Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 100294 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 501(@200wpm)___ 401(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100294 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 501(@200wpm)___ 401(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
The game starts fast. The first period is all speed and noise, bodies crashing into boards, the ref’s whistle shrieking every thirty seconds.
Grant scores first, a slapshot from the blue line that rings off the post and in. The arena erupts. Georgia and I are jumping up and down, cheering. I have never seen her cheer in my life.
Between periods, I hit the ice. Luke is on the bench, chugging water while watching me. I spot Bennett in the tunnel watching. I see him and Luke exchange a look. Two men trying to figure out how to be family without the poison their father injected. I have no doubt they will get it sorted out. Especially with a little extra shove here and there by me and my sister.
The second period is starting, and I need to be off the ice, but I take the time to watch Luke hop the boards and glide into position. Why is that always so hot?
The game gets rough in the second. The other team’s enforcer targets Luke with a hit from behind, but Luke doesn’t lose his footing. I’m halfway over the boards before I catch myself. Kory stops me in time, laughing. She’s taken over the captain spot for now.
Luke shakes it off and skates to center ice and wins the face-off clean. Which I already knew he would.
By the third period, Kingmakers is up by four. The crowd chants Luke’s name every time he touches the puck. The game goes by in a flash; it’s almost coming to an end. I turn to ask Georgia a question but pause when I catch sight of Lana standing by the concession stand.
She’s watching me. After everything that went down, she’s been a little MIA. I can’t even blame her. When they dug into Murphy after Emily told them everything, they quickly found that Lana was one of her victims too.
“Stay here,” I tell Georgia.
“Madeline—”
“I’ll be back.”
After all that has happened, maybe she and I can have a truce of some kind. I always want to see the best in people, and maybe Lana had a fucked-up childhood and the world’s worst mother, and that’s why she’s often a giant cunt.
I quickly change out of my skates. I weave through the crowd, past parents and students, some with their faces painted gold and blue. Lana doesn’t move as I approach, just holds out a hand like she’s stopping traffic.
“Not here,” she says. “Outside…”
She walks away before I can answer. Still bossy, so maybe not much has changed. I glance back at the ice. There are only two minutes left of the game. Luke is on a shift, and Grant is covering the point. I make a decision and follow her. The cold hits like a wall when we push through the exit doors.
“I’m not here to fight,” she says when we make it outside. “I’m here because there’s something you don’t know. About Murphy. About everything.”
My stomach drops. What the hell else could there be? “Emily told them everything. Both Joey and his dad are in custody with no bail. It’s over, Lana. You should talk to someone, there is—”
“It’s not over.” Any pleasantries drop from her face instantly. Still got that acting shit down. Lured me right out here. Gah, I’m a sucker. Here we go. I’m about to be read the riot act, but fuck it. Maybe she needs to get whatever she’s holding in out. Might do her some good, so I stand there and wait.
Lana’s brows drop, likely thinking I was going to cut her off and lay into her. It’s honestly pointless. Taking jabs at her at this point is like shooting fish in a barrel for me.
“You think you know everything, don’t you? Little Madeline Pearson, figuring it all out. Been here two seconds. You don’t know shit.” I can’t tell if her tone is disgusted or pissed off or maybe hurt. I don’t know. She’s a freaking good actress. Still a victim, I have to keep reminding myself.
One that might be coming unhinged? I suppose I’m part of the reason everything came out about her and Coach Murphy. Yeah, not cool. That should have been kept on lockdown, but that shit didn’t come from us. It had to have been the police. Who knows in this small town.
“I don’t think that,” I say carefully. “I just think you’ve been through enough. We all have.”
“Enough?” She laughs, sharp and jagged. “You don’t know what enough looks like.” She steps closer, and I catch the smell of her perfume. “Joey didn’t kill Murphy.”
My blood goes cold, the air leaving my lungs. It’s a struggle to get the one word out. “What?”
“It was me,” Lana says, almost dreamily now as though it was a good thing she did. “It was to prove my love for him.”