YOU ARE NOTHING II

I stayed perfectly still, not fighting back. I’d learned years ago that fighting back only made things worse—crying made it last longer so the only thing was to let it happen.

”This show.” His thumb pressed harder against my cheekbone. “You’ll do it. You’ll make the university look good again. You’ll make me look good. Do you understand?”

I stood there while his fingers dug into my bone—my legs shook with the effort of staying upright.

”Yes, sir.” The words came out barely audible.

”And if you embarrass me-“ His grip tightened until stars burst behind my eyes. “If you make my surname look weak, or foolish, or like I raised a son who can’t handle pressure—I will make sure you regret every second of your miserable life. Are we clear?”

“Yes, sir.” Tears welled behind my eyes.

The locker door swung open.

“Zane, Coach wants to know if you’re—“ JJ—one of my teammates. His voice trailed off.

My father let go immediately.

I felt relief and shame hit me at the same time—relief that someone walked in, that it stopped. And the shame they’d seen it,

He stepped back and smoothed his jacket. His face shifted from rage to neutral in half as second, like flipping a switch . And he was back to being the successful business everyone saw as a hero—because of his hefty donations.

JJ stood frozen in the doorway—his eyes wide. Another of my team mates, Henry, was right behind him, taking in the scene where I just got grabbed like a child.

“Boys.” My father’s voice was perfectly calm now. “I was just leaving.”

He walked past them without saying another word. The door swing shut behind him.

JJ and Henry both stared at me.

I could feel where his fingers had been. My jaw throbbed with each heartbeat. The bruise from this morning was definitely worse now—I could feel it swelling, hot and tight beneath my skin.

I turned away, reaching for my skates with hands that shook slightly.

”Zane—“ Henry broke the silence.

”I’m fine.” I choked out.

”Your face—“

”I said I’m fine!” The words came out sharper than I intended.

JJ moved closer, his usual comedic energy wasn’t there. “Dude, what the hell was that?”

”Nothing.” I focused on my skates, fingers fumbling with the laces. “Just my father being my father.”

”That wasn’t nothing.” Henry’s voice was quiet but firm. “He grabbed you.”

”He was making a point.”

”By hurting you.” He scoffed.

”Drop it, Henry.” I yanked the first skate on harder than necessary, jaw clenching against the pain it sent through my face.

How could I explain to them that this was normal? That this was how things were with him. That I’d learned a long time ago to just take it and move on.

”I’ll be on the ice.” I rushed out, not even giving them the chance to speak.

On getting there, I stood by the boards, breathing as I gazed at the empty rink.

His words echoed in my head and I pushed off the boards. I added more intensity, more speed on the length of the ice, fast enough for my thoughts to struggle to catch up.

Reeve Callahan.

Her name kept cutting through everything like I revolved around her. I thought of her face in the janitor’s closet. How she looked completely guilty.

I came off the far end, turned hard and built speed back towards the centre. She ruined my season. My father thinks I’m weak for not finding a better solution and now I’m stuck with her.

My blade caught the edge again. Then I stopped hard at centre ice, my breathing coming down hard as I looked at the overhead ice.

Six weeks.

”Fuckkk!!!!!” I screamed, hitting the ice with my palm so hard the cold shot through the glove. I stayed down for a second, panting while my curls fell on my face.

Then I heard it, the voice of the one I hated the most at the moment.

”Zane!”

I looked over at the boards. It was her, Reeve and she was waving for my attention. Like this was normal.

Why the fuck was she here?