with the story, things could get worse for Bella.

Once Miller went to rehab, and especially after the statement he made wishing us happiness, it would look insincere to come out and claim he’d assaulted her.

There was a good chance the world wouldn’t believe her if she spoke up.

How fucked up is that? If Bella had spoken up, his PR team surely would’ve turned the tables, portraying her as a slut who cheated on Miller and tried to destroy his reputation after their breakup.

People love to pity assholes and put the blame on women, and I didn’t want that for her, even if I did want him punished.

“Listen, this has to be tough for you, but you’re a great guy and an incredibly talented player. I want you on this team,” Coach assures me.

Relief threads its way through me. “I won’t let you down. I’m used to pretending I’m okay with him, trust me. I can do it again.”

Coach arches an eyebrow at me. “Do I want to know?”

I shake my head. I’m not in the mood to air Miller’s dirty laundry. I want to forget about that jackass. For good.

“Go. Carter’s eyeing us from the doorway.”

“Thanks, Coach.”

Drew pulls open the locker room door as I approach. He follows me inside but doesn’t speak. The quiet puts me at ease. Just having the silent support of a friend means everything.

Thirty minutes later, I climb into my car. I’m exhausted, and my head hurts. I’ve just started the engine when my phone dings.

Stacey:

Hey! How was your first day of training camp?

Me:

Hey. It was total shit

Stacey:

Why?

Me:

Long story

Stacey:

Wanna talk about it over lunch tomorrow?

Me:

Sounds good. I’ll text you in the morning

Stacey:

Okay. Have fun

Me:

You too

I toss my phone into my bag and drive away from the stadium. It’s time to go home to Bella.