Page 128 of Ruin The Friendship
I don’t like lying, but I need to get out of here.
Dottie agrees, albeit warily. “I’ll text Fletcher and let him know.”
“Thanks.”
We walk to the car in silence, dread eating away at my heart.
“Do you want to hang out at our apartment for a while?” I ask Dottie.
Normally, I’d love for her to come spend the evening with us, but tonight, I hope she says no. I had to ask; I’m sure she already suspects something is wrong.
“No.” Dottie shakes her head. “You should get some rest. I’ll see you both in the morning for breakfast before I head back home.”
“Okay.”
54
DISCONNECT
FLETCHER
Anger courses through my veins as I stalk into the locker room. We haven’t had that much disconnect in our team since fucking pre-season. I have no idea what happened tonight, but something was off.
First, Lydia didn’t answer my calls, then she wouldn’t look at me at all, not during warm-ups. If I caught her glancing at me while I sat on the bench, she’d rip her gaze from mine as fast as possible.
I don’t want to blame the loss on my superstition, but it definitely didn’t help me get in the right headspace for the game. Trigg takes his gear off as fast as possible, heading to the showers without a second glance at anyone. He’s probably blaming himself, but we’re a team. He’s not the only one who stops the puck.
Clearing my throat, I wait for everyone’s attention to shift to me. “It was a tough one tonight. We have a few things we can work on at practice this week, but it’s one game. We’ll get the next one.”
The words are a bandage over a bullet wound, but it’s all I have in me tonight. Coach tips his chin in my direction. “You’re on press tonight. Might want to prepare yourself after that article.”
“Article?” I ask, confused.
“You didn’t see the article about you and Lydia?” He raises his brow. “It’s everywhere.”
I clear my throat. “No, sir.”
What could the article possibly be about? Is whatever it says the reason she didn’t answer my calls? Why she ignored me?
I grab my phone from the shelf in my locker, quickly check for texts, and see one from my mother.
Mom
Lydia isn’t feeling well, so I’m running her home. All is fine with the baby, she says. She thinks she’s getting sick. I’ll see you in the morning for breakfast. Love you.
I have a feeling Lydia isn’t getting sick, and the reason she’s going home has more to do with an article than illness. A sinking feeling settles in my gut. What did that article say?
There’s another message, this one from Lydia’s mom.
Sandra
The photos are so beautiful. Enjoy!
Below it, she’s sent a link.
I click it and skim through the article, each line making me angrier and angrier. What the actual fuck? Was Sandra the one who submitted those photos? She completely invaded our privacy by doing that, and now the whole world knows and is in our business.
When I get to the part with a quote from me, it all clicks. No wonder Lydia ignored me. If she saw this article,she’s got to be losing her mind. I scroll to the end, clicking play on the video. They purposely skewed my words, cutting out the second half before I said, “But never say never.”
