Line Change, page 10
Finally, my car starts. I put it into drive and start to pull my foot off the break, only to stop. It seems Adam followed me or decided to use my distraction to excuse himself from the meeting. He and his play toy are kissing their way to their car. I put my car in park and get out.
“Hey, you fucking piece of shit! What is Thea going to think when she finds out you’re cheating on her?”
Adam turns, puts his finger up to this plaything and walks over to my car. I get out, ready to beat the shit out of this punk. He keeps his hands in his pockets and looks ever-so smug. “It’s like this,” he says. “I have money.” Adam shrugs. “You don’t. Do you really think someone like Thea is going to believe you over me? Her boyfriend of four years?” He shakes his head. “Tell her, see what happens.” He’s so cocky, he winks before he turns around. I think about going after him—pounding him into the ground, until my future pops into my mind and I realize—he’s not worth my career.
thirteen
Thea
The roar from the crowd is deafening. If anyone passing the arena could hear the noise they would think the spectators were watching the Stanley Cup final. This is how passionate NU supporters are though. We get behind our team and we cheer and encourage them up until the final seconds. I’m sure it’s how all supporters cheer on their team, but somehow this feels special, like we’ve been invited into the inner sanctum for our players and are there to offer each and every one of them everything they need to win the game, win the league, and win the trophies.
We’re in the final period and Northport University is winning against University of Ashbridge. It’s been a close match, but NU is the more superior team and are currently up by three goals. We only have to hold out for another five minutes and we’ll have won. All in all, it’s been a clean game. I say this loosely because it’s not been without a few players being sent to the sin bin, but college hockey is relatively fight free. The rules don’t allow it. Devon and Nolan, together with Mike, Saul, and Brad have skated well, their passes have been on point, and the goals have gone in seamlessly. As for Kyler? He’s been aggressive, purposeful, and focused. Without him, I’m sure the scoreboard would be telling a different story. With the third-period horn sounding, the PA system blares the NU victory song. Whoever chose Irene Cara’s “What a Feeling” should definitely pat themselves on their back. The song is fitting for a win. The boys meet at center ice and congratulate each other before forming a line to shake hands with Ashbridge. All bar one, who has skated off the ice without any fanfare.
As I gather our bags, I feel my phone go off in my pocket and quickly take it out. To my delight, there’s a text message from Adam.
Adam
I’m outside. Can you meet me?
I admit to being a little shocked. It’s a weekday, so it’s unusual for Adam to have made the three-hour trip to Northport, but I can’t hide the fact I’m also giddy with excitement. The last time I saw him was when we had our housewarming party, and we didn’t exactly part on good terms. I tell Millie I’ll meet her outside and race to find Adam. It takes me a few minutes as he’s not standing by the doors—instead he’s by his car, parked at the far end of the car park and looking intently at his phone.
“Hey!” I call out as I approach. “This is a nice surprise.”
Adam quickly puts his phone away and looks up, but I’m not greeted with the usual wide smile I’m used to seeing. Instead, there’s a scowl on his face and he looks behind me before meeting my eyes again. When I reach him, I lean in for a kiss, but mistime the moment due to him turning slightly so get his cheek instead. Weird, but I go with it, because something is clearly bugging him. I also notice he’s dressed in pants and button-down shirt with a tie, so it’s obvious he’s come straight from work.
“Are you by yourself?” he asks by way of greeting, which throws me a little.
“I was watching the game with Millie, so I’m sure she’ll be out shortly?” I reply, but it comes out as a question because I’m really not sure how to take his demeanor.
“I need you to come with me,” Adam says quickly, while looking over my shoulder again. His tone is off, and he seems agitated and I’m instantly on guard with worry.
“What’s happened, is everything okay?” I ask and also look over my shoulder at the doors to the arena. People are starting to leave and I’m sure Millie will appear shortly.
“No. Everything is not okay. I need you to trust me and I need you to come with me. Now.”
“Okay, well, I need to wait for Millie; she’s got my things,” I tell him.
