Chapter 43 Unfinished Business
Unfinished Business
Harper
Two weeks pass in uneasy silence. Cole and Liam maintain their careful distance at practice, on the ice, at team events.
They're civil when they have to be, professional when Coach is watching, but the friendship is gone.
Everyone can feel it—the team walks on eggshells around them, conversations die when both of them enter a room, and I catch teammates exchanging worried glances during games.
Cole doesn't talk about it much. He comes home from practice tight-jawed and tense, works out his frustration in the gym or on runs with Rex, and pretends everything is fine.
But I see the way it eats at him. The way he stares at his phone sometimes like he's considering texting Liam, then sets it down without doing anything.
I don't know how to help. Every time I try to bring it up, he shuts down or changes the subject. So I do what I can—make his favorite dinners, show up to every game, remind him that I'm here and I'm not going anywhere.
But there's this weight between us now, this unspoken tension that wasn't there before. Like we're both waiting for something to break.
Tonight's party is at Marcus's place—another celebration, another win.
The team is on a roll, riding a ten-game winning streak that has scouts showing up to every game.
Cole should be happy, should be enjoying this success.
Instead, he's been quiet all night, nursing the same beer for the past hour while standing with Sirus and Tommy.
I'm talking to Maddie when the need to pee becomes urgent. Too many drinks, not enough bathroom breaks.
"I'll be right back," I tell her, weaving through the crowded living room toward the hallway.
The bathroom door opens just as I reach it, and Liam stands there.
We both freeze.
He's not stumbling drunk this time—his eyes are clear, movements steady. But there's something intense in the way he looks at me, something that makes my heart start racing.
He finishes buttoning his jeans, his eyes never leaving mine. "Trouble."
The nickname hits me in the chest. I haven't heard it directly in a clear voice in a while, and the familiarity of it makes something twist inside me. His blue-green eyes stare at mine, and I’m immediately reminded of the first night he approached me.
As stupid as it sounds, he holds a special place in my heart. I was heartbroken off of Bobby for far too long, and he helped me learn how to loosen up and have fun again.
But that night feels ages ago.
"I need to use the bathroom," I say, but my feet won't move.
Looks like his won’t either. He hesitates. "We should talk."
"There's nothing to talk about."
"Sure there is." He leans against the doorframe, blocking my path. "When can I call?"
"You can't."
"Why? Because you live with him now and you can't do something without him knowing?" His voice has an edge to it. "He controls you now?"
I shake my head. "We have nothing to talk about, Liam."
"We have unfinished business."
"No, we don't."
"Yes, we do."
My pulse is hammering. I glance over my shoulder, needing to see Cole, needing that anchor. He's across the room, but his eyes are already on me. He's been watching. And the look on his face makes my stomach drop.
"May I use the bathroom?" I ask, trying to keep my voice steady.
"No." Liam crosses his arms, not moving.
I look back at Cole again. This time his entire posture has changed—shoulders tense, jaw clenched, eyes locked on the bathroom door with an intensity that promises violence.
Liam notices where I'm looking and steps closer, lowering his voice. "I meant what I said that night. It's only a matter of time before you see his true colors."
My heart races like he knows something I don't, some secret about Cole that will shatter everything. But that's what he wants—to plant seeds of doubt, to make me question what I have. He's bluffing.
"Liam… please move."
He holds my gaze for another long moment, then steps aside. I slip past him into the bathroom and lock the door, pressing my back against it. My hands are shaking.
I stare at my reflection in the mirror. My face is flushed, eyes too bright, breathing too fast. What just happened? Why does every interaction with Liam feel like I'm walking through a minefield?
I force myself to use the bathroom, to wash my hands, to take a few deep breaths. When I finally unlock the door, there's immediate pounding.
"Harp, it's me."
I let Cole in quickly. He shuts the door behind him and locks it, his face dark with barely controlled rage.
"What did he say?" he demands.
I’m worried by looking at him.
“Tell me!” he demands.
I blink. "Uh. He wants to talk to me."
"About what?"
I shrug. "He said we have unfinished business. He accused me of being controlled by you, and that it's only a matter of time before I see your true colors."
Cole's hands clench into fists. "I'm gonna fucking kill him."
I grab his hand, trying to pull him back. "Cole. Please."
"Please what, Harper?" He looks at me, and there's something wild in his eyes. "Why are you protecting him?"
"I'm not—"
He's already pulling away, yanking open the door and storming into the hallway. I follow, my heart in my throat, but I'm not fast enough.
