Page 17

Chapter 17

Carter

Henley: Plan is a go. Coach is clear of the building. Everything is set up and message is about to be sent.

I t’s been forty minutes since Henley sent the message and not a peep from Chase. He’s been holed up in his room since class let out, working on a paper that’s due in his English Lit class. That’s my brother; it’s Friday and instead of chilling or hitting the bar, he’s working on a school assignment. Guess that’s why he’s an A student and I’m a solid B, bordering on C. Not that I care as long as I maintain my grades to play hockey.

I grab my jacket off my bed, stopping at my bedroom door long enough to send two messages.

One to Henley.

Me: On our way.

And the other to Ginny.

Me: Thanks for getting your dad out of the rink. Want to come by tonight?

She doesn’t take long to respond back.

Pixie: I’ll try but I can’t make any promises. Currently at dinner with Dad and unfortunately, Antony.

Immediately, I see red, knowing that somehow that fucker wormed his way into spending time with her. Time that was meant for her and her dad. For her to distract him.

Well, it’s time to find out what his reaction to this little meeting is, because I need to get both him and Blake firmly imprisoned behind the locker room doors. I shut my door as I step out into the hallway, making my way down it to the next door on the left.

“Are you ready?” I pop my head into Chase’s room.

“For what?” I raise my eyebrow in confusion at his response.

“Did you not check your messages? Henley’s calling a team meeting. We have to be there in thirty minutes and we still need to pick up Blake.” I can’t help but notice his heavy sigh.

“What’s the meeting about? Did he say?” he asks as he stands from his desk, moving across the room to his nightstand, where his phone is plugged into the charger.

“It’s about the tension on the team. I’m sure you can figure it out for yourself.”

“Fucking great. More of my love life being put on display for the whole team. Wasn’t Blake’s rejection punishment enough?” Chase mumbles under his breath and it takes everything in me to keep a straight face.

“Well, you were the one who made the grand proclamation of love in front of the whole team.”

“Yeah, that didn’t exactly go well for me. All it did was drive us completely apart.” He slides the phone into his pocket and picks up his jacket off the bed. “Let’s go and get this over with.”

I step back, allowing him space to leave his room, and follow behind him down the hall.

“Who’s driving?” he asks, not even looking back at me. “Let me check if Max needs a ride.”

“I will. I’m sure if he did, he would’ve asked.” God, I hope that works. Or else I’m going to have to come up with something to keep him from trying to call him.

“Yeah, you’re probably right.”

I blow out a breath of relief, locking the door behind us as we exit. I click the remote on the keys, unlocking the truck doors for Chase. He gets into the passenger seat, no doubt making sure there’s no way Blake can sit beside him.

“Have you talked to Blake about where the two of you stand?” I ask him as I slide in behind the steering wheel.

“What’s there to talk about? He made it clear. I was a mistake. One he regrets making. There’s nothing else to say.” He clips his seatbelt in place, then lets his head fall back against the seat as he gazes out the window.

“You know he didn’t mean it. He was upset. He felt like you were ashamed of him, wanting to put him in the closet, and hide what you are to each other.”

Chase’s head swings in my direction. His lips are firmly pressed together as he glares at me.

“Are you siding with him? He fucking got pissed and went out and cheated on me instead of trying to talk to me about it. I’m your damn brother, Carter. Where’s the loyalty?”

“You have my fucking loyalty. No matter what. All I’m asking is for the both of you to put aside your anger and just talk.” I grip the steering wheel tighter, my knuckles going white. I need to get myself together or I’m going to ruin what I’m about to do. “I’m sorry. I just want the both of you to be happy, and I know being together will do that.”

He doesn’t say anything. I can see him looking at me out of the corner of my eye, but I don’t say anything more. We still need to get Blake, and then I need to get both of them in the damn locker room. This insane plan of mine has to go off without a hitch. They have to repair their fractured relationship before we can pursue fixing the one with Ginny.

She’s it for me. Mom always said I’d know it when I found the woman I wanted to spend eternity with. My only thoughts would be of her and nothing else would be important. From the time my eyes open until they close at the end of the day, my only thoughts would be of her. It’s what I have with Ginny.

