Chapter 31: Sawyer

The dean might think that there’s nothing that can be done to protect Bryn from that creep, but I don’t believe that. No, I’m going to make sure he doesn’t go near or even think of her again. I walk into the locker room and find the guys already waiting for me.

“Hey man! So what’s this impromptu meeting about?”

I look at the guys and hope they won’t reject what I’m about to ask of them.

“I have a favor to ask of you guys. It’s about Bryn.” I tell them and their faces change from playful to angry.

Bryn might ride their asses, but they care about her, and I’m hoping it’s enough for them to help me.

“Whatever it is, we’re in.” Channing, our right wing, says.

“Thanks guys. I know I’ve been a shit to you all, but- “

“You’re a serious asshole, Becket, but you’re a solid player and a good guy when you want to be. Especially toward Bryn, so we’re in. What do you need us to do?”

I spend the next ten minutes expelling to them what’s been going on and my plan. If this goes well, then that doctor won’t have a leg to stand on. His career will be over. I make sure the guys keep their mouths shut around Bryn because I know if she heard about what I’m planning, she would freak. She can be a hardass, but she believes in keeping the peace unless it’s absolutely necessary.

The football team hasn’t tried anything with her since her confrontation with their teammate in the hallway. They’ve also been a lot nicer to most of the girls in general. Those roiding assholes were known for doing some sketchy shit apparently, and that has all stopped recently. Apparently, seeing a tiny girl like Bryn go up against a big footballer has all the girls on campus standing up for themselves.

All of this was accomplished in the first few weeks of school. My girl is slowly becoming a legend here, and she has absolutely no idea. She’s so wrapped up in school that she barely knows what’s happening in the same room as her. In the last few days, she’s fallen asleep at her desk three times. I’ve had to carry her to bed every time where she will stay asleep until her alarm goes off at the ass crack of dawn.

Being the amazing boyfriend I am, I wake up with her and make her breakfast and coffee because she’ll forget. Since I’ve learned about her Bipolar disorder, I’ve been reading all sorts of articles on how to help and live with someone who has the condition. I don’t think Bryn has noticed how much more effort I’ve put into making sure she takes her meds and eats every day. So far, I have seen no signs that she’s having a hard time with it, but I’ve been watching out for any change.

I get my studying done when she’s gone and I pick her up and we drive over to the rink together for practices. We’ve gotten into a good routine and I’m surprised how easily we’ve fallen into it.

The tests they ran on me after the photo of me was posted didn’t show any drugs in my system, so the photo had to have been old. Thankfully, it didn’t get as much steam as the girl probably hoped it would. Especially when some other guys came forward about being blackmailed by her. I never did, so I stayed out of it, but it all helped me in the end.

Things were going good…too good.

Now I was not one of those people who feared over things going wrong ever until I got injured and now it’s all I think about. So the fact that things are going so well now makes me think that it’s not going to last. It’s a month into school and less of Bryn and me dating. So how could something happen so soon to mess that up?

Well, I seem to have cursed myself in another life because things spiral.

First, one of our freshman centers was caught hooking up with a girl in some dive parking lot by the cops. Indecent exposure seems minor, but it’s a scandal none the less. Any sort of criminal activity, even minor, can screw up a player’s career. The kid was an idiot for what he did, but he’s young, so the dean gave him a break. Coach, on the other hand, has been putting him through the ringer.

Then in the same week our goalie sprains his ankle, stepping off a curb the wrong way. Yep, a curb. Who knew something so small could be so lethal.

As if the team didn’t have enough issues, my personal life took a hit as well. Bryn hit a bad patch and when I tried to talk to her about it, she blew up on me and told me repeatedly that she was fine taking care of herself on her own. Apparently, she overheard me and Poppy talking and didn’t like what we said. In my defense, Poppy has lived with Bryn’s condition longer and I wanted to make sure what I’ve been doing is actually helping Bryn.

Basically, I needed a pat on the back and wasn’t too shy to ask for one.

Bryn hasn’t spoken to me in two days, and that includes only coming home when I’m out and locking her bedroom door. She’s pissed beyond belief, and no amount of bribing has worked on her. Then Zach called and threatened me when Bryn called Poppy and yelled at her for helping me. So apparently everything was my fault, and now everyone is avoiding me. Well, except Zach, who has been sending me meme’s of glaring eyes. Very Marie and oddly effective. I feel like shit, which has my game weak and Coach has had no qualms about making sure I know.

That brings us to today.

“Again! Come on boys, our first game is next week and you guys are playing like you're still in training skates.” Coach yells before blowing his whistle loud. “No! You have to- “

He goes on a tangent but I don’t hear most of it because Bryn is siting on a bench closest to the ice with her eyes focused on one of her course books. A strand of her hair has fallen out of her usual bun thing, and she looks so beautiful. Every time I see her, I wonder how I never realized it. Sure, she had her awkward phase growing up just like I did, but she was always pretty. I guess it isn’t untrue when people claim men are stupid. In this case, I would have to agree. I was stupid for not seeing her all this time, and now I can’t unsee any of it.

She’s all bundled up right now since practice has been going for three hours now. She must have gotten cold. The tip of her nose is slightly pink and her lips are a bright red from her, biting them while she’s deep in thought. All these little things have been jumping out at me since I saw her again, and hasn’t stopped.

Every day I see something new and add it to my library, of all things, Bryn.
“Becket! Get your head in the game!” Coat yells, making Bryn lift her head and spot me, watching her like a creep.

She narrows her eyes on me and tilts her head to tell me to listen to Coach, but I don’t think I can handle her being mad at me anymore. We need to settle this, but we can’t do that here since Coach is watching. I haven’t told him about us yet and I’m not sure if it’s a good idea that I will ever tell him.

“Yeah, once sec Coach!” I yell back before I skate toward the window in front of Bryn.

She stands and marches over with fury on her face. “What are you doing? Coach is going to kick your butt.”

“I can’t stand you being mad at me anymore, so tell me what I need to do to make this better.” I all but give her puppy eyes to get her to tell me.

She looks at me for less than a second before she’s looking down at her feet and biting her lip again.

“Bryn, please. You don’t want coach on my ass, right? He loves you, so you would be safe, but he hates me. So please tell me before he comes for me, and you will have to give the eulogy at my funeral.”

She laughs and looks back up at me. “You’re an idiot.”

I shrug. “Yeah, but you make me one. I’m an idiot around you and for you. So please put me out of my misery. What can I do?”

There is a tense moment where I think she’ll never forgive me, but then she smiles.

“It’s going to cost you.” She has this flirtatious look on her face now.

Okay, let’s play little minx, but I’m a far bigger predator and I always catch my prey.