14. Past to Present

Past to Present

Jax

S itting in the truck waiting for Macie to get done with her interview, I can't stop thinking about last night. I saw the bruises on her neck from me before I left for practice, and she acts like it's nothing.

I mean, she wasn't saying stop, and she didn't look like she wasn't enjoying herself; My girl fell apart.

My cock twitches in my pants wanting more of all that; fuck. Those ropes of hers are going to be a lot of fun. We need them in our room before Sully walks in on that shit, though that would be interesting.

Macie's been in her interview for over an hour and I'm starting to get antsy. And I'm fucking starving.

Coach gave the team a few days off so, I figured we'd go home and drive Macie's car back. I do not feel like driving both ways, so I look for flights while I wait for her. Not booking anything since I don't know what is going on with this possible job of hers.

I'd be perfectly fine with her just staying home, not working, melting my credit card, and keeping her shows for me; I wouldn't have to worry so much about her, but I won't do that, even though I want to.

My phone vibrates against my hand, seeing a text from Koda, I open it.

We have a problem.

Here we fucking go.

What?

Corey's back, and remember that bet he made with Lester and Luke?

I think back to when the three of them were around, and the bet pops in my head, and the realization smacks me in the face.

Yeah.

They made a bet they would make a girl fall in love with one of them, then leave her. We never knew who won the bet, or if it even happened, we all thought they were talking shit.

I think you need to come home.

Bile rises to my throat as my gut burns.

It was Macie, wasn't it?

I ask feeling like I'm going to be sick I get out of the truck to get some fresh air.

Yeah.

Fuck!

I rest my arms on the bed of my truck, hanging my head between them, trying to keep myself from putting a dent in the side of my truck.

"Jax?" Her soft voice rings in my ears and I look up, meeting those gorgeous eyes, "What's wrong?"

I swallow hard before I drop my arms from the bed, and step in front of her, hiding this for now.

"Nothing, how did it go?"

"You're lying." She spits, there's that sassy little mouth.

Little hussy, "No, everything is fine" Lying through my teeth, I'm ready to explode, my phone vibrating in my hand nonstop, knowing it's Koda.

"Come on, let's go get some food, I'm starving."

"Me too." I walk her to the passenger door and open it, letting her get in before I shut the door and type a quick text back to Koda.

I'll text you later, I'm with her.

Knowing he is probably getting ready to kill someone, I text Sully and tell him to call Koda.

I get into the truck, trying not to look at her, knowing she will pick up on my mood.

"So how did it go?" I ask, trying to just put this aside for now.

"Good, I got the job." I look over at her, meeting her gaze, that smile as big as it can be.

"It's everything I wanted Jax." I hear the excitement in her voice, how happy she is, and I'm dying inside.

"That's good Angel. When do you start?"

"I have my first event next weekend, the dancer got hurt so they needed someone on the spot, plus..." She fluffs her hair, as she bats her eyes, causing me to laugh, "I got those goldie-locks they're looking for."

"Oh, yeah."

"Yeah."

"I remember when your hair was almost white, it was so blonde." Kind of how she got her name Angel.

"It was, but it's gotten darker as I got older, kind of sucks."

I reach over and run my fingers through her long hair and ask, " So, are you free for a few days so we can go get your car?"

"Yeah, but then I really have to practice."

I pull into the restaurant parking lot so we can get something to eat.

"We'll fly out then drive back, alright?"

"Fine with me."

I chuckle as I park, and we both get out and make our way inside.

Macie

I'm so excited about this opportunity I've been given. I'll only be doing one performance, and the cool part, its live music, I will be behind the singer.

I am over the moon excited for this, and I know Jax is happy for me, but something is on his mind; He's being quiet.

All through dinner he was quiet and even the drive home.

I find myself packing a bag so we can go back home to get my car and as I pack, I hear Jax and Sully talking downstairs, trying to eavesdrop a little, but they are purposely being quiet.

It's kind of pissing me off with the silence; What the fuck did I do.

I ignore it, even though it's bothering me, and I just get myself together and grab my bag before making my way downstairs and of course the silence fills the room and now I'm really pissed.

"Alright what the fuck is going on?" I snap .

"Nothing Macie." Jax tries to reassure me, but I feel something is off.

"Bull shit; What did I do?"

Jax steps up to me, sliding his palm to my cheek, "You did nothing wrong Angel."

"Then why are you guys being so quiet around me" I look over to Sully and he avoids my gaze.

"Sully!"

"Everything's fine Macie." Sully says.

Jax causes me to look up at him, "Stop worrying and let's go home."

"We are home" I snap, yes that will always be home, but this is my home and I just feel like if I go, something bad is going to happen.

