28. Killian
Killian
I miss Maddox so much.
Going from being with him almost all the time to… this is throwing me off. It’s been five days since he said we should lie low, and I swear my skin’s starting to itch. I’m losing my appetite. I’m going into withdrawal.
We didn’t even meet up for our last tutoring session, and I know how important he thinks those are.
In statistics today, he spares me a weak smile and then quickly looks away.
When class ends, Maddox approaches Wheeler.
I can’t hear what they’re saying, but Maddox twists his shirt in his fingers and shifts from foot to foot.
He calls me when I’m on my way to the rink.
Voice shaky, Maddox says, “Wheeler doesn’t have time for a meeting until at least next week.
He said he’s too busy. Maybe I should just email him about us?
Or tell him in passing, even if it’s right after class?
I-I’m not sure how he’ll react, and I really do prefer telling him in the right setting. ”
As painful as it is, I get it. I know that this might affect what he’s been working so hard for all this time, and I don’t want to be the one to ruin it.
Wheeler’s his thesis advisor. I’m not even surprised that, even if Maddox said weeks ago he’d tell him when the time is right, he never got around to it until now.
How Wheeler will react probably scares him.
That said, I can’t push him knowing how important this is to him.
“Baby,” I say softly. “It can wait until next week. Don’t worry. I don’t think this is something you should tell him over an email.”
“Thank you… But what if Viktor reports us between now and next week?”
“He won’t. He’s a coward.”
Also, I plan to deal with him myself, but I’m not going to tell Maddox that.
Maddox seems unconvinced, but I’m just glad he called. I take the opportunity to tell him that he was really cute in class today, and he huffs a laugh and tells me to quit it. We then hang up when I get to the rink, even if I really, really don’t want to.
Since I haven’t dated anyone in a long time, I don’t know how to act. Is this normal? I’m trying really hard to be patient, but I can feel myself spiraling.
I want to talk to him. I want to be beside him. I want to tell him everything that’s going on with me, and know the same about him.
I want to tell him that I went for the summer coach interview yesterday, and that they liked me so much that they offered me the job on the spot.
Even if I could text it or tell him over the phone—if he picked up—I’d much rather tell him in person.
He was the one who encouraged me to do this, and I want to see if his face would light up if I told him I actually did it.
I want to tell him I got a call from someone from Donlan Sports this morning.
They want to sign me. The agent said there are at least two AHL teams that see me as a prospect, and that they can help me get a good contract.
They even said that the teams are close to home and that they can get me a no-trade deal.
I think they did their research, I had realized. Somehow, they knew I wouldn’t want to move far from home. How did they even know that? It does make their offer a lot more appealing. But…
“I’m so sorry, but I can’t,” I told the agent. “I decided to go into bantam coaching instead. ”
The agent sounded perplexed, but he was polite about it—and when he hung up, my heart was beating so loud I thought I was going to pass out.
I want to tell Maddox so, so much.
In the end, though? Even if Maddox wants to keep his distance for now, that’s not going to stop me from trying to protect him.
That’s why, when Saturday night hits and I get a text from Walters that reads, Ulrich is here, I’m immediately ready to go.
I’m dealing with Ulrich once and for all, even if Maddox asked me not to. I can’t not. It’s going to drive me nuts if I do nothing. I won’t rest until he swears to back off, and even if I have to make a show of it, I don’t care.
And just to fuck around because I think it’ll look funny, I grab the baseball bat left in the corner of my room since freshman year. Not even sure who left it there.
Oh, god. What the hell am I doing?
I need Rhys for this. He’s going to hold me back. Our captain makes it his personal responsibility to keep us out of trouble. In the four years I’ve known him, the only time I’ve ever seen him lose his cool was when Caleb was new to the team—and never aside from that.
Unfortunately, Rhys isn’t in his room. I search in the rooms he usually hangs out in, and find him in Caleb and Nick’s. Good. I was debating how to bring Caleb along, too, and this is my chance. The three of them swivel their attention to me with confused looks.
“You play baseball now?” Rhys asks.
“Nope.” I swing it around in my grip a bit, testing it.
“I’m going to go ask Ulrich—nicely—to back off Maddox once and for all, and thought it’d be funny to bring this along.
It looks intimidating, right? Anyway, Morgan, I need you to come so that I don’t do anything too stupid. Rest of you can come too.”
That last statement is mainly for Caleb, but I have to be subtle.
The guy has been pissed at me since the day Viktor ambushed Maddox.
