Chapter 30 #2
“My brother,” I whisper, then point. “Victor is here.”
Conrad’s brows lift.
My phone rings from the living room where I left it. I don’t have to run and check it to know it’s my brother. And more importantly, he can now hear that I’m inside.
“What do you want me to do?” Conrad asks. He doesn’t look panicked, but I know that he can see it on my face.
“Wait in the bedroom?” I ask. It’s possibly a shitty thing to do, but this is not how I pictured my brother finding out that I’m dating his archnemesis.
Conrad goes without saying another word, and I step back to the front door.
“Whitney!” Victor yells. His next knock sounds more like he’s pounding his fist on the other side.
I swing it open before he wakes up half the neighborhood.
“Hi.” My voice is breathless and a little too high-pitched as I face my brother.
“What the hell took so long?” He pushes past me into the house like he’s been here a million times before and like he hasn’t been openly stating he’d never, ever step foot in this place.
As I shut the door, I glance back to the hallway toward my bedroom. The door is open, but the light is off and there’s no sign of Conrad.
Victor steps a few feet into the house and turns slowly as he takes it in. When he faces me again, I note the bags under his eyes and the rumpled clothes.
“You look like shit.” I close the distance between us and hug him.
He snorts as he circles one arm around my back, half-heartedly returning the gesture. “I feel worse.”
I go into the kitchen to clean up some of the mess. Victor follows, standing on the other side of the counter.
“I’ve been trying to get ahold of you for two days. Where have you been?” I ask him.
“I had my meeting with the Department of Player Safety yesterday and then I got in my car and started driving.”
“You drove here?” I stop what I’m doing to stare at him. That had to have taken . . .
“All night. I only stopped for gas.”
“Why?”
“I needed some air.”
“So you drove across the country?” I ask, then my voice softens. “What happened with the Department of Player Safety?”
His jaw tightens. “I’m suspended for two games, and I have a meeting with the GM at the end of the week. They’re going to trade me.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I do. They’re done with me.” He places both hands on the counter and leans forward.
I have about a million things I want to ask him, but he doesn’t look like he’s in any mood to talk. And Conrad is hiding somewhere not far away.
“Do you want coffee or something to eat?” I ask instead. “I just made eggs and bacon.”
“You hate bacon.” His gaze narrows, then he takes in the rest of the kitchen like he’s looking for evidence of . . . something. My bare legs now feel like an indictment.
“Do you have a guy here?” Victor asks, then wrinkles up his nose. “Gross.”
“Shut up. No.” My face flushes hot.
“Is he here?” He looks around.
“No one is here,” I lie without meeting his gaze. “You know what? Forget all this. Let me take you out somewhere for breakfast. I know how much you hate this house.”
“No. I just want to sleep. Is it okay if I crash on your couch just until I can check into a hotel?”
My palms sweat. I have no idea how I’m going to get Conrad out without Victor seeing him. Whatever hesitation he sees in my expression, he must read as my not wanting him here because he pushes off the counter, standing tall.
“Forget it. I shouldn’t have come here. It was stupid to think my sister might have my back.”
“I do.” I go around the counter to him. “Of course I do. Always.”
“Yeah, right. Like you did a year ago when you abandoned me to move to this dump.”
“I didn’t—” I start to say I didn’t abandon him, but Victor doesn’t let me get the words out.
“You did. And the worst part is you left me with very little notice and without an assistant. All so you could take some bullshit job.”
“I love my job.”
“No, you don’t. How could you possibly?” He scoffs. “You babysit the worst players on a high school hockey team. Junior varsity scrubs.”
My mouth falls open. I know he’s hurting and trying to get a rise out of me, but I’m emotionally wrung out and not prepared to be the bigger person.
“Don’t pretend like you’re offended.”
“Those kids are amazing.”
“Sure. That’s why they’re on an epic losing streak.”
My face goes hot, and I clench my hands at my sides. “How could you say that?”
“It’s true. You know it is. It isn’t your fault. Some players just don’t have it.”
I swallow a lump forming in my throat. “Like me?”
There’s a flicker of hesitation on his face before he says, “You should be grateful you weren’t any good. Look at me.”
