Chapter 21

Chapter

Twenty-One

brOOKLYNN

My parents, thankfully, don't demand that I do anything. They actually stay out of my way and allow me to wallow in my pitiful life. I'm sure they won't let me do that for long, but it's nice right now, nonetheless.

I need the peace. The quiet. And the loneliness. I need to be lost inside my own head.

Lying on my bed, I stare at the ceiling, wondering what I'm going to do with the rest of my life. I've never been in limbo before. I've always had a plan. Even when I was terrified of what was to come, I always had a plan.

Rolling onto my side, I stare at the blank wall across from me and try to find the will to stand up and do something. But I can't think of anything to do. I'm heartbroken for so many reasons. For all his talk, Forrest hasn't tried to contact me. He hasn't called, texted, or anything, and that makes my heart shatter and grind down to finer dust with each passing moment.

I streamed his last two games because I couldn't bring myself to attend in person.

They won.

He was as beautiful as ever.

The sight of him effortlessly gliding on the ice was almost too much for me to bear. But because I couldn't help myself, I watched him anyway.

And cried.

Pushing myself up to sitting, I swing my legs to the side of the bed as I try to force myself to move when my phone buzzes beside me, not once, not twice, but four times. It seems a bit excessive, so I wonder if it's some sort of friend-mergency.

Reaching for my device, I expect to see that someone is calling me with the way the vibrations are going off, but that's not what it is. It's text messages. At least five of them, all from my friends. It has to be an emergency.

Even Lorelai has sent me one, and she doesn't work at the salon, so it can't be salon stuff.

What the hell?

Sliding my thumb across the screen, I bite the corner of my lip as I read the first one, which is from Ayden. She's always the first on anything, aside from me. We're kind of the same in that way.

AYDEN: GIRRRRLLLL!!!! Watch this!

Her second text is a link to a video on a social media app. The first thing that appears is Kiki's stupid face. I almost swipe out of it but then decide to give it a listen because it's not what it seems.

It's Kiki, but she's not recording the video herself. Someone else is. She probably doesn't even know that someone is recording her. And she is being an absolute bitch talking shit about someone. I don't know who it is, but I'm obsessed with this whole thing because then, as the recording continues, she confesses that she's sleeping with a married man.

"What about Forrest?" the other woman recording the video asks.

Then, at about the eight-minute mark, she lets out a cackle, looks directly at the camera, and leans forward as if she's going to tell a big secret or impart some wisdom. But when she speaks, my heart begins beating faster and faster.

"We were never together. His parents paid me fifty grand to ruin him and that bitch he's fucking. They want him to come back home and assume his place in the world where he belongs, along with being around the people who are more his station instead of the lower-class people he's surrounded himself with."

Oh.

My.

God.

After watching that, I look through the other text messages, expecting to see that they are all of the same thing video, but they aren't. Every single one of them is different, with different days and years. And they all make Kiki look awful.

They showcase her horrible personality.

My lips shift from parted in shock to curving up into a grin. I cannot believe that this is real. I almost pinch myself. Normally, I would feel bad about something like this, but in this case, I don't.

This bitch took money in exchange for destroying my life and Forrest's dreams.

Her demise doesn't begin to equate to what she was doing to us. She has no career. She has no clients. She's living off her parents' money and trying to land a rich husband. And she did all this shit to herself.

And I hope that no man in their station will touch that bitch with a ten-foot pole after this. I hope she completely loses her place in the fucked-up society she's part of and that they completely ostracize her.

My phone buzzes in my hand again. It's a text message, and I assume it's another one from one of the girls, but my heart flutters at the sight of who it's from.

FORREST: I told you I would fix it. Give me a little more time, and it will all be done. I miss you.

FORREST

"Elizabeth Persson is a goddamn genius," Lev announces as I walk downstairs from my bedroom.

This week was fucking intense. Not only because of my birthday and all that drama but also because we won all of our games against Colorado. Which was amazing. Rubbing it into those assholes' faces was the best feeling in the world.

I know I shouldn't be too cocky, but seriously, Kiki tried to ruin my whole life, and she almost succeeded. I'm ready for her and the rest of that damn crew to get their just desserts.

Although, I know my parents don't give a shit that they were exposed for being assholes. Nobody in their circle will care about them. They've all paid money for things that disappeared before. They're all just as bad, if not worse. But the rest of the world cares. Brooklynn's clients care, my fans care, and I can't ignore any of that.

Because if I ignore those things, I will lose Brooklynn, and I will, without a doubt, lose my career. No team owner wants a player who people think is an absolute piece of shit, and that's exactly what would happen. The moment fans start complaining, I'm in fucking trouble.

This is my career and my livelihood now. It's time that I take all this shit seriously. So Elizabeth is working her magic, and soon, I'll be back in my woman's arms. I miss Brooklynn's smart and beautiful mouth.

"Isn't she, though?" I ask with a chuckle.

"I don't know how she found all of those videos, but the way she strategically posted them all over different social media platforms or had different people post them, it's fucking genius. None are coming from you, Brooklynn, or anyone in our circle."

I snort. "Kiki has been a bitch since day one. There are a rare few people in that circle who are nice, and the ones who are left and never looked back," I point out.

Lev chuckles. "Just like someone I know," he murmurs, jerking his chin toward me.

I wish I could say I was nice, but really, I don't think I am. I don't know what I would have been like had my money come in. Probably unbearable. It's better that I'm broke as fuck.

Thinking about being broke, I clear my throat and sink down on the sofa next to Lev. "Got a serious question," I murmur.

He watches me, waiting for me to continue. "I need to get another job. Coaching or something. Can you help me get started with that?"

Lev's eyes widen, and then his lips curve up into a grin. "Yeah, I can totally help you with that. There're always kids who want to take lessons, and we always have to turn them down. There's also a team that needs help with coaching."

I like the sound of that. I haven't been around kids much in my life, but just thinking about helping them love the game as much as I do makes me feel like I'm on the right track. I should have been doing it all along, maybe even donating my time, too. I've been a selfish prick, but I'm ready to become a better person.

"Thanks, I appreciate it," I say as my phone begins ringing in my pocket.

I dig the device out and slide my thumb across the screen. "Elizabeth," I murmur.

She laughs softly. She's loving this and earning every fucking penny I'm paying her, which isn't cheap, so I'm glad it seems to be working so far. "You better love me," she says in a singsongy voice.

"From what I've seen, I do. So what's new?" I ask.

"I just got you on two huge podcasts to talk about what happened."

I stand frozen, my spine straight and muscles tense. I didn't agree to that, didn't want to do anything like that. Talking on a podcast, especially about my parents and Kiki, sounds like hell to me.

"Podcasts?" I ask.

She snorts. "Podcasts. It's the only way you're going to be heard. You don't have social media, so nobody would even hear or see anything if you posted it. You need to be able to speak and be heard. This is the way to do that."

Great.

"When and where?" I ask.

"I'll send you the information of what to do and how to do it. It's going to be a good thing, and I'll be with you."

Frowning, I look down at my feet. "You will?"

Elizabeth hums before she speaks. "I will. Absolutely nothing is going to fuck this up for you, Forrest. Nothing."

Nothing.