Once I’m done, I lock up my office and head out. The girls are going to dinner, and since Callie and I don’t want anyone knowing we are dating… I don’t know if we’re dating; I feel like we’re together. Plus, she has seen the really bad parts of me early, so I might be a wee bit attached. Because of that uncertainty, I don’t want to go because I know I’ll just gush and rave over her and no one else. That seems to be an ongoing theme when I’m around her—I only care for her. I have a lot of feelings I don’t understand, and all I know is that I sent her a text to call me when she gets a chance. I’m putting the ball in her court, which I do well with.
I gather my things in my backpack and head out. I check my phone to make sure the hockey house is good. Thankfully, they are, but Mullians, the softball player, is still pursuing charges against Jackson. He’s suspended until everything is resolved, and he is only allowed to practice, not travel with the team or play in a game. I feel awful for the kid, but once again, it is what it is. A hard lesson, but one that was needed, unfortunately. I think it scared everyone in the house, and now they’re all on their best behavior.
Even though Jackson is in trouble, he is still volunteering with the team around campus for the many community events we do. We have a bake sale for unplanned pregnancies that he’s attending, and I’m proud of him for that. I can tell he’s broken about what’s going on, and I feel for him.
I tuck my phone into my back pocket and start toward the house when Nico steps into my path.
Fuck me.
“Hey, why aren’t you inside? It’s—”
“Listen to me,” he demands, and I press my lips together. Nico is massive, no other word for it. He’s very tall and big. Everyone calls him a gentle giant, but I know how he feels about Callie and Aviva. He loves them and protects them at all costs. So, gentle isn’t the word I’d use to describe Nico at this very moment. He doesn’t even need to say what he is about to; I can see it all over his face. “Stay away from Callie.”
Okay. I can handle this one of two ways. Act like I have no clue what is going on, or be honest. Before I can make the choice, though, Nico glares and doesn’t give me the chance to say anything before he says, “You are not allowed to be anything more than a trainer to her. I see the way she looks at you and how you look at her. She is an angel, and people like you will not ruin her. Not after everything she’s been through. She lost both of her parents, and I won’t let you hurt her anymore. I know how your family treats people, and I refuse to allow my daughter to be the next Adler victim.”
I’m completely shocked by the red-hot anger that vibrates through my body. I tuck my hands into my pockets to keep from swinging on him. “You can talk all day about me and my faults. But my family, they are off-limits to you,” I sneer, holding his gaze. “I come from a good family, a strong and kind one,” I start, but when he laughs, my glare deepens.
“Your family is trash. Owen sleeps around like a whore—”
“Slept,” I interject, holding his gaze, and I know it makes him uncomfortable, but I don’t care. He doesn’t get to bash my family and expect me to be kind to his issues. “Past tense. He is in a committed and loving relationship, and you know that. Angie is very important in your life, so don’t disrespect the love of her life for his past. He has grown from it.” He looks away, and I shake my head, my body shaking from my fury.
“You don’t even know my mom or dad, or even Quinn. I know you had a run-in with Posey, but she was drunk when she tried to sleep with you, and we all make mistakes. She isn’t that person now. She is a loving wife and mother.” I can see that he is shaking too, but I don’t give two fucks. “And as for Shelli… Listen, I get it. I know she hurt you, but that was your choice, not hers. She was honest from the jump. She told you she didn’t want anything more than sex—”
“Ha! It’s my fault she hurt me. That’s bullshit.”
“It’s not,” I say simply. “We are in control of our emotions. And sure, when we want something or someone, we want to fight for them. But if they tell you repeatedly that they don’t want anything more than what they’re offering, then I don’t know what you were expecting. I heard her tell you that, and I watched you not accept it. Over and over again. To the point that I know your best friend even told you to move on. I know that’s why you didn’t let us stay with you—though you say it was because of Callie. I know that’s why you’ve always been kind of shitty to us. But it’s not our fault.”
“Whatever. That’s in the past—”
“So leave it there.”
He glares at me.
“Don’t put me in a category I don’t belong in. You know me. I thought we were friends, and I would never deliberately hurt someone. Your issues with my sister are your issues. Don’t put them on me. That was between you two, and you can’t blame me or hold me responsible for something I had no hand in.”
He’s frustrated and visibly overwhelmed. “None of this matters. Stay away from Callie.”
“I won’t.” I say it simply and with way more strength than I realized I was capable of. “Unless she says she doesn’t want to see me or spend time with me, nothing and no one will keep me away.”
“Do you want me to kick your ass?”
I scoff. “You can try, but as a grown-ass man, I’d hope you could control yourself. Especially since we’re not on a sheet of ice, where the only penalty is a trip to the box.”
“Not that you’d know anything about that,” he sneers, catching me off guard. “Since you can’t even get on the ice.”
“Wow, low blow. And…we’re done,” I say, walking around him. “I would think as former teammates, you would show a level of respect, but I can see that’s not the case.”
“If you respected me, you’d stay away from Callie.”
I shrug. “Then I guess I don’t respect you,” I say. “But how could I, when you came for my family and, now, for my mental illness.”
He doesn’t say anything as I walk away, and I’m thankful for that. My emotions are too wild, and my feelings are hurt. As I always do, I replay my interaction with Nico and try to see where it went wrong. Problem is, he was mad from the start. I guess I could have been more honest about my intentions with Callie, but it’s hard when someone is coming for your family and being blatantly disrespectful. I deserve better than that. I would never treat anyone like that. I get that he has his own diagnosis and he isn’t good at social interaction, but I thought we were better than all that.
I almost call Owen to tell him, but I know how Owen is. He’s a fight-now, talk-later kind of guy, which would make the plane ride back to South Carolina an awkward one. I would call Shelli and bitch at her, but it’s not her fault. It’s no one’s, really. Nico was into my sister at the time, but in the end, they both found who it was they wanted and needed. So I don’t know why he is being such an ass.
I’m almost to the house when a text comes through.
Callie: Hey, dinner should be quick. We’re going to the diner. Wanna meet up and go for a ride? We don’t have practice tomorrow morning, so no curfew.