A Real Piece Of Work

Rhett

Cassian doesn’t move for a very long time.

He just sits there on the bed, staring up at me with a murderous expression that could literally kill someone if looks were capable of that. His eyes are locked into mine, anger evident in them as he tries to process that I actually have him cornered and he doesn’t have much of a choice here.

“You’re a real piece of work, Reed,” he spits, reaching out to grab his laptop. His eyes still don’t move away from mine even as he opens it.

When it comes on, the bright light illuminates his face, making my heart flutter just a little. I swallow, trying to push away the feelings my wolf is throwing at me.

Cassian’s fingers hit the keyboard with so much force I’m surprised the keys don’t pop out or stop working. He clicks a few times, and I can literally hear his jaw grinding so hard. After a final, aggressive tap, he turns the laptop around and looks up at me.

“There,” Cassian snaps, glaring at me. “It’s gone. Completely wiped. Happy now?”

“No,” I say calmly, folding my arms across my chest. I almost scream at the pain, but I manage to keep it contained. “You’re going to apologize publicly.”

Cassian snorts and rolls his eyes. “You wish. The petition was completely anonymous anyway. Nobody knows it came from me, so why the hell would I publicly apologize for something my name isn’t attached to?”

“Then you’ll create an anonymous page on the university forum,” I command, refusing to back down. “And you will write an apology stating that the petition was nothing but a malicious attempt to ruin my reputation because of jealousy. You’ll make sure everyone knows the claims were completely fabricated.”

Cassian scoffs, a look of pure disgust crossing his face before he bursts into laughter. “Jealous?” He doubles over, clutching his stomach as if I have made the funniest joke. “You wish, Rhett. Why the fuck would I ever say I’m jealous of you?”

I don’t answer him; I just stare at him with my best mean look.

“What exactly do you have that I could possibly want?” he asks after a prolonged silence. “Your pathetic hockey captaincy? Your psychotic father who uses you as a punching bag?”

“The fuck did you just say?” I hiss, grabbing him by the scruff of his neck.

“What the fuck did you hear?” Cassian spits back. “Should I be jealous of that? Or maybe the silly, prudish girl you’re dating who you don’t even like? Trust me, there is absolutely nothing about your messy life that makes me jealous.”

I suck in a sharp breath to stop myself from doing something drastic like slamming his head against the wall. The words hit me exactly how he knows they will, and I can’t let him see how much it has affected me. He’s not wrong—my father is a psycho and I’m just a punching bag, I don’t know if I feel anything for Savannah, and my life’s reality is too pathetic for anyone to willingly want.

“Ten minutes, Cassian,” I hiss, throwing his neck backward. “That’s all the time you have to post the apology before I walk into the Dean’s office.”

I don’t wait for his response. I turn around and walk into the bathroom, shutting the door behind me. My entire body aches and stings as I strip out from my clothes and step under the shower. The warm water hits my back and a sharp gasp escapes my lips from the pain. I lean my forehead against the cold tiles, desperately waiting for the pain to subside while my wolf keeps whining restlessly in my head. Goddess, there are times I just want to get rid of Rook, but I am stuck with him.

***

My schedule for the day was packed. And after three lectures, I don’t even have up to thirty minutes to make my way to the training rink. By the time I arrive, most of my teammates are already there, but luckily Coach is nowhere to be seen. I glance toward the bleachers to see Cassian sitting there, and beside him is Savannah; they seem to be having a conversation. I stare in confusion, knowing fully well that Cassian despises her for reasons I don’t know.

Savannah, on the other hand, is unproblematic and sees everyone as someone with a good heart. Unfortunately, that may not end well. Cassian talking to her only means one thing: he has a plan.

“Boys!” a hoarse, grating voice yells, making me turn my head.

We all skate over in the direction of the team bench, where our coach is standing and looking absolutely livid. His veins are literally bulging against his neck.

Jacob, on the other hand, is standing right next to him, his jaw clenched so hard I’m surprised it doesn’t snap. I’m completely confused, and there’s a small panic in my chest…

This might be the moment I lose everything to him.

When Jacob catches me looking, his hands ball into tight fists at his sides. That’s when I notice the biggest detail: Jacob isn’t wearing his training gear. He’s in a regular university hoodie.

“I just came back from an emergency committee meeting with the school sports board,” Coach says angrily, his eyes sweeping over the team.

We look among ourselves, completely confused by the sudden tension.

“I have mentioned time and time again that this hockey team is a brotherhood,” Coach continues. “We fight on the ice, we push each other in training, but we protect our own, for fuck’s sake!”

For our coach to use a swear word? Something is wrong. The man is as righteous as they come.

“What we do not do is sabotage our captain because of petty, pathetic jealousy.”

My eyebrows furrow under my helmet. I instinctively glance up at the bleachers. Cassian is still sitting there, completely relaxed, watching the ice with an unbothered expression. Savannah is saying something to him, looking entirely clueless.

“This morning, a fraudulent, malicious petition was brought to the athletic board’s attention, attempting to strip Rhett of his captaincy,” Coach snaps, gesturing aggressively toward Jacob. “And apparently it got over four hundred votes… it was posted after the last game. This morning, an anonymous confession was posted directly on the university forum stating it was for jealousy reasons and to try to become captain. Normally the board would ignore it… but because it was made by someone else to become captain?” Coach shakes his head in anger. “Anyways, the board tracked the source. Jacob, care to tell the team what you did?”

Jacob looks like he’s about to vomit from pure rage. “I didn’t write that fucking post, Coach! I’m telling you, I was framed! Someone probably hacked my—”

“Enough!” Coach roars, slamming his clipboard against the plastic barrier. “The confession note explicitly came from your IP address, detailing how you engineered the petition out of spite because you wanted the captaincy for yourself. And I hear from sources that you even admitted to intentionally targeting Rhett during yesterday’s scrimmage because you knew he was carrying an injury! I mean, the video is all over social fucking media?!”

My heart stops.

What?

“Jacob, you are officially suspended from the Blackridge Hockey team for the remainder of the season,” Coach declares coldly. “Pack up your locker and get out of my arena. The rest of you, five laps around the rink. Now!”