Well, fuck. Here we go.
Our fans erupt in protest, a mix of boos and groans filling the air. At the bench, Coach Presley shakes his head indisappointment. I don’t blame him. I knew fighting was stupid. But I had to do it. I had to protect her honor.
“Team Beavers, number thirty-five. Five minutes for fighting.”
Farrington winks as he skates toward the penalty box, blood trickling down to his white jersey. I don’t even care that I did what Jasper did to me a year ago. I hope the jackass feels every second of the fight for the rest of the week.Who am I kidding? I hope he feels it for months to come.
Another ref skates over to me, motioning toward the tunnel leading off the ice. “Let’s go, Westerholm. That’s enough for tonight.”
My jaw clenches as I take one more glance at the scoreboard. We’re still tied. Lee or someone else will have to sit out my two-minute penalty, too.Fuck me.
I give Farrington one last glare and step off the ice. The noise of the arena fades into a dull roar as I walk toward the locker room. I can already feel the weight of what happened pressing down on me.
You let him get to you, the voice in my head whispers. But another part of me doesn’t care. Because I meant what said—Haisley and our baby are now my family…and I’d do anything to protect what’s mine.
Sitting on the floor in the corner of a quiet locker room, I ignore the texts from Haisley and my family. I don’t want to talk with them being this wired up. Instead, I scroll through social media, reading what people have to say about the pregnancy. The comments are a mess, some celebratory and some disgusting. A few fans are speculating on whether thebaby had something to do with my trade. Others are calling her names she doesn’t deserve. Some assholes even debate if it’s mine.
This is not helping with my racing thoughts at all. What a rookie mistake!
I grip my phone so hard I think I might crack the screen. I should be with her right now. Holding her. Telling her we’ll get through this. Instead, I’m alone, stuck in this locker room, reading strangers’ takes on the best thing that’s ever happened to me.
I need to hear her voice. Fuck about waiting until I’m more Zen.
The call rings a few times and she picks up. “Finally,” she huffs out. “I saw the fight. What the fuck happened?”
“Exactly what I predicted back at the cabin. Farrington’s a dick and when he started chirping about you and the baby, I lost it. Shouldn’t have, but I did.”
“I get why you did it, but the timing couldn’t be any worse. It’s all over social media with the news about the pregnancy. We need to have a chat with the Peacocks PR team as soon as possible. Might need to schedule an appointment for tomorrow.”
Her words make me wince. “I’m sorry for causing more mess to clean.”
“I know you are, but it wasn’t your fault alone,” her tone softens. “And I can appreciate you wanting to be there for me, defending my honor. But maybe next time don’t have a fight on camera.”
I run a hand through my sweaty hair, leaning back against the cold wall behind me as her words settle over me. She’sright. I should’ve thought it through better, but everything happened so fast. “Yeah, well, I wasn’t thinking about cameras.”
“I know you don’t want to let anyone disrespect me, but we knew this was going to be messy. Especially since you were traded to the team my family owns.”
I let out a sharp breath, my grip on the phone tightening again. “I can’t stand that people are already running their mouths. Some of them are saying shit I don’t even know how to respond to. They’re already calling you names, questioning if it’s mine?—”
“I saw,” she cuts in. “I don’t know what’s worse, the idiots who think they know everything or the ones who don’t even care enough to get the facts straight.”
“Does it bother you as much as it bothers me?” I ask, weighed down by the question. “You were so worried about it beforehand.”
“It does, but I’m trying to remind myself that we’re not the ones putting the misinformation out there. We tried to stay out of the media.”
“I’ll try to fix it because I’m the reason it got much worse.”
“And I appreciate you for it,” she responds quickly, but I can hear the crack in her voice. “But we’re already dealing with so much, getting to know each other while preparing for the arrival of the baby. And now this. I feel like it’s all spiraling out of control. Can’t we just have a moment to breathe?”
I close my eyes and let out a sigh. “I’m sorry. I wanted to be the one to protect you from the chaos. But I fucked up today.”
“You didn’t fuck up, Rasmus,” she says softly. “You just didn’tthink it through. That’s all. I get it. Ireallydo. But let’s try not to get into any more fights, okay?
“Yeah, I can do that.”
“Now how about you get out of that locker room and come to me, so I can actually see you?” Her voice is low, the resignation unmistakable. “I’m not dealing with this whole mess by myself.”
“I’ll be there as soon as I can. I’m not leaving you hanging.”
