“Mom, I’m fine,” I laugh, but she isn’t buying it.

“I’m gonna call River, and then I’m coming up there.”

“Don’t. I’m fine. The only reason I’m telling you is because I might not play tomorrow. So I don’t want you making the trip up here until I call, okay?”

She doesn’t like that. “Jace Ryan, I’m coming now. I’ll stay with River tonight.”

“Oh, Jesus. Mom!” I cry out, wishing I could scratch that image out of my brain. “No, please don’t do that. If I see your car at his house, I swear, please. Oh my God, I think I’m gonna puke.”

“Jace, I’m a woman who has—”

“Mom, please. Don’t say another word. Don’t come up here, and Lord, please don’t. Just don’t,” I beg, dry heaving. She answers me with laughter and I shake my head. “I’m good, promise. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

She’s hesitant, but I really need to get off the phone with her. “Okay, keep me in the loop. Love you.”

“Will do. Love you,” I say and hang up, knowing that from now on I won’t call her until I know one way or another if I’m playing or not. Ugh, my stomach is still not right. That was just wrong, though I can’t help but wonder when the thought of my mom and my coach together will stop making me sick.

Ew.

When my phone signals a text, I look down to see it’s from Avery, thank goodness.

Avery: Are you all right?! Do I need to leave class??

Me: No babe, I’m good. Just gonna lie down, take some pills, and pass out.

Avery: Are you sure? I can call Stu and tell him I’m not coming in.

Me: No way. It’s your first day, go.

Avery: You sure?

Me: Yes. I’m fine.

Avery: Okay. Text me.

Me: I will.

When I hobble down the stairs and into my room, I know I have no other option but to call my brother. I don’t want to. Things are so good right now. I mean, we are finding our place while falling for each other more and more each day. She is starting to trust me. I mean, last night solidified that, and I don’t want anything to come between us. But then, why am I assuming it’s bad? It could be great! He loves Avery and wants nothing more than for me to be happy. But I know that isn’t Jude and I know this is bad. Which scares the living shit out of me. Sitting on Markus’s bed, I click on Jude’s name and wait.

I don’t have to wait long.

“Hey, bro.”

“Hey,” I say wryly. “Calling you like you wanted.”

“Yeah, thanks. Practice run late?”

Shit, he’s stalling now.

My stomach drops as I fall back into Markus’s pillows. “Yeah, Markus hit me with the puck on the side of the knee, so I was getting fixed up.”

“You good?”

“Yeah, it hurts like balls, but I just took some pain meds.”

“Cool,” he says. “Stay off it.”

“Yeah, I am.”

“Okay,” he says and then lets out a long breath. “I guess I’ll get right to it, then.”

But I don’t say anything, my heart jackhammering in my chest. “What’s up?”

“So, you know how I play with Seth, Avery’s brother?”

Damn it. I knew this wasn’t going to be good. I’ve learned that any of her brothers and her in a sentence doesn’t end well. “Yeah. They don’t talk.”

“Yeah, I know, which is why I’m not sure how much stock I put in this, but I figure you need to know anyway.”

“Okay?”

“Okay, well, couple nights ago, we were out for drinks. And somehow, Seth and I were alone, which hardly ever happens, and I said, hey, my brother is dating your sister. He made a face and I laughed, saying that my brother is a good dude, he has nothing to worry about. Well, Seth makes another face and shakes his head, saying he isn’t worried about someone hurting Avery, but he’s worried about you. That she ruined some guy, Caleb’s, career when he broke up with her.”

“What?” I croak out, and while I thought it was something bad, I really didn’t think it was this bad.

She lied.

I feel like I’m going to pass out.

“Yeah, she went psycho apparently and tried to kill herself—”

“What? No. Really?” I say, because she didn’t tell me that. She told me it ended with cutting. Nothing more.

Fuck, she lied again.

“Yeah, and her parents freaked, and her dad made sure he was undraftable.”

Swallowing hard, I close my eyes as my teeth sink into my lip. “Wow,” is all I can say as I slowly shake my head.

“You know, I didn’t know if I should believe it. She doesn’t seem like the type to do something like that, but he was really adamant about it. Told me to make sure to let you know to get out. That she’s psycho, and that in the end, you’ll lose everything.”

Squeezing my eyes shut, I can’t believe this. “You believe him?”

“I don’t know, bro. I mean, it’s odd. I only know how I interact with my family, and if something like this had happened to, say, Lucy, I wouldn’t be so candid about it. He acted as if it was no big deal, that Avery was nothing, which is why I kind of don’t believe him. But then, I googled Caleb and asked Jayden, and he confirmed that Caleb completely turned his back on hockey and Facebook told me he is touring Africa at the moment.”

With my heart in my throat, making it hard to breathe, I shake my head. “She never told me anything like this. She told me Caleb was a douche and hurt her, but that was it. Not that she tried to kill herself.”

“Well, do you believe that part? That’s the part I’m sort of on the fence about.”

But I shake my head, knowing damn well she is capable. If she can cut herself, she can try to end it too, which just hurts me. Instead of being shitty to her, why didn’t her family help her? Fuck. But yet, I can’t tell my brother that. It isn’t his business.

“I don’t know.”

He sighs. “Well, Jace, the thing that worries me is that she didn’t tell you who her dad is either. I’m thinking maybe you should get out. You’ll never get the real story unless you go to Caleb, and I mean, then what? Why should you have to work so hard for a relationship with someone who has lied to you over and over again?”