We spend the rest of the ride in silence. Neither of us utters a word until we pull up in front of Blake’s building. He’s standing underneath the awning, his back leaning against the brick wall as he scrolls through his phone. He’s so into whatever he’s looking at, he hasn’t noticed us as we pull up to the curb. Honking the horn, he lifts his head, flashing a smile as he slides his phone into his pocket. Pushing off the wall, he heads in our direction, climbing in the truck behind Chase.

“Any clue why Henley’s calling a meeting today? Isn’t the rink shut down for the weekend?” Blake asks, shutting the door, then taking hold of the seatbelt, clicking it in place.

“Us,” Chase answers, his voice hard and full of anger.

“Oh,” is all Blake has to say before we all settle into an uncomfortable silence. This is going to be a long ride to the rink, especially with the both of them hating being in the same space.

It takes fifteen minutes to get to the rink and Chase sits upright, his eyes rapidly scanning the parking lot before he turns to face me.

“Are you sure this is where we’re supposed to be? There’s no one here,” Chase asks, already pulling out his phone, taking his first look at the message Henley sent.

Shit! The one fucking thing I forgot to account for. Luckily, I see Henley’s car sitting right in front of the door.

“Guess we’re just early for once in our lives. But look,” I point in the direction of the door. “Henley’s car is right there.” I pull into the empty spot beside him and slowly let out a breath, waiting to see if either of them is going to say something back in response.

They don’t.

I turn off the truck and we all get out, heading in a single file line toward the door.

Blake reaches out, opening the door, then steps back, allowing me and Chase to enter first.

“Hey guys. Looks like you’re not the last ones here for a change.” Henley lets out a boisterous laugh. “Okay guys, this is a phone free meeting. I want to ensure there are no distractions, so I need you to drop your phones into the bag on the table and head inside the locker room. As soon as everyone is here, we’ll get started. Carter, I need to speak with you for a moment,” he looks toward Blake and Chase before adding, “in private.”

“Sure. Save me a seat?” I ask Chase.

“Yeah.” He lowers his head, stopping at the table long enough to drop the phone in the bag, followed by Blake. As soon as they both step through the door and into the locker room, Henley and I dart toward it, swinging both sides shut, locking it from the outside.

The sound of fists slamming against the heavy doors echo through the empty rink, the sharp, furious thuds reverberating off the walls. Each pounding strike is followed by a shouted curse, the raw frustration in their voices cutting through the air like a blade.

“What the hell is this?!” Blake’s voice roars from the other side of the door, his rage unmistakable. “Let us out of here!”

Chase isn’t far behind, his tone just as livid. “What the fuck, Carter? Open the damn door!” Another loud bang rattles the frame and I almost fear they're going to be able to burst through the door with their combined efforts. “This is bullshit!”

I stand firmly in my decision to do this, crossing my arms over my chest as I step back slightly from the door. I call back, my voice calm and unwavering. “This is for your own good.”

A brief, stunned silence follows before another furious round of fists slamming against the metal begins.

“You have this whole weekend to work your shit out,” I shout, raising my voice over their protests. “Get everything out on the table and fix your relationship. Both of you are being stubborn as hell, and this is the only way that I can see you working it out.”

Blake lets out a sharp, humorless laugh. “You expect us to sleep on the cold-ass floor, freezing, starving, for a whole fucking weekend?”

Chase speaks next, his voice dripping with disbelief. “You left us with nothing ? Trapping us like caged animals.”

I can’t help but smirk, knowing that part isn’t entirely true. “You have food. The fridge has everything you need. And there’s an air mattress.” I pause a moment for dramatic effect. “You’ll be fine.”

There’s another furious slam, followed by what sounds like something being kicked over inside the locker room.

“I’ll be checking in on you,” I add, amusement creeping into my voice. “Just don’t kill each other.”

Another bout of cursing follows my remark, but Henley and I are already turning away. I glance over, meeting Henley’s gaze, as we both exchange a silent moment of understanding.

“Thanks, man,” I tell him, glancing once more at the locked door, the only thing keeping the two of them in the same room to sort out their shit with no one interfering.

“No problem,” Henley replies, voice low. “I just hope this works.”

Without another word, we both stride out of the building, locking the doors behind us and out of range of the furious shouts of Chase and Blake.

God, this plan needs to work. I need my brother and best friend to be able to be around each other again and all this tension to dissipate. I need them together and for all of us to be with Ginny.