He’s never outright said that I was bad before and I’m embarrassed that it hurts my feelings. I knew from a very young age that I wasn’t good, but to hear my own brother say it outright is something else.
“Who the fuck do you think you are?” Conrad’s low, angry voice is almost unrecognizable as he stands at the end of the hallway glaring at Victor.
My brother moves slowly, facing my boyfriend, then glances back at me. As shock turns to rage, Victor’s features settle into stone. Guilt washes over me as I feel the full wrath of my brother’s anger. Despite everything, he’s never been really, truly angry with me before.
“Pretty boy? Is this a joke?” Victor asks me. “The guy you’re fucking is Shepard?”
I can’t seem to find my words. Though I imagine they’d be pointless given neither man is looking at me.
Conrad is seething. “You show up here after getting suspended, no call or text even though she’s been worrying about you for two days, and then you have the audacity to insult her when she’s the only person who can stand you.”
“This doesn’t concern you.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. It concerns me. Everything that happens to Whitney concerns me a hell of a lot.”
Victor shakes his head. “God, this is priceless.” He looks to the ceiling with an icy grin. When his gaze lands on me, I barely recognize him. “Is he another pity job? You babysit the JV kids and fuck the men no one else will? Any other charity I should know about?”
“Stop calling her job a joke,” Conrad grits out. “The only charity case around here is you. She’s the only person you’ve got who believes in you. Even your own father thinks you’re pathetic.”
I suck in a sharp breath as Victor steps forward, fists clenched. I move between them.
“Conrad,” I hiss. He may not be able to see the pain his words cause Victor, but I do. It’s his biggest insecurity. And worst of all it’s one he only knows about because I told him.
He takes a breath and gives Victor his attention once more.
“Whitney is a good coach. Something you’d know if you weren’t such a selfish prick.
She’s good because she knows what it’s like to have people like you write her off for something as dumb as not being a star hockey player.
What do you know about being a good hockey player anyway? ”
A muscle in Victor’s cheek jumps as his jaw tightens. “More than you. How many Cups have you won?”
“The same number you helped win.”
The two of them trade insults, taking a step closer to each other with each verbal jab.
“Stop it. Both of you. It’s enough.” I hold my palms out on either side to stop them from moving.
Victor is the first to take a step back.
“I can’t believe this shit,” he says, glancing at me. “This guy is low even for you.”
Conrad growls and his head tilts to the side. “Like you could judge.”
“STOP!” I yell, and squeeze my eyes shut for a second.
“I don’t need this.” Victor turns to go. “Way to have my back, sis.”
“Wait,” I call after him. His long legs eat up the space. He tosses open the front door and slams it behind him.
I wheel around to face Conrad. “Why did you say those things?”
“I couldn’t stand there and listen to him belittle you like that. And after all you’ve done to defend him. It isn’t right.”
“He’s upset and lashing out.”
“That doesn’t make it okay.”
“Neither are the things you said to him. He may have instigated it, but you said some pretty awful things back.”
Guilt washes over his face. “I’m sorry.”
I take a breath. “Me too. I should have told him about us sooner.” I don’t know if that blowup could have been prevented, but I know it wasn’t any better by blindsiding my brother.
Conrad reaches for me.
I take a step back. “I know you were trying to stand up for me by saying those things to Victor, but if we’re going to be together, I need to know you aren’t going to stoop to his level every time he picks a fight.”
“If?” His voice is low.
“I didn’t mean it like that. I want to be with you.” My mind is jumbled. I spin around, spot my phone in the living room, and go to it. I call Victor, but he doesn’t answer. My keys are on the counter. I grab them and head for the door.
“Where are you going?” Conrad asks, following me.
“I have to find my brother. He hasn’t slept all night, and he shouldn’t be driving while he’s like this.” If something happens to him, I’ll never forgive myself. He doesn’t have anyone else.
“I could help you.”
“No. I . . .” My voice trails off. I know there’s a very slim chance Victor will talk to me, but it’s far less if Conrad is with me. “I’ll call you later, okay?”
His face twists up with regret and his lips part like he wants to say a million things.
“I have to go.” I brush a quick kiss to his check and then leave him there, standing in the doorway of my house while I go look for Victor.