Chapter 14

KNOX

I holdoff until I’m in the locker room.

That’s when I throw my gym bag to the floor.

I kick it once, sending it through the air and against a closed locker.

I walk up to a locker and slam my fist off it.

Then I stop and place my head against the locker and look down.

What the fuck? This can’t be real, right? There’s no way… I mean…

Okay, there’s always a chance. Protection or not.

I didn’t wear protection that night.

How dumb of me?

We were both just so caught up in the moment. Having a great time. The entire night was just so good though. Stripping each other naked. Stealing kisses. And not just kissing lips either.

There wasn’t one second where she hesitated either.

I just assumed she…

I hear voices outside the locker room.

I have to pull myself together. Fast.

I grab my gym bag, open a locker and force myself to act casual.

The door opens and in walks Mac, Villi, Gabriel, and Jax.

“Look at this one here early,” Mac says.

“You need to get a woman,” Villi says. “Not everything is about hockey.”

I look back. “How’s your woman, Villi? How old is she now? Do you get the senior citizen dinner discounts yet?”

Gabriel and Jax let out an ohhh sound.

Villi’s face drops and he charges right for me.

I turn around.

Mac jumps between us. “Whoa! Hey! Relax. Everyone relax.”

“Dude, I’m fucking around with you,” I say.

“Fuck somewhere else,” Villi growls.

He storms off.

I look at Mac. “What was that about?”

“Vera’s been in New York for a week,” Mac whispers. “Some kind of conference.”

“He’s like a dog who misses its owner,” Jax says.

“Just give the guy a break,” Mac says. “Ignore him.”

“Let’s just get out on the ice,” I say. “I need to get away from reality for a minute.”

“I bet you do,” Gabriel says.

He quickly turns his head.

He won’t even look at me.

Panic sets in…

He knows.

Fuck. He knows.

Of course he does.

They all talk.

Ruby… Mila… Violet…

I look at Jax.

His face is normal.

I glance at Mac.

“You okay?” Mac asks. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“I’m fine,” I say.

“He’s shitting himself,” Gabriel says. “He knows why.”

“What reason is that?” I call out. “Let’s hear it, tough guy.”

Gabriel lunges for me. He’s even more pissed off than Villi…

“Talk to your father lately?” Gabriel spits at me.

Relief hits me.

Oh, shit, this is about Gabriel’s father’s trial…

“I haven’t talked to my father in weeks. Why?”

“Bullshit,” Gabriel says.

“Hey, we’re not going back there, are we?” Mac asks. “Seriously?”

“I know nothing about your old man’s case,” I say. “Seriously. I have other things going on in my life.”

Now, here’s my side of this thing… if you’ve been wondering.

Gabriel’s father is nothing but a conman.

And I really feel bad for Gabriel that he got stuck in the middle of everything.

And, yeah, guess what?

My father is a lawyer. A really good lawyer too.

He wants me to become a lawyer but hockey is my thing.

He’s told me I can do both.

Maybe someday I will.

Right now I’m one of the top prospects in the country.

The dream of being a star goalie is alive and well.

But anyway… back to my old man and Gabriel’s old man.

There’s nothing I can say or do about it.

Every now and again, when the case gets closer to ending or something happens, Gabriel gets his panties twisted up and wants to attack me. As though I go back to my dorm at night, call my father and give him secret information about Gabriel’s father.

Believe me, I get it though.

Gabriel needs someone to blame because blaming his father is hard to do.

Some days he gets it. Some days he doesn’t.

Now, a day like today? I need everyone to back the fuck off.

I have too much going on in my head.

I mean, Willow just told me she was-

“Pregnant!” Mac’s voice calls out.

“What?” I snap.

“No way,” Gabriel says.

I look and see him picking something up off the ground.

My eyes grow wide…

It’s a fucking pregnancy test.

I glance at my gym bag.

It’s half unzipped.

Wait… did Willow…

She did.

She put the pregnancy test in my gym bag for me to find.

But now…

“This is real,” Gabriel says. “Holy shit.”

“Knox,” Mac says. “Was that here when you walked in?”

“I don’t know,” I say. “I wasn’t looking. I came right over to the locker. Where the hell did you find that?”

“Right here on the floor,” Gabriel says. “Under the bench.”

Gabriel looks at Villi. Then Jax.

“Don’t look at me,” Villi says. “Vera isn’t pregnant. No chance.”

We all look at Jax.

He starts to laugh. “Really? I dare you to text Mila right now. Go for it. All of you. Watch what happens.”

“I know Violet isn’t pregnant,” Mac says.

“How can you be so sure?” Gabriel asks.

“You really want to know?” Mac asks. “She has her period right now.”

Gabriel cringes. “Okay…”

Everyone looks at me.

“I’m not with anyone,” I say. “I’ve got a thing here and there. That’s about it.”

The lies fly so easily from my mouth. Maybe it’s because I haven’t had a second to think about the fact that Willow is pregnant. By me. That the pregnancy test in Gabriel’s hand is from Willow. She peed on that test… and it says…

“It says pregnant,” Gabriel says. “You think it’s coach’s?”

“Coach Damon?” Mac asks. “Shit. That’s intense.”

“What are you going to do with that?” I ask.

Gabriel shrugs his shoulders and tosses it into a trashcan.

The locker room is silent.

We’re all looking around at each other, wondering who is possibly lying.

I keep a straight face.

I need these guys to leave the locker room so I can get the pregnancy test from the trashcan.

This is kind of a big deal. A big moment.

I’m staying calm even though I know my life is going to change.

Or maybe it already has changed.

I don’t know.

I wait until the guys leave, then take the lid off the trashcan and retrieve the pregnancy test.

I stare at it.

The word is clear as day.

PREGNANT.

I take a deep breath.

I turn around…

… Mac is standing there.

He looks at me.

He looks at the pregnancy test.

His eyes go as wide as mine.