Caleb found out about it from our teammates, and about an hour after I got back to my room, he barged in and shoved me.
He yelled so much shit at me, saying I shouldn’t have let this happen, and I stood there and let him say his piece.
It took both Rhys and Nick to pry him off me.
Caleb hasn’t spoken to me since.
Tonight, though, he thankfully acknowledges my existence. He grunts, “You’re going to do what?”
“I’m going to ask Ulrich to back off.”
There’s palpable silence as they take that in, and Rhys lets out a loud, exasperated sigh and looks up at the ceiling as if he’s praying for patience. Can’t blame him. Our captain has to put up with a lot of our shit—and he does a fantastic job of it.
“Okay. Let’s go.” Caleb shoves himself off his bed.
Nick, who hasn’t moved an inch, exchanges a look with Rhys. “You both can’t be serious.”
“Dead,” I say. “Look, you two don’t need to go, but it’d probably be a lot smarter if you do.”
“Oh dear fucking god, my arm is in a damn sling, Schultz. These are my last weeks as your captain. Can’t you give me some peace?” Rhys goes through a lot more colorful and impressive curses as he gets up and shoves shoes on, and Nick forces himself to do the same.
Success.
Caleb sits in the front with me. He crosses his arms, his posture tense, and he doesn’t say a thing despite coming along with me on my little adventure. In the backseat, both Rhys and Nick keep trying to talk us out of it.
“Schultz, please,” Rhys begs. “This is a horrible idea.”
“Maybe we can look up restraining orders?” Nick suggests. “There has to be a better way—”
Caleb clears his throat. “Schultz.”
“Yup.”
His voice low, Caleb says, “Sorry I blamed you for the shit that happened. I was pissed and took it out on you.”
My hands slip from the wheel, and I scramble to get myself together. Eyes wide, I glance at him. “Uh. It’s cool. ”
“I’d do anything for Madd,” Caleb mumbles. “And I know you will, too.”
“You’re right.”
Nick and Rhys both sit back after that, staying quiet for the rest of the ride.
I park the car a few blocks away from the house we’re heading to.
We walk the rest of the way toward the house where the street’s full of cars.
The door’s slightly ajar, music streaming out into the otherwise quiet street.
I pull out my phone and text Walters, telling him to please ask Ulrich to kindly step outside.
Rhys glares at my baseball bat. “For the love of god, put that away.”
“Relax, I’m not doing anything! It’s an aesthetic. I swear.”
“Hey, Schultz!” Caleb calls out. He jogs over to a red car and gestures at it. “This is his car. I remember it from high school. Let’s smash the windows.”
“No!” Rhys and Nick yell together.
“Awww!”
The door opens wider and Ulrich steps outside, Walters right behind him. Ulrich spots us immediately, grimacing. He turns to Walters and the two of them seem to argue, Ulrich gesticulating wildly.
Walters appears to convince him to talk to us though, because Ulrich grumbles under his breath and walks down the yard toward us.
Giving me a look that says don’t fuck up, Walters retreats into the house.
Ulrich digs his hands deep in his coat pockets and approaches us, a frown deeply etched into his features. He stops on the curb, a few feet away from us.
“You for real, Schultz?” Ulrich asks. “What is this? Is Camrose’s first line calling me out here to beat me up?”
“No,” Rhys says at the same time that Caleb says, “Yes!”
“No,” I confirm, not missing the way Ulrich glowers at the bat in my hand. “Um… consider it an intervention. ”
“What do you want?” Ulrich grumbles.
“Just… back off. Stop bothering Maddox. Never speak to him again. Stop ruining his life.”
“He ruined my life,” he hisses under his breath. Caleb makes a furious sound but doesn’t move, though I think it’s because Nick’s clutching his wrist.
“No, he fucking didn’t,” I say. “Leave him alone. It’s been years… Stop blaming him for what happened, since that was never even on him.”
Ulrich’s never been smart. I see that now. There’s so much misplaced resentment in him and it’s made him into an awful human being, and it’s clear with how he strides toward me as if gearing up for a fight—as if it wouldn’t be one versus four.
Well, okay, maybe one versus two, because I doubt Rhys and Nick would fight him. That’s still some bad odds, though.
Ulrich shoves me back, his face flaring. “You’ve got some fucking nerve, Schultz. Your sissy boy’s playing you. Can’t you see that? This is the shit he does.”
