10. Chapter Ten
Chapter Ten
Cameron
“You need to call her.”
“No way,” I argue with my dad.
“Did you read what she said about you?”
“Yes. It’s all lies. I never treated her that way.”
“She was a bully.” Dad says the words I haven’t been able to say myself. “And that needs to be shared with the public. It’s not fair that she’s trying to ruin your career.”
“She’s not thinking about my career—Lacey doesn’t care about me. She only cares about herself … and she probably thought a tell-all would launch her forward.” I sigh, running my fingers through my hair as I sit in my car, waiting a few extra minutes before I go into practice at the rink .
I know Nila will be there, and for some reason, I can’t stomach seeing her right now. But it’s got nothing to do with the fact that she was in Tucker’s car last night.
Okay, well, maybe a little.
“Maybe if you call her and explain yourself, she can recant,” Dad continues. “The two of you dated for nearly six months. There must be something you can do.”
“Sure, we dated for six months, but I only saw her a handful of times in person. She doesn’t even really know me. Our entire relationship was long distance.”
“Yeah, so tell her that.”
“I don’t think it’ll work, Dad. The damage has already been done. And considering I punched a fan, it’s not implausible for—”
“There’s a difference between occasionally getting angry in defense of someone you love and being called a narcissist,” Dad cuts me off sternly. “Cam, you and I both know you’ve always been selfless. You’ve always put your friends and family first. You’re not the person she made you out to be.”
“Good luck convincing the world of that,” I snort, rubbing the emotions welling up in my eyes.
I feel like an idiot.
I should be angry. I should be making a huge scene, flipping tables or something. But instead, my eyes feel wet.
Gross .
“It’s worth a try.” His voice softens. “Just give her a call, will ya?”
I nod. “Okay, I’ll try.”
“Love you, son.”
I smile. “Yeah, love you, too. Good luck with your date tonight. Hopefully, she won’t dump you because of me.”
“She doesn’t even like hockey.”
“Perfect.” I laugh, hanging up and setting the phone on the console so I can finally breathe.
I never thought I’d have to talk to Lacey again, especially considering she’s the one who broke up with me. But I also never thought she’d say all those things about me.
I may have a reputation for being a hothead on the ice, but I would never treat a woman that way. My mom taught me better than that.
After a couple deep breaths, I pick my phone back up and scroll to her number—one I’ve almost deleted more than once.
Guess it’s a good thing I didn’t.
I hit the call button and put it up to my ear—so no one walking by will be able to hear—and then I brace myself.
“Um ... hello?” Her voice is as curt as always.
“Hey, Lacey, it’s Cameron,” I say robotically. The words don’t even feel like they’re coming out of my mouth.
She laughs. “Yeah, I know. I’ve been wondering when you’d call me.”
“Uh, yeah,” I mumble. “That article ... it’s not fair. ”
“I’m sorry, what?”
“The interview. You said I was a—”
“I said what I said, Cameron. Get over it.”
“Yeah, but it’s—”
“It’s just a tabloid.”
“Okay, but this is my life, Lacey. And because of what you said, I might get kicked off—”
“Oh my gosh, not everything is about you.”
My face begins to heat up with frustration. “Please stop talking over me.”
“Well, you’re clearly expecting me to apologize, but I’m done being a little doormat for everyone. I’m in my villain era, thanks, and I don’t care, Cameron. No one even cares about hockey.”
“Really? Then why are you bringing up my name? Because it seems to me like you’re trying to use me as a stepping stone to fame,” I snap at her. “That’s messed up, and you know it. We barely even saw each other during the six months we were together, and you—”
“I broke up with you. Yeah, I know.” She snorts. “You seriously tried to make it out like we were actually going somewhere, and we both know that’s a lie. But I saw the video of you with that fan. It was disgusting, Cameron. You’re a hothead. Your actions are embarrassing.”
Yeah, this was a mistake.
“Don’t call me again,” she sneers before hanging up .
“Wow, okay,” I mutter to myself before reaching for the ignition and turning off my car. I gather my gear and climb out, slinging my bag over my shoulder and using my knee to shut the door. As I do, I catch sight of a redhead slipping out of the back of a black SUV. My heart thumps extra hard as I watch Nila give the driver a wave and a sweet smile.
Lucky them .
I pull my eyes away from her and head toward the rink.
Less than twenty-four hours ago, I felt like we had a moment outside of the dive bar … but I know whatever little spark was there has probably been smothered. It’s amazing how much can change in such little time.
I squeeze my eyes shut as I think about her expression when she saw the article.
Yikes. She probably thinks I’m a terrible person.
“Cameron?” Nila calls out to me, but I keep walking. “Hey, wait. I need to talk to you.”
I glance over my shoulder, surprised to see her running to catch up. I stop for her. “About what?”
“I, um...” Her voice trails off as she meets my gaze. “Are you okay? Tucker said you were pretty upset. We never got a chance to talk about it at the bar—and you never texted me back.”
