Right Man, Right Time (The Vancouver Agitators, #3)(123)

“So . . . you didn’t have anything to do with this article?”

“No,” she says in disgust and shock. “Why would I want to put that out in the world? I’m ashamed of what I did, Silas. I don’t want to be known as a cheater. There are comments in that article of people tearing me apart. Do you really think I would want to add that kind of disaster to my life?”

I’ve known Sarah for a very long time, and I know when she’s being manipulative, when she’s lying, when she’s sad, angry, and telling the truth. And I know, from the depths of my soul, that she had nothing to do with this.

She swipes at a tear and whispers, “I don’t want to lose this job.”

“You won’t lose your job,” I say. “I’ll make sure of it.”

“Dude . . .” Posey says. When I give him a death glare, he doesn’t back down. “She fucked you over. Made you feel like absolute shit. Made you self-doubt, and you’re just going to jump in and protect her like that? What the fuck, man?”

Sarah stiffens next to me. “Everyone makes mistakes, Levi.”

“That wasn’t a mistake,” he says, his voice harsh. “That was messing with my boy. You realize the kind of man Silas is? He would do anything for the people close to him, and you cheated on him, God knows how many times. Frankly, it’s disgusting you think you can ask for help without even apologizing or owning up to what you did. You’re a shit person, Sarah. Simple as that. If your name is being dragged around, then you fucking deserve it.”

“Levi,” I say, trying to calm him down.

“What? It’s true. You deserve better. Don’t sink to her level.”

“I’m not sinking to her level, but I’m also not going to just sit back when the girl I was with fucked us both over. Sarah shouldn’t lose her job because of what she did to me.” Even I’m not that petty.

“The whole reason you were even with Ollie is because of Sarah,” Posey practically yells. “Like where’s your fucking head at, man?”

I know he’s right.

Sarah doesn’t deserve my empathy.

She doesn’t deserve anything from me.

Yet for some reason, I feel bad for her.

“I don’t know.” I rub my hand over my forehead before I stand from the table. I look down at Sarah and say, “You had nothing to do with this article?”

“I swear, Silas. I wouldn’t do that to you, and I sure as hell wouldn’t do that to me. I know you don’t trust me, and I get that. I do owe you an apology. What I did to you, how I treated you, it was awful and I’m sorry. I saw how badly I hurt you, and I wouldn’t do that again. Maybe I was jealous of Ollie, but I’d never be vindictive, especially if it hurt me in the end too.”

Because it always revolves around Sarah. That’s something I need to remember.

I just nod and take off toward the locker room.

Where the fuck is my head at? Great question.

I’m angry.

I’m hurt.

And I’m trying to figure out why the girl I thought I loved would do this to me.

Maybe what it comes down to is I got played.

Simple as that.





**OLLIE**





“Did you watch the game?” Ross asks as he comes into my dorm room.

I shake my head as I bury myself further into my bed, where I’ve stayed for the past three days.

Thankfully, I haven’t had to go to work because it was a weekend, and I skipped out on classes on Friday, so I’ve just remained planted here, unmoving, not wanting anyone to communicate with me besides Silas.

And he hasn’t said one word to me.

Not a single one.

And I don’t blame him.

From his vantage point, another woman he loved betrayed him. If only he would listen to me.

Ross takes a seat on my bed. “Silas got into another fight.”

My gut squeezes from the thought of it. The other night when we were watching, Silas got into an altercation with another player. I watched as he tossed his gloves to the ice along with his helmet and upper-cutted another player. That other player did the same.

The sight of them grappling nearly made me throw up.

“Was it bad?” I ask.

“The player caught Silas right in the face. The announcers were saying it looked like Silas just gave up and wasn’t invested in the fight at all. And from where I sat, it seemed like he wanted to be punched. It was their second loss in a row, and Mr. Mustard was complaining about Silas and how he needs to get his head in the game.”

“I’m sure it’s not, thanks to me.”

“But you didn’t write that piece in the article.”

“I know that, and you know that, but he doesn’t. For all I know, Silas is reeling right now. He trusted me when his trust was hard to earn, and look what happened. He’s hurting, Ross, and all I want to do is fix it.”

“So fix it,” Ross says. “The guys come home tonight. Ian told me. Go to his place and force him to talk to you. He can’t avoid you if you’re in his apartment. He deserves the truth.”

“But I don’t know what the truth is. All I know is that I didn’t write it.”

“So explain that to him. Let him know that you plan on getting to the bottom of this.”