Chapter 18
EIGHTEEN
COLTON
I stare at the meeting room door, mentally preparing myself for the ass-chewing Gabriel’s about to hand me, but before I can lift my first to knock, the door swings open.
Gabriel leans against the frame, one brow raised. “Are you planning on standing out here all day, or are you coming in?”
I clench my jaw and step past him into the room. The room lights are painfully bright after the dim hallway, and the faint smell of fresh coffee clings to the air. Gabriel shuts the door behind us before rounding the long table and dropping into the chair behind his desk.
I take my usual seat across from him—the same one I sit in during team meetings—and brace my forearms on my knees.
Gabriel sighs. “What you did today was reckless,” he says flatly, folding his hands together on the desk. “It could’ve cost us our first gold of the season.”
I roll my eyes before I can stop myself, and instantly regret it when his expression hardens.
“I don’t think you understand the gravity of losing that gold,” he says, pushing back from his desk. He starts pacing slowly across the room, restless energy radiating off him “Do you?”
I shrug, trying to come off indifferent. “We drop from first place on the leaderboard.”
Gabriel gives a humourless smile. “That’s part of it.” He stops pacing and turns toward me. “What happens to the team ranking affects the individual rankings too.”
I frown. “What do you mean?”
He walks over and perches on the table, clasping his hands together.
“Let’s use Kairi as an example,” he says. “Say she’s tied in points with a girl from another team at the end of the season. The judges start looking at tie-breakers.”
I nod slowly.
“One of those tie-breakers is team performance. So, gold medals and consistency.” His eyes lock onto mine. “If we’d lost today because of your stunt, there’s a real chance Kairi could’ve lost her shot at the World Surf Tour.”
My stomach drops so fast it feels like the floor disappears beneath me.
“What? When did that rule come into effect?”
“The rules change every year,” Gabriel says. “So I hope you understand how serious this is.”
I drag a hand over my face, guilt crashing into me all at once. “I thought I was protecting her,” I mutter. “I didn’t realize I could’ve been screwing her over too.”
Gabriel studies me carefully for a moment before sighing. “Well, you didn’t just risk Kairi,” he says. “You risked everyone on this team.”
“Right.” I lean back in my chair and stare at the floor. “I’m sorry, Coach—”
“No. I don’t want an apology, Colton. I want a promise,” he says, cutting me off. “The next time someone says something to your teammate that you don’t like, you do not throw punches. Not while representing this team. You understand me?”
I nod once. “Yeah.”
“That’s not a promise.”
I force myself to hold his stare. “I promise I won’t throw anymore punches.”
The room falls quiet and Gabriel pushes off the table and returns to his desk, lowering himself into his chair slowly this time.
“Good. Because the next time you fight someone while representing this team…” His cold eyes hold mine. “You’re gone.”
The words hit hard. Gone, just like that. Like I’m easily replaceable; like after everything I did today—stepping up for Griffin, a perfect score, the win—it still doesn’t matter whether I’m here or not.
A familiar numbness crawls through my chest, one I’ve felt before back when my father looked me dead in the eyes and told me surfing was a waste of my life; back when he made me choose between my family and the only thing that’s ever made me feel free and happy.
And when I chose surfing, he stopped looking at me like I was his son.
I swallow hard and shove all of it down where it belongs, because I’m used to this. I’m used to people only loving what I can do for them until I become an inconvenience.
“Got it, Coach,” I say evenly. “Anything else?”
Gabriel watches me for a beat too long, noticing the way I shut down, but he doesn’t comment on it.
“Yeah, one more thing,” he says. “Griffin’s going to miss a good chunk of the season so you’ll be covering his position while he’s out.”
“Understood,” I say quietly, standing from my chair.
Gabriel narrows his eyes. “You don’t seem very excited.”
I almost laugh. Was this supposed to excite me? I’m still a substitute, still only here because someone else couldn’t be.
“I’m happy, Coach,” I lie smoothly. “Just still feeling the pain of that punch.”
He studies me for another second before finally waving me off. “Get some rest. Practice resumes tomorrow morning.”
I node once and leave without another word. The house is quiet, most of the team out for dinner. I head upstairs, straight to my room, and the second the door shuts behind me, my phone vibrates in my pocket.
I pull it out of my pocket and take a seat on my bed as I open the message. It’s a mirror selfie from Kairi of her outfit for our date tonight. I stare at it, longer than I should, and do something I know I’ll regret as I begin typing.
Colton:
Sorry to do this, but I need to cancel tonight.
Got a killer headache.
Going to sleep it off now. Night.
I watch as three dots appear and disappear a few times before they disappear completely without a response. I toss my phone on the nightstand and fall back onto my bed, staring at the ceiling in anger.
A knock at my door pulls me out of my thoughts and before I can even sit up properly, Kairi barrels in, still wearing the dress. She’s holding a glass of water in one hand and pain killers in another.
“I wanted to bring these up before you fell asleep,” she says carefully. “Thought they might help.”
I don’t say anything as she crosses my room and sets both down on my nightstand before turning toward me.
“Did your talk with Gabriel go okay?” she asks.
“Yep.”
Her brow furrows slightly and I know it’s because of my clipped answer. I’ve never spoken to her so curtly before.
“Did something happen?”
The nervousness in her voice makes guilt claw violently in my chest.
“No, Kairi.”
“Then why are you acting like this?” she asks. “Is it because I said I wanted to know more about you?”
The exhausted sigh that leaves me makes her visibly flinch, and I hate myself for it.
“No,” I mutter again.
She hesitates before her eyes drop toward the ice pack on my bed.
“Did Gabriel tell you what he saw happen between me and Zale in the kitchen?” she asks in a quieter voice.
I finally look up. “What are you talking about?”
She swallows hard. “I couldn’t reach the ice pack, so Zale grabbed it for me.”
“And?”
“And…” Her fingers twist together nervously. “He said it’s a shame you and I are together instead of me and him.”
Hot anger burns its way through my chest, possessive and ugly.
“We’re fake dating though,” she rushes to add. “So technically what he said isn’t that bad.”
“Does Zale know we’re fake dating?”
She’s quiet for a moment before she shakes her head. “Well…no.”
“Then like I’ve said before, Kairi, it is that bad.”
I stand abruptly, grabbing the ice pack and heading for the door to get some distance from this house before I do something stupid again, but her hand wraps around my wrist before I can reach the hallway.
“Where are you going?”
I gently pull free from her grip. “I need some space.”
She winces. “From me?”
I look away because seeing the hurt in her eyes feels unbearable.
“No,” I say quietly. “From this house.”