41. Xander
Ihead to center ice, ready for the puck drop. I’m facing off with Del Richards.
When he smirks at me, every muscle in my body tenses. Whenever we pair up for a face-off, he’s usually glaring at me. But judging by the look on his face, he knows about my sex tape being leaked. He’s going to give me shit over it during the game, I just know it.
The ref drops the puck and I hit it back to Theo, who takes off with it toward the Wolves net.
Del shoves me, but I ignore him and skate after Theo. Theo takes a shot at the net but misses. One of the Nashville defenders takes possession and races toward our net.
I take off to the other end of the ice. There’s a scramble near our goal between the Nashville defenders and our defenders that leads to the puck landing in the corner of the ice.
I head over, grab it, and skate as fast as I can to the Wolves goalie. I dodge one of their defenders and close in on the net. When I’m close, I pull my favorite move: I move like I’m going to shoot it, but I stop short. Their goalie dives and I smash the puck into the net, scoring the first goal of the game.
The entire arena explodes. The fans are on their feet hollering. Adrenaline rockets through me as my teammates congratulate me on the goal. Not gonna lie, it feels really fucking good to show everyone that I’m still at the top of my game, despite all the bullshit happening with me off the ice.
As my teammates and I head toward center ice, I hear Del holler at me.
“Nice goal, asshole. Too bad it’s not enough to distract everyone from your shitty little sex tape.”
Anger bubbles up inside of me. I ignore him.
“You’re a porn star now. Why even bother with hockey anymore,” he taunts.
Theo skates over. “Fuck off, Del,” he mutters.
Del glowers at Theo, then looks at me. “Told you you’d regret stealing my girl.”
A switch flips in my brain at what he just said. When Makenna and I met, she had just broken up with Del…she and I hooked up a day after she ended it with him…he was pissed at me then and he’s pissed at me now…which means that Del probably had something to do with leaking the video…
How did I not realize this sooner?
Rage pumps through me like lava. I move around Theo and drop my stick and gloves. And then I tackle Del.
With my left hand, I grab the neck of his jersey and hold him still as I punch him in the jaw. And then I wind up and punch him in the face again. And again.
I don’t even feel the impact against my fist even though I’m hitting him over and over. It’s like my entire body has gone numb. Nothing registers. Just pure rage.
After a few seconds, Del lands a punch to the side of my face. I don’t feel that either though. It’s like I’m on autopilot. The anger inside of me has taken over completely. I want to hurt him just like he’s hurt me.
I don’t know how long we pummel each other, but at some point, we land on the ice. The linesmen pull us apart and stand us up. The ringing in my ears fades and I hear the cheers of the crowd.
The taste of metal fills my mouth. I spit a glob of blood on the ice. That’s when the pain finally registers. My entire face is throbbing. Mouth, jaw, temple, nose.
I look at Del and see that the left side of his face is bloody. His left eye is swollen too.
“Fuck you, Williams,” he snarls.
I yank out of the linesman’s hold and charge Del. I grab the front of his jersey.
“After what you did, you’re lucky you’re still alive, you fucking scumbag,” I bark.
My teammates are the ones to yank me away from Del this time.
I expect Del to glower at me or threaten me. But he just looks confused.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Del says. “I didn’t do shit.”
“Are you fucking serious? You’re the one who leaked the video of Makenna and me. Or maybe you got someone else to do it, I don’t fucking know. All I know is that you’re trying to destroy me because I dated your ex six years ago.”
Del looks at me like I’ve lost my mind. He doesn’t say a word.
“I always knew you were an asshole, Del, but I never thought you’d sink this low.”
My throat is raw from how loud I’m yelling at him. Around me, my teammates trade confused glances with each other.
Del’s frown deepens. He huffs out a breath and blinks at me. “You think I leaked that video of you two?”
I throw up my hands. “Who else could it be? You wanted to murder me for hooking up with Makenna after you two broke up. And what you said earlier. ‘Told you you’d regret stealing my girl.’ So fucking obvious it was you.”
I hunch over, bracing my hands on my legs as I catch my breath. My head is pounding. Jesus, I feel like shit. And not just because of all the punches I just took to the face. But because confronting Del is fucking draining.
As the refs separate us and start telling us off, I straighten back up, but Del interrupts them.
“You seriously think it was me?” he asks. I’m thrown by how offended he sounds.
I look him straight in the eye. “Yeah. I do.”
He shakes his head. His shoulders sink. “I didn’t do it.”
I jolt at the defeat in his tone, how upset he looks right now.
“Then why did you say that earlier?”
Del hesitates. “I don’t know.” He wipes his bloody nose against the back of his wrist. The left sleeve of his jersey is dotted with blood. His chest heaves as he takes a breath. “You’re right though. It was a pretty fucked up thing to say.”
I stand there, shocked at the defeat in his voice, the shame that flashes in his eyes.
“I’m sorry,” he says.
I stare at him, stunned. I’ve never heard this guy apologize for anything. Even the refs and linesmen are looking at him in shock.
Before I can react, we’re hauled off to the penalty boxes. I fall onto the bench, my skull feeling like it’s about to split in half. I look over at Del sitting in the box next to me, staring straight ahead, a sad, blank look in his eyes. Bashers fans smack the glass and taunt him, but he doesn’t even blink.
And in that moment, with the crowd yelling around us and our teammates battling it out on the ice, I know Del’s telling the truth. He didn’t leak the tape.