“Leave your things!” Adam replies, his voice rising. My worry turns into defensiveness as the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Something is clearly wrong.
“Adam, what’s going on?”
“Look, you need to move into one of the dorms so we need to go and talk to the admin office and see if we can get you a room.”
“What the hell?” I say, completely shocked at Adam’s out-of-the-blue request. “I’ve got a place to live, why would I want to move?”
Adam rubs the back of his neck, pacing as he does so, before placing his hands on his hips and answering me.
“Because, Thea, I don’t trust that Rose guy and I don’t want you anywhere near him. He’s moody and clearly has anger issues. Not to mention the fact he looks at you like some kind of predator. You’re not safe around him and I’d feel fucking better if you kept your distance.”
My mouth drops open in shock and I’m momentarily speechless. He surely can’t be serious about this. I thought we covered this last time we were together and yet he’s bringing it up again? I take a step back to put some space between us while I process the meaning behind his words. My shock turns to anger as his words sink in. Who the hell does he think he is, telling me what I need to do?
“You’re not serious about this Adam, are you? I thought we discussed this. I’m happy at the house. I’ve got a nice room, I’m living with my brother, and we have a good arrangement between us. Why in the hell would I need to move out? Besides, Kyler is hardly ever there—not that he’s a threat in any way at all. I’m not sure why you think he’s a, what did you say? A ‘predator’? But I can guarantee you he’s not. And he certainly doesn’t have any anger issues.”
“Everything okay, T?” Millie calls out from behind me, keeping a short distance to give us some privacy. I quickly nod to her before turning my attention back to Adam.
“Tell me Adam, what makes you think Kyler is threatening?” I continue.
Adam laughs once, without humor, a sneer forming on his face. It’s a side to him I’ve never seen before, and it’s not one I particularly like.
“What makes him so threatening?” Adam seethes, the words coming out low, sharp, and disdainfully. “Maybe it’s the fact he was at the town council meeting yesterday when he wasn’t invited to attend. Or maybe it was because he caused a scene in front of everyone by acting out, interrupting at every opportunity, and then walked out, embarrassing his family. Or maybe—just maybe—it’s because he threatened me, calling me all kinds of abusive names, getting all up in my face and physically assaulting me.”
Adam’s words shock me into silence, and I cross my arms over my chest in frustration. Sure, Kyler can be a bit moody, but I find it hard to believe he would assault anyone. Would he? If anything, he’d defend someone if they were in trouble—the injuries he endured as a result of the fight at the bar are proof. But then, why would Adam lie? My head starts to spin with Adam’s words as I try and correlate them to Kyler’s personality. Could it be true? Surely not—there is no way Jude, Nolan and Devon would be friends with someone like that, let alone share a house with them. I rub my forehead, willing away the impending headache threatening to appear. I’m so confused right now, and Adam’s agitation is not helping.
“Adam, are you sure you’re not mistaken?” I ask him, trying to keep my tone calm.
“NO! I’M NOT FUCKING MISTAKEN!” he roars. The gruffness gives me a sudden, racing heartbeat. I take a small step back, but Adam notices and moves toward me, grabbing hold of my arm as he does.
“I’m not telling you again, Thea, you’re coming with me, and we’re getting you out of that goddamn house!”
“No, Adam. I’m not moving into dorms. Whatever happened at the meeting with Kyler sounds like it was out of character. He’s not a threat.”
“Why the fuck are you defending that little shit?” Adam bellows, his face contorting with anger. “I’m your boyfriend. You should be listening to me, be on my side and respecting my wishes!”
“And I’m my own person and you should be respecting mine!” I yell back.
Adam doesn’t reply, instead pulling me behind him again, this time with more force and I try and release my arm from his grip, unsuccessfully.
“Adam, stop,” I say as I dig my heels into the ground to provide some kind of resistance, to no avail. “Stop, Adam, you’re hurting me.”
