Page 96 of The Draft

Just as Scotty started to take his boots off, Cade walked into the locker room, laughing about something with Brooks.

Traitor. Traitor. Traitor.

Dammit. The word echoed in my brain again because Scotty was right. I was the worst kind of friend, and I shouldn’t have kept this from him for as long as I had. I still had the taste of Madison on my lips. Hell, she nearly sucked the soul out of my body before I came here. Things were getting serious between us, and neither one of us was built to hide things. Especially from her brother and my best friend.

Cade tipped his chin when he saw me looking at him. “Coming over to you in a second, Bridges. I need to talk to you.”

I froze. Scotty did too. “Fuck,” he whispered under his breath.

I nodded in response and bumped Scotty on the shoulder to make sure he moved a little, so we didn’t look so suspicious before turning back to my locker. As I put my pads away, Scotty did the same. “What are you going to do?”

Letting a breath out, I thought about my options, but I knew what I had to do. Throwing the final pad in my locker, I put my shirt on and said, “I’m going to tell him the truth.”

“Now?”

“There’s no time like the present. Things aren’t changing between Madison and me anytime soon. He’s my best friend. He needs to know.”

It was like I’d suddenly had an epiphany. The sooner I told her brother, the sooner I could kiss her on campus without anyone caring. Madison wasn’t a girl who was going to be gone in a day or a week. She wasn’t someone I’d forget about, either. She’d been in my life since I could remember, and frankly, I only imagined that trending in a more positive direction in the future. Yes, Cade might beat me down, but if he did it now, at least I’d have time to recover before the Frozen Four—if we were lucky enough to get there.

“Well, just so you know, I’m going to act as shocked as everyone else inthe locker room when you tell him because there’s no way in hell I’m going to let Cade break my nose foryourindiscretions. My father would probably pay for some Hollywood dude to redo it, and I don’t want to end up in some tabloids over a botched nose job.”

“Are you done?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Don’t worry. I started this; it’s only right I finish it on my own.”

I considered messaging Madison to ask her if she’d be okay with me telling Cade, but at this point, it almost felt like that would be stalling. She probably wouldn’t answer and then I’d have to wait to get her approval.

As Cade made his way over to me, I’d never felt his presence more in my life. Sure, I was a grumpy asshole, but Cade had this menacing aura about him that gave off a vibe of,“I’m going to beat the living shit out of you, and then set you on fire.”With his eyes dark, it was the first time I was concerned that I might be the recipient of his wrath.

Sitting on the bench in front of me, Scotty was chewing on his granola bar inconspicuously. “Hey, C. What’s up?”

Cade didn’t say a word, he just kept his focus on me. Scotty’s chews slowed as he looked between the two of us, seemingly getting the hint that Cade wanted to talk to me alone. “You know what? I’ve got to check on Erik and Alex.”

When Scotty was out of earshot, Cade finally started to talk to me. “Are you and Reporter Girl having problems or something? Because she’s fucking with you, and I don’t like it.”

I was taken aback by his abruptness, and honestly, the way he was looking at me made me think he had something else on his mind. His leg was bouncing, and his hands were jittery. When I didn’t immediately answer, he looked down and cursed under his breath.

“Is, uh, everything okay?”

He ran a hand through his buzzed hair and sighed. “It’s nothing. It’s just this stupid shit.”

“Stupid shit involvingBehind Closed Doors?”

“Maybe,” he drawled out. “But that’s not why I’m here. Why were you late today?”

The confidence I had to tell Cade about my relationship with his sistersuddenly dwindled because this was going to hit him like a freight train.

“Umm, yeah. About that. There’s something I need to tell you. I saw Madison.” Saying her name was at least a start.

“Oh no. This doesn’t sound good. Did you find out who she’s dating? It’s Aiden Matthews, isn’t it?”

“Nope. She’s not secretly dating Aiden.” It was all I managed to get out before Cade’s phone started ringing, and he pulled it out of his pocket, cursing again.

Holding his finger up, he kept his eyes on his phone. “Give me a minute. I’ve got to get this. Sorry.”

I nodded, and he walked out of the room, speaking in hushed whispers. Judging by the way he was talking, I didn’t think he’d be back any time soon.