The living room erupts.
Cole goes straight for Liam, who's standing near the couch. I don't see the first punch, but I hear the impact, hear someone shout "Fight!" and suddenly everyone is moving, forming a circle, pulling out phones.
"Cole, stop!" I'm trying to push through the crowd, but people are blocking my way, too eager to watch.
I catch glimpses—Cole's fist connecting with Liam's jaw, Liam shoving Cole back, both of them grappling like they're trying to destroy each other. Sirus and Marcus are trying to pull them apart, but they're both too angry, too far gone.
I can't watch this. Can't stand here while they tear each other apart over me.
I push back through the crowd, grab my jacket from where I left it, and walk straight out the front door. The cold November air hits me like a slap, but I welcome it. I need the shock, need something to cut through the panic.
I pull out my phone and order an Uber with shaking fingers. Five minutes away.
Behind me, I can still hear the chaos—shouting, people cheering like this is entertainment. My hands won't stop shaking.
The Uber pulls up, and I get in without looking back.
At Cole's place, I move through the rooms like I'm on autopilot. Grab my overnight bag. Pack clothes, toiletries, my laptop and textbooks. Rex watches me, confused by the frantic energy.
"I'll see you later, buddy," I tell him, but my voice cracks.
My phone is buzzing nonstop—texts from Maddie, calls from Cole that I let go to voicemail. I can't talk to him right now. Can't process what just happened, can't explain why I left without waiting for him.
I just need space. Need to breathe. Need to not be the reason two best friends are trying to kill each other.
Another Uber. This time to Maddie and Sirus's apartment across campus. I text her on the way.
Me: Coming to yours. Don't ask.
Maddie: Door's unlocked.
Me: Is Cole okay?
Maddie: Don't know.
She's waiting when I arrive, pulling me into a hug before I can even set down my bag.
"What happened?" she asks.
"Liam cornered me at the bathroom. Said we needed to talk, that we have unfinished business. Cole saw us and..." I trail off, not needing to finish the sentence.
"They fought again."
"Yeah."
She pulls me to the couch, and I collapse onto it, suddenly exhausted. "I can't keep being the reason they destroy each other."
"This isn't your fault."
"It is, though. If I'd never hooked up with Liam, if I'd just said no that first night—"
"Then you wouldn't have Cole. And you love Cole."
"I do love him. So much it scares me sometimes." My voice breaks. "But I don't know if love is enough when everything else is falling apart."
“It’s not falling apart.”
“I don’t like how aggressive he is,” I admit.
Maddie smirks. “He’s a hockey player. It’s nothing, really. Don’t make it a thing.”
“I’m not making it a thing!”
My phone rings again. Cole. I stare at it until it goes to voicemail.
"You have to talk to him," Maddie says gently.
"I know. Just... not yet."
She doesn't push. We sit in silence until Sirus comes home twenty minutes later, looking grim.
"How bad?" Maddie asks.
"Bad. Marcus and I got them separated, but Cole's got a black eye and Liam's nose might be broken. Some genius filmed it and posted it to social media, so Coach is going to lose his shit tomorrow." He looks at me. "Cole's looking for you."
"I know."
"You should call him back."
"I will." But even as I say it, I'm not sure I'm ready.
My phone buzzes with a text.
Cole: Please tell me you're okay. I'm sorry. I'm so fucking sorry.
Then another.
Cole: I love you. Just let me know you're safe.
I type out a response with trembling fingers.
Me: I'm at Maddie's. I'm safe. I just need some space.
Cole: How much space?
Me: I don't know.
Cole: Harper please don't do this.
Me: I'm not doing anything. I just need time.
Cole: I love you.
Me: I love you too.
I set my phone face down on the coffee table and bury my face in my hands. Maddie rubs my back while Sirus makes tea nobody will drink.
"What am I supposed to do?" I ask no one in particular.
"Whatever feels right," Maddie says.
But nothing feels right. Not being at Cole's place without him. Not being here hiding from the mess I helped create. Not any of this.
I curl up on Maddie's couch and close my eyes, but sleep doesn't come. All I can see is Cole's face when he looked at me in that bathroom, the hurt and anger and betrayal all mixed together.
And underneath it all, Liam's voice: It's only a matter of time before you see his true colors.
What did he mean? What does he know that I don't?
The questions circle in my mind until dawn breaks through the windows, and I'm still awake, still confused, still wondering how everything got so broken so fast.