“I suggest you do as she says, buddy,” a deep voice sounds from behind me. Adam stops abruptly and I stumble into him a little before getting my balance and turning around to see Nolan standing by Millie. For anyone who didn’t know him, you’d think he was standing casually about to engage in a run-of-the-mill conversation. But to those who are close to him, you’d see he was on guard, arms by his side with hands fisted; feet apart and ready to move at a drop of a hat if needed to step in to calm a situation. In this case, my situation.
“This has nothing to do with you, Nolan,” Adam tells him.
“I hear what you’re saying, but I’m telling you now Jude is not far behind me and if he comes out and sees you dragging his baby sister behind you like a piece of meat, he’d have a lot to say about it. So, I suggest you let Thea go, take a step back and calm down.”
The standoff between the two of them goes on for a few moments before Adam lets go of my arm, and takes a step back, covering his face with his hands as he deeply breathes in and exhales a couple of times as he calms down. He rubs his hands down his face and looks at me.
“Thea, I’m—”
“No.” I interrupt him before he can utter a half-hearted apology. What just happened and how he spoke to me, deserves more than a pathetic “I’m sorry.” I need to know what was behind his outburst but now is not the time. I’m too confused, too angry to hear his words and understand them right now.
“We can talk about this in a few weeks, when I’m back home for Thanksgiving,” I continue. “Just . . . go, Adam. Please? It’s a long drive back to Silver Lake. I promise I’ll hear you out when I’m back, but can you just let this go for now?”
Adam doesn’t reply for a few moments, before nodding once. “Okay, sure,” he says, his once-tense shoulders now sagging with exhaustion as he steps toward his car and opens the door.
“Just think about what I said. Maybe be more alert okay? Just to give me peace of mind?” he asks before he gets into the driver’s side.
This time it’s my time to pause before replying with a nod. “Okay, sure,” I say, repeating his words.
As Adam gets into his car and starts the engine, I notice Nolan and Millie having a quiet, intense conversation to the side as Devon walks up to us carrying a load of bags.
“Hey, fucker, you left all your gear by your locker,” he complains, as he drops one of the huge bags by Nolan’s feet.
“Sorry, dude, wanted to say goodbye to this beauty before she ran off into the night,” Nolan replies with an easy smile and without any trace of the tense manner he had few minutes ago. He has Millie in a tight hug much to her displeasure, judging by the exaggerated grimace on her face.
“Ew, gross, Nolan. Keep your hockey sweat off the goods,” she says to him as he lets her go.
Devon ignores their antics as he continues. “Jude has to stay back and talk to Coach. You girls good to come back with us?”
Millie and I nod, and we make our way to Devon’s car, piling in the back as the two boys get in the front. They chat about the game giving their own post-match analysis, and while Millie joins in, she holds my hand tightly giving me the strength I need to try and decipher what the hell just happened.
I’m sitting in the cafeteria, pushing my food around my plate, and trying to muster up the appetite to eat. It’s been a couple of days since my argument with Adam and I’m still feeling antsy about it. I can’t stop thinking about how out of character it was for him to turn up and demand I move into dorms. He’s always been the laidback type, so there has to be something going on behind the scenes to make him react the way he did.
Before I can dwell on it any longer Millie places her tray in front of me and takes a seat.
“My darling Thea, your Fairy Godmother Millie has arrived, and she brings gifts!” she sing-songs as she places a small envelope in front of me. I pick it up and peer inside.
“A fake ID?”
“Yes ma’am,” she nods. “You deserve a night out, and so I’m coming through to make sure it happens. You’re welcome!”
I take the fake driving license she’s had made for me and examine it. I have to say, whoever’s done this has done a good job. It’s pretty accurate, save for my date of birth which has had two years added on to it. To the untrained eye, it looks like the real deal. I’m not opposed to having a fake—it’s a rite of passage after all—so I quickly put it in my wallet ready for use when needed.
“Okay I’m in,” I tell her. Millie’s right. I do need a night out after the crap couple of days I’ve had. I need to take my mind off the drama which seems to be singling me out and getting a little drunk at a bar sounds like just the thing.
“When and where?” I ask her.
