“She nailed you pretty good on the lip,” Garrett says. “It’ll heal without stitches, but it’s going to bleed awhile. You’re not playing anymore tonight.”
She groans but lets him fuss over her. I turn my attention back to the game, yelling at my girls to get it together. To play defense. To open their fucking eyes. The minutes fly by until we’re nearing the end. Rockford is just two points ahead of us.
Tierra steals the ball and runs it down the court. Three-pointers aren’t her thing, but I can tell she’s going to try for it since Penny isn’t there to do it. The one I’m pretty sure is Sage flies after Tierra, quickly catching up to her. Before Tierra can make the shot, with seconds left on the clock, Sage bumps into her from behind. Hard. Tierra falls face first, elbows slamming the floor with brutal force.
The buzzer blares.
They fucking lost.
Penny
The other team shouts, jumping to their feet on the bleachers, now that the game is over. My eyes are locked on that bitch Sage. The one who pushed her.
It all happens in slow motion.
Tierra on her knees and elbows, planting her palms down so she can stand up. Sage lifting her leg. My cry of warning that gets washed out in the chaos. Sage slamming her foot down on Tierra’s.
The snap.
The snap.
Snap. Snap. Snap.
A sound that will haunt me on repeat. Over and over and over again. A sound that somehow pierces the dull roar of voices and penetrates me right in my skull.
“Daddy,” I croak out, pointing to Tierra.
Her scream chases the snap, pained, horrified, shocked. Dad flies off the bench, pushing past players to get to Tierra. Terrence rushes after him, limping, but not letting it slow him down. I finally snap out of it and chase him. A crowd has formed around Tierra. She holds her knee to her chest, screaming in pain, tears running down her cheeks. The referee and Rockford’s coach are yelling at Sage. She glares at them, satisfaction gleaming in her eyes.
That bitch.
Liv walks toward Tierra, her giant metal water bottle in her hands. I don’t think twice. I snag it from her and heave it at Sage. It smacks her in the forehead. She squawks in shock or pain or what the fuck ever. I don’t care. Ducking between some people, I make my way to Tierra. Dad is squatted beside her, assessing her ankle. I kneel down next to her, not sure how to comfort her. Terrence strokes her forehead and holds her hand, his face scrunched in worry.
“Her ankle is broken,” Dad growls, anger seeping in his tone. “She needs to get to the hospital.” He motions toward Sage. “Terrence, make sure that bitch gets in trouble for this.”
“It hurts,” Tierra sobs. “It hurts so bad.”
“I know, honey,” Dad croons. “I’m going to take you to the hospital. I’m going to pick you up now.”
She cries harder as Dad scoops her up. Terrence stalks over to where the referee and other coach are still yelling at Sage. She’s no longer wearing that stupid smirk. Her cheeks are wet with tears and her forehead is bleeding. Good.
“Grab her bag and meet me at the car,” Dad says to me. “Hurry.”
I take a second to flip Sage off with both fingers before I grab our stuff and get the hell out of here.
Dad is quiet on the drive home from the hospital. I’m glad Tierra had him by her side while he barked out orders to the doctors and nurses. Somehow, despite not working there, everyone knows him and listens to him. Wannabe Mayor Hoodlum just doing his thing. He basically told them what was wrong with her, ordered all the tests, and then micromanaged them as they did their job. As a result, she didn’t have to wait for anything and was taken care of properly.
I sat in the waiting room with Terrence and Rhetta for hours. The satisfaction of smacking Sage in her sneering face was short-lived. I wish I’d punched her in the fucking mouth.
“She’s out for the season,” Dad mutters in an absent tone as he parks in the garage under the building. “Fuck.”
Sadness plucks at my heart. Tierra loves basketball. It’s her absolute favorite thing in life. Sage stole it by being a psycho bitch. Tierra may have made some bad decisions and upset Sage, but that was no reason to break her damn ankle.
“She’ll be okay,” I murmur. I hope.
“We’ll make sure of it.”
I glance over at my dad. He hurt my mother and brother years ago. Both were mistakes on his part—mistakes he’s been working hard to atone for ever since. But Dad is a good man, no matter what he’s done. His good deeds far outweigh his few bad ones. I’m so happy he moved to Hood River. It’s nice having him to count on him.
After we park, we drag ourselves upstairs and to the loft. Jace is sitting in a chair, glaring at the floor. Charlotte and Cal are sprawled out, watching a movie. Loden is stretched out on the floor, the glow of his phone lighting his face.
Jace snaps his head up, his stare softening when he sees me. “Tierra okay?”
“Her ankle is broken,” Dad says, walking over to him. “She won’t play any more basketball this season.”
Cal sits up, scooting Charlotte to sit next to him. “Where is she now?”
“Terrence took her back to your place,” Dad tells him. “She wasn’t in the best mood when we left. Try not to give her your usual shit.”
Cal flips him off. “It’s pretty much my duty in life to give her hell.” He kicks Loden. “Get your shit. Let’s go.”
Charlotte and Loden stand up. She hugs Dad while Loden flirts with Cal. Jace seems unusually moody tonight because he’s not amused.
“I’m going to bed,” Jace grunts as he stands. He pushes past Loden, walking up to me. “Night, kiddo.” He tugs on my ponytail.
“Night, pet.”
I’m not in the mood to conversate, so I head for my room. After a quick shower, I text Terrence to check on Tierra.
Me: How is she?
Smash: I gave her my bed for the night. She was in pain but just really wiped out.
Me: Is the couch even long enough for you?
Smash: My feet hang off the end.
Me: You could come sleep with me. My big bed is empty.
Smash: Don’t tempt me.
I yawn, which makes my split lip sting, as fatigue consumes me.
Me: I had fun today. Lunch and ice cream. Thank you.
Smash: You’re my girl. I’d do that shit more often if you’d let me.
A smile tugs at my lips. I tongue the spot I reopened with my yawn, tasting the metallic blood.
Me: Maybe I will let you.
Buzz.
A video pings through and I swipe open the text, assuming it’s Terrence. As soon as I realize who it’s from, my blood runs cold.
Eli.
I don’t have to know the number to know who it’s from. As soon as the video starts playing, my blood runs cold.
“This cold, hateful bitch is getting exactly what she deserves,” Eli rumbles, though I can’t see him on the video. All I see is me. I can hear Aaron and Paxton laughing.
Eli reaches forward yanking down the front of my dress, to rip off my bra and then frees my breasts. Paxton comes into view, a Sharpie in his hand. He starts writing all over my chest while I lie there passed out.
Bile creeps up my throat. I want to turn it off, but I need to see what they did to me. Eli then shoves my dress up. He crudely fondles me before ripping my panties down my thighs.