I nod slowly, trying to read her cryptic expression. “It is what it is.”
She bites down on her lip. “Right ... but you never texted me back. ”
“I thought you were busy,” I say flatly, intrusive thoughts of my lawyer coming to my mind. He’s my friend, too, but right now I’m too overwhelmed to think of him in that capacity.
Nila is just a professional contact.
I can’t be jealous of them being together in any way.
“No, I wasn’t.” Her brows furrow. “Tucker drove me back to my hotel after the meeting. I was there the rest of the evening. I wasn’t busy at all.”
I nod, feeling stupid for even insinuating my jealousy. “Yeah, I’m sorry. It’s just been a day.”
Her lips turn downward. “Yeah, I understand.”
No, you don’t.
“I need to get to practice,” I tell her, feeling the shame settling back in.
I don’t know what it is about the article that causes me to feel so horrible—none of it is even true. Yet, as I glance over to Nila, I can’t help but wonder what she thinks about me now.
Does she think it’s true?
I tense my jaw as I hold the door open for her, gesturing for her to step through. She gives me a soft expression as she walks ahead, and I don’t know how to take it.
I’ve made her job a lot harder now, though. I do know that.
I head off toward the locker room before she can ask me any more questions. It’s not that I don’t want to hang around Nila, I just don’t even know what to say … and I’m certainly not in the mood to talk about what happened .
“Hey man,” Kade greets me with a sympathetic smile as I enter the locker room. “I’m surprised you came today.”
I furrow my brow. “Why wouldn’t I? It’s not like they’ve kicked me off the team. Not … yet, anyway,” I add, my voice falling as one of the rookies side-eyes me. I have the urge to stick my tongue out at him, but I don’t.
“Yeah,” Kade’s head drops as he finishes getting ready. “We’re all worried about you.”
“I know,” I mutter, ignoring the way his golden eyes show all his emotions. There’s never a question of how Kade is feeling. His eyes always give him away—and I hate the sympathy and concern in them right now.
“Cameron,” Coach Wilson calls from behind me. “A word.”
I spin around, my shoulders falling as I pull my skates out. “What’s up?”
“Come on.” He waves his hand for me to follow him, and I do, leaving my stuff behind.
Time to face the music .
We step out into the hallway, and as soon as the door closes, he continues. “I need to know—for my own sanity—are any of those allegations true?”
My mouth falls open. “Coach, you’ve got to be kidding me right now. I’ve been on this team for nearly five years.”
“I know that,” he says tersely. “Which is why, on a personal level, I need to know, Cameron.” Something falters in his voice, and I realize that this isn’t an attack on my character .
“It’s not true. You know better than anyone that I barely even saw her when we dated. We didn’t even talk all that much—which is why the breakup hit me so hard. It felt like we never even gave it a chance before she up and bailed. She landed the modeling contract she wanted, and that was it.”
He nods. “She did that interview for attention. I would think everyone can draw that conclusion themselves.”
“But here we are.” I sigh.
“You know I’ve got your back. And I need you on this team.”
“Yeah, but Mark has the final say. He always does.”
Coach Wilson claps me on the shoulder. “But I’ll do whatever I can.”
“Thanks, Coach.”
He glances up toward the stands. “I saw that Nila’s here.”
I nod, confused as to why he’s pointing her out. “Yeah, I saw her...”
“You know she didn’t have to be here today, right?” He tilts his head, giving me a funny look. “I figured she was just here to support you.”
“Oh...” My voice trails off while my heart leaps in excitement.
Except now I feel like a complete jerk for blowing her off in the lobby.
Ugh, this is all a mess.
“Anyway, go get ready. There’s a PR meeting scheduled after this. I’ll try to get you out of practice in time for you to at least eat dinner beforehand because I have no idea how long it’ll take.” He squeezes my shoulder and then heads for the rink, his assistants already setting up the drill course for us.
With a sigh, I head back into the locker room. It’s fuller than it was when I stepped out, and my eyes find Dylan and Blaze. I haven’t talked to either of them since the article came out.
“Dude, you’re here!” Dylan throws up his hands in surprise. “I figured you’d be at home crying and eating ice cream.”
“Ha ha.” I roll my eyes, though I must admit his humor is a relief—much better than freaking pity.
“I don’t think now is a good time for jokes.” Blaze glares at him before giving me an apologetic frown. “I hope you don’t let them kick you off the team without putting up a fight. I have a really good lawyer if you need one…”
“Thanks, but I’ve got Tucker. He can be a handful, but he’s good at what he does.”
Blaze nods, shrugging into a sweatshirt. “This whole mess is a load of crap. Everyone knows Lacey wasn’t even around when you were dating. She ghosted you more than she showed up when you were in town.”
“I know. But now it’s her word against mine, and after that fight, mine doesn’t look so great.”
“She’s just using you to try to get her fifteen minutes of fame.”
Some things never change .
“Well, I hope she thinks it’s worth it,” I grumble.
Because she’s on the verge of ruining my life.