“Tonight. And we’re going to The Crease on the Boardwalk. It’s not too fancy so we won’t bring attention to ourselves, but it’s a pretty good venue for having a good time and getting drunk.”
“Who’s getting drunk?” Nolan asks as he and Devon sit down at our table next to us. I’m surprised to see them here, given their schedules never usually match up to ours. The look he shoots Millie doesn’t go unnoticed and I remember the little tête-à-tête they had the other night. There is definitely something going on between the two of them and I mentally make a note to ask Millie about it later.
“Apparently we are,” I inform him. “Tonight. Do you want to join us? The more the merrier.”
“Depends on where you’re going,” Nolan replies. “I’m a soon-to-be NHL superstar with a reputation to uphold. I can’t be seen at any old dive bar.”
Millie rolls her eyes at him before answering. “We’re going to The Crease. That good enough for you? If not, too bad, we’re not changing our minds.”
Devon and Nolan share a loaded look between them before Devon chips in. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
“Sure,” I say. “Why not? It’s not like we’re the first people to go out on a Friday night and have a couple of drinks. Plus, after the week I’ve had, I could do with a few drinks and a good night out.”
“You got ID?” Nolan asks us.
“Yep.” Millie tells him, popping the p. “Courtesy of me. And before you get all Mr. Protective-Panicky-Pants, we all know you were buying cheap beer with one when you were seventeen, so you can’t tell us it’s not a good idea.”
Nolan holds his hands up in defense before replying. “Hey, I wasn’t going to say anything other than, I’m in. A couple of beers tonight sounds good, actually. Right, Dev?”
“Yeah, why not.” Devon says after giving Nolan another knowing look.
“Great,” I tell them both. “In which case, see you later tonight. Hope you scrub up well, boys.”
Millie and I are in my room, putting the finishing touches on our outfits. Despite the fact we’re not going anywhere fancy, we’ve both decided to dress up, and I’m wearing a tight-fitting backless dress in emerald-green, while Millie has opted for a baby-blue halter-neck. After putting the finishing touches to my lightly-curled hair and having a quick make-up tutorial from Millie—I’m now an expert at the cat eye—we put on our heels and make our way downstairs where Devon and Nolan are waiting. Jude isn’t joining us tonight as he’s on a date with some girl he picked up recently. I’m under no illusion my brother is a saint, but I also don’t need to know the ins and outs of his sex life.
As we enter the kitchen, Devon emits a low appreciative whistle, and we lap it up as we twirl around so they can see the fruits of our labor. Boys have it easy; all they need to do is have a shower and shave, pull on some pants and a shirt and run hair product through their hair and they’re done. Girls, on the other hand, need to set aside at least two hours of preparation time to shower, shave, wash, dry and style their hair, cleanse, tone, moisturize, and then pile on the layers of make-up. Some might consider the process too much, but we do what’s required to make us feel comfortable and confident, and right now, I feel like a queen.
After Millie takes a couple of photos and uploads them to her Instagram account, we get in a cab and make our way to the Boardwalk. Although I’ve been here before, I’ve not yet walked to the far end where The Crease is situated. Devon holds the door open for us and I follow Millie in and to a table opposite the bar. Saul and Brad are already there—seemingly Nolan put a call in to them and decided to make a night out of it—and they already have a round of shots lined up on the table. We all say “Cheers!” and down the liquid—which turns out to be tequila—before slamming our glasses on the table. As I’m about to put mine down, I have a strange feeling of being watched and I slowly turn around to find the pair of meadow-green eyes which frequent my dreams, angrily staring in my direction. I instantly know the night is about to get interesting.
Biting the bullet, I offer to buy the next round and walk over to the bar, where Kyler is serving. If I’m going to buy drinks, he might as well be the one who serves me. Even though he sees me approaching, he serves another customer first, making me wait a while to place my order. I take the time to study him. He’s wearing his usual attire of black jeans, this time with a dishcloth tucked into the back pocket and a black shirt rolled up at the sleeves. He’s scowling a little and doesn’t give the impression of being the friendliest bartender in town, so I can only assume his drink-making skills are top notch.