“I’ll kill you!” Caleb shouts, taking quick strides toward him. Nick, who looks as if he’s about to throw up, grabs him back.
He turns to Caleb. “And don’t even get me started on you! You broke my nose!”
“And I’d do it again!”
Blinking rapidly, I stare at Ulrich, stunned. My entire body goes stiff. I’m only vaguely aware of how Rhys inserts himself between us. I’m unable to think straight.
The door to the house opens and a few people step out. We’re getting a goddamn audience. Incredible, I think dryly.
“Continue to talk shit about my boyfriend,” I say, my voice low but clear. “See what happens.”
Viktor narrows his eyes and his jaw clenches. “Go to hell,” he grits out. “Look at you all, standing here like imbeciles acting all high and mighty. He’s got you all wrapped around his finger.”
This goddamn—
I lunge at him, but Rhys is quicker—my captain blocks my body with his, and lets out a loud, pained yell when I collide with his shoulder. He hunches, eyes shutting tight, and he clutches at his injured shoulder.
That snaps me out of my rage.
“Morgan!” I panic, trying to get a hold of him, but he only holds up a hand to keep me at bay. “Shit. Sorry.”
“Ugh…” he grunts. Rhys stands up a little straighter, then he hisses, “Schultz. Stop it. You’ve said what you wanted to say. Let’s leave.”
“But…”
“We’re leaving. He’s not worth it.”
Behind him, there’s no regret on Ulrich’s face. He’s glaring at me with so much contempt, totally oblivious to the small crowd that’s gathered behind him.
Bile rises in my throat, and I twist my fingers around the stupid bat I’m holding. I said I brought it along to be funny, but now I really want to take a swing at his face. I want to break that nose of his—make it even more crooked than it already is.
But Rhys is right. It wouldn’t be worth it.
“Fine,” I snap out, turning away before I change my mind.
Rhys keeps a firm grip on my arm as we put some distance between us and Ulrich.
Still, there’s a creeping sensation under my skin that won’t settle.
I don’t think it ever will. As long as there’s a chance that Maddox could ever come face-to-face with this asshole, I won’t be able to sleep.
“It will be okay,” Rhys is mumbling. Behind us, Caleb seethes. “We’ll figure out another way to keep him away from Maddox. I’ll help you think of something.”
Except that… I don’t think I can walk away right now, knowing that Maddox’s safety is still at risk.
That’s the only ex planation I can think of when I twist myself out of Rhys’s hold and make a beeline toward Ulrich’s car.
If one of Rhys’s arms weren’t in a sling, he probably would have been able to stop me.
It’s deranged what I do next. Absolutely fucking downright deranged.
I don’t even know what comes over me. I raise the bat and take a fucking swing at his windshield, putting all my strength into it, and the way it shatters resounds through the air.
The sound of it is satisfying, especially when the shards fall into the front seats and all over the front of his car. It makes me grin. Makes me happy.
Ulrich goes pale, his eyes wide. “Are you insane!?”
“Yeah, I am,” I say. “Look, bitch. Send me the bill. I don’t care—but stay away from Maddox. Don’t ever put your hands on my boyfriend again. Don’t even look in his fucking direction ever again.”
“Fuck you, Schultz!” he screams. “You goddamn—”
The word he shouts next is so vile that I’m once more blind with fury.
“Viktor!” shrieks a girl in the crowd behind him.
Ulrich becomes even paler. With a horrified look, he swivels around. “What are you doing here?”
“W-what is going on!?”
I want to hit his car again, I want to hit him, but Rhys drags me away before I can even attempt it. Caleb’s shouting at Ulrich, and if Nick weren’t in his way and pushing him back, Ulrich would probably be dead by now.
“Schultz, we need to go,” Rhys pleads. He winces as he drags me away, and he’s mumbling apologies at me, saying he gets why I’m furious, he is, too, but we need to leave, we need to leave now—
Not sure how Ulrich responds to his little audience, because I don’t wait around for it. As my heartbeat pounds in my ears, I know Rhys is right.
We need to get out of here before I do something more reckless.
***
I’m in such a daze that I don’t remember to check my phone until I get back to my dorm. I perk up when I see I’ve got a few missed calls and messages, hoping it’s going to be Maddox. Please, please be Maddox…
I take a look, and…
What the fuck?
Dad: Will drive to campus on Monday. Want to talk to you. It’s important and can’t wait. Spoke to my friend who works at Donlan—why did you turn down an AHL spot?
My heart flips, and not in a good way.