Hockey With Benefits(104)

Zeke’s frat was in the mix.

There was shoving.

Two guys started trading hits, migrating toward me. An arm came around my waist. I was lifted, carried out of there.

“Hey! Stop. Put me down.” I twisted, saw Gavin, and shoved back at him. “Let go of me.”

He did, in the doorway and out of the kitchen. Skylar, Zoe, and Tasmin surrounded us.

I was trying to watch the fight, but snapped at Gavin, “Nice of you to fucking show up. I thought we were friends.”

“We are.” He snapped back, then added, with less of a bite, “I thought so too.”

“Your leader in there is trying to ruin my life.”

“I didn’t know he was going to do that. I didn’t. I–” He twisted his head to see what was going on, then cursed. “Screw it. Did he actually hurt her or not? What Flynn is saying makes no sense. Leander tried to tell me there’s more to the story.”

“Of course there’s more to the story, like the fact that there’s really a girl that he hurt. How about that? And no, Gavin. I’m not spilling who it is. That’s a really shitty thing to do to someone. As your friend, I shouldn’t have to tell you that. You should just know by knowing me.”

“But do I?” He flung his hands out. “You don’t let anyone in.”

“You got in!” I shoved at his chest. “Cruz got in. And you’re not paying attention.” I motioned around. “I’ve got friends. I let them in, and thanks to your asshole brother in there, everyone has an idea how messed up my home life is.”

“What are you talking about?”

I started laughing, hard, brutal, and ugly. These weren’t happy laughs. “Are you kidding me?”

“What?”

“Miller.” Skylar handed over her phone. I was guessing it was the blog.

He took it, his eyes going wide, but he went still.

“WHERE IS SHE? WHERE IS SHE?” Flynn was screaming from the kitchen.

He was being held back by a bunch of guys. Cruz was bleeding from his face, but he was still standing, and he wasn’t being held back. Zeke and a couple hockey guys were in front of him, making sure he couldn’t get past them to Flynn.

A bunch of guys were shouting back and forth.

“Shut the fuck up,” Atwater snapped.

That sent off another surge. One of Flynn’s frat brothers launched at him, and the hockey team, whoever was there, waded in.

“This is—” Gavin had to stop, giving Skylar her phone back. “That’s insane. Your mom tried to do that. What are you doing here?”

“Let me ask you something and be honest. Where was Flynn today?”

“At the house.”

“Then where was he yesterday?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. Gone. A lot of guys leave for the day.”

“The day?”

“Yeah. Why?”

I took Skylar’s phone and brought up the video, hitting play. My mom’s voice came through, and she was laughing. A whole seductive and sultry laugh. I pointed at the phone. “Because this is how she sounds when she wants to fuck someone. She wants attention from whoever is holding this recording device, and she’s eating it up. All the attention this guy is giving her.” My mom bent forward, letting one of her tits show. “Her make-up was on point.”

“I’m thinking that’s a normal thing for women. They know how to do make-up.”

“Not her.”

He went still, so did my roommates, and so did some people in the kitchen.

The music cut, and I’d be told later that my voice carried as I kept on, clipping out, “Ever dealt with someone who has a chronic personality disorder? Know what it’s like? You feel like you want to hit your head against the wall. Imagine that feeling every day of your life. Imagine your mom wanting to sleep with all of your teachers, your friends, your bosses, your co-workers. Jesus. I’m just getting started. That’s what she does. Her. She drains you and drains everyone, and you get nothing back. When you’re not giving her what she wants, she moves onto the next, and everything is about her. Everything. The few times you got a birthday party, they’re about her. The few times. If it doesn’t fit into her schedule to get you a Christmas gift, you’re not getting one. ‘Tough shit, you little shit.’ I heard that when I six, seven, and eight. Then I stopped asking. When you need to get picked up after school when you’re in third grade. Not going to happen, not unless it fits into her schedule.” I shoved that phone at him, even knowing it wasn’t his, but I was beyond caring. He had no idea. None. “And yeah. Six days ago, your fraternity brother showed up at a beach with a girl and three other guys. He insulted me, threatened me, and Cruz laid him out. Guess what your other brothers did? Nothing. They watched it happen. They didn’t do a damned thing. Think on that, Gavin. Your fraternity brother is getting pummeled, and you stand back. It was just me there. No one else. They could’ve pulled him off in a heartbeat and they didn’t. They had time to figure it out, to see what was going on. They stood there, just stood there. I noticed her, and the state she was in, and the state Flynn was in, and I started asking questions.”

“The fuck you did! You set me up!”

I whirled, seeing so many eyes on me. They’d turned my way, facing me, but I shoved through them. A line opened, letting me pass until I broke through the circle.