Page 62 of Campus Muscle

“It’s evidence.” I punched his chest. “You tied yourself to him. On the record.”

He looked around before grabbing my arm and pulling me even further away from the crowd. I could feel the fear radiating from him, but what infuriated me more was that it was mixed with an air of arrogance.

“Will you lower your voice?”

“No.” I pulled out of his grip. “You need to hear this before you make more stupid mistakes. What about your parents?”

His back stiffened, and his fists balled. Yeah, there it was. He hadn’t really thought about that, had he?

“They don’t even know you’re on the team,” I added, my tone softer this time. “What happens when they see this? What are they going to say?”

He lowered his gaze and shook his head. “It’s not going to matter after they get the check that’s in the mail.”

The air evaporated from my lungs, and concern overwhelmed me as my heart cracked. And for the first time in my life, I didn’t know what to say.

22

Trace

If I hadn’t known what was causing the nausea and mind fog, I would’ve sworn I was getting sick. But it had nothing to do with the bug that was going around.

My English exam was scheduled for the next day, and it had been gnawing at me for weeks. Plus, my phone hadn’t stopped ringing. Calls came in from both my mom and my dad, but I didn’t answer either of them because I knew exactly what it was about. They had seen the news, and they obviously wanted to know why I was playing football and why I hadn’t told them about it.

“Okay, guys,” Coach said as he stepped into the locker room. “They are doing some maintenance on the football field, so we’re going old school and practicing on the soccer field today.”

His words earned a few groans from the older guys, but none of them protested. They just grabbed their gear and led the way while mumbling over some of the practice sessions and games they had on that exact field the year before. It sounded like they had a terrible time, and that had me rethinking my entire series of discussions with Dakota about Frank Delaney. He had started construction on the field before I came into the picture, so… how could this be about me?

We got to the team and saw that the girl’s soccer team was still finishing off. They must’ve gone overtime, but that wasn’t what got the guys’ attention. As the girls started jogging off the field, one of them approached Owen and gave him a big hug before kissing his cheek. The guys who were speaking lost their voices, and the others just froze in place.

“Hey! Introduce us to the beautiful woman who’s obviously lost if she’s throwing her arms around you,” Lucas said as he stumbled toward them.

Owen gave him a killer look but did as he was told. With a hand on her back, he brought the girl toward the rest of us. They might’ve looked close, but their behavior quickly gave them away. They weren’t dating; however, he had a good reason to be protective of her.

“Gents,” Owen said, and then cursed under his breath. “This is Hailey. She’s my kid sister.”

“Well now, aren’t you a beauty,” Malik said, kissing her knuckles.

“I don’t get it,” Connor said, looking as confused as ever. “How can she be so pretty when you… look like that?”

Hailey was clearly uncomfortable, and she didn’t say anything. She just gave the guys an awkward wave and walked off. The teasing was about to begin when Owen, who was usually chilled and quiet, raised his finger and gave them each a murderous look.

“I don’t care how pretty she is, you people will keep your filthy paws off my little sister. She’s a freshman, and she doesn’t need your bad influence.”

“Be glad Dylan isn’t here because she would’ve lost her virginity when he looked at her,” Lucas teased.

“I’m serious. If any of you touch her, I’ll ruin you.”

That was enough to shut them up completely because we all knew who Owen really was. A threat like that came with serious consequences because he had all the means to pull it off. Luckily, all the girls had already left by that point, and the field was finally ours. So I walked to the bench and put my stuff down so we could get to work. Coach started us off with a few laps and stretches, which was exactly what I needed with my stomach feeling the way it did.

It gave me a chance to ease into the motions without losing my breakfast, and it allowed my mind to process some of the things I had been avoiding for far too long. Then I moved into sprints to warm my muscles completely before stepping into the drills and routes. Usually they were torture, but today they came as a massive relief. Every time I did too much, the nausea had me slowing down, but I needed this more than I was willing to admit.

For practice, we started with a running play. The hike was smooth and Ethan handed off to me, but the defense was too fast. Malik came down on me like a tsunami and nearly folded me in half before planting me into the ground. My arms just lost tension, and the ball escaped somewhere between the lift and the release.

“Reset,” Coach called from the sideline.

We started again, the ball snapped, but this time Ethan faked the handoff. Malik didn’t notice, and he barreled down on me again. My stomach churned when his massive frame barreled into me, and I needed a good long moment to get back on my feet after my body slammed into the turf. This was not working out with how I was feeling, and it wouldn’t work on the field either.

“Again!” Coach said.