"Jax please tell me what is going on."

"Macie, I won't say it again, don't worry about it, everything is fine."

My lip curls, I fucking hate this, "Fine. Let's go."

I rip my face from his hand and step around him, snatching my bag off the counter before I go out to his truck and climb in. Something is going on and I don't fucking like this.

Sully gets in before Jax and he looks back at me, "You need to calm down."

"Fuck you Sully, you guys are hiding something from me, and I don't like it."

"We're going home, that's it."

"Yeah, I don't believe you." I roll my eyes and look away from him, grinding my teeth until they hurt.

Jax gets in and looks back at me and I don't even look at him.

"That 's fine, you can be a fucking brat." He growls his words before he starts his truck, and we are off to the airport.

I text Dakota and ask him what is going on at home. And of course, this fucking dick won't answer me now.

Fine, you guys want to be ass holes, I have my own ways of finding out shit. I text Stacie and ask her if she has been at the rink lately.

A few minutes pass and my phone vibrates with a text.

Yeah, why?

Any new drama?

No, not really, it's been quiet.

"Who are you talking to?" I lift a brow before I lift my head, meeting Jax's hard stare on me through the rearview mirror.

"No one." I smile and tilt my head sarcastically.

"Macie."

"Jax."

Sully turns in his seat and looks back at me, "Would you quit."

"No, tell me what is going on at home."

"You are relentless."

"Yup." I shoot Sully a wink and he shakes his head, turning back in his seat.

"Fuck you both right now."

When we get to the airport, grabbing my bag before I turn, Jax snatches it from my hand and his hand is around my throat as he pins me to the side of his truck with his hard body.

"I'm not going to deal with your shit right now. "

"What is going on at home? Jax, please." I painfully whisper with the hold he has on my throat.

"Macie, nothing is wrong. We're going to get your car and come back."

"You better not lie to me Jax." I harden my stare on him as my lip curls.

"Let's go."

His hand disappears from my neck before his hand slides to the dip in my back and we walk into the airport, feeling like I'm walking into a trap.

HOURS LATER

I slept the whole time in the plane, avoiding any conversation with my attitude I have going and being trapped in a plane.

Now, we are back home, and everything I felt when I left swallows me and all I can think about is when I'm leaving.

It's morning and Jax wanted to stop at the rink knowing the guys are practicing, having the car that picked us up from the airport take us, we go to the rink.

Walking through the familiar halls of the rink, Jax's hand firmly gripped around my hip, as we walk out to the ice, seeing the guys practicing and a smile comes to my face when I see Dakota, and I don't care if they are practicing. I pull from Jax's grasp and walk out on the ice straight for Dakota .

The team stops their practice and Dakota slides his helmet off. Barely able to wrap my arms around him with his pads on, I managed to get a good hug from my big brother.

"I didn't know you guys were coming here." He questions.

"Jax wanted to stop by."

"Come on, let's go to the bench." He suggests and I turn and when I look up, my heart rises to my throat before the bile surfaces behind it.

My eyes widen as my lips part, before my words hiss from my tongue, "What the fuck are you doing here."

"Miss me." Corey teases, holding that grin a I want to slice from his face.

"Corey, get the fuck away from her." Dakota growls.

Corey chuckles, holding his gaze on me, my body starts to tremble, my breathing unable to escape my lungs as my eyes dart to Jax walking up behind Corey with the look of the devil, and it all hits me; He knew he was here.

My brother's shortness with me, then Jax acting weird after my interview, it's all playing together, they know.

I dart around Corey getting in front of Jax and he stares into my eyes, his words growl dangerously, "Are you the reason he left?"

I swallow hard and nod.

Corey is the reason I want no parts of the skating rink, no parts of my home, no parts in love. He ruined me. But then I ruined him.

"The bet." Jax asks in almost a whisper and my eyes fall closed as tears fall to my cheeks.

"We're still crying over that shit, Jesus Macie." Corey laughs his words behind me.

Then hearing Dakota growl his words, "You fucking bastard." My brother throws a punch, connecting with Corey's jaw .

Jax pushes me to the side, stepping around me before his fist connects with Corey's jaw, and it turns into an all-out brawl, Jax knocking Corey to the ice, Luke and my brother going at it, the guys trying to break it up.

Sully pulls me away from it and I tuck my head into his chest, closing my eyes, letting the tears pour, asking in a sob "Why, why did you guys do this to me."

"Macie, why didn't you tell us." Sully asks.

"It doesn't matter, you know now."

"No, it matters, and you should have told us" he growls and I huff; they don't even know the bet is only a small piece to my pain. Corey took my virginity too. And laughed about it, the same time he told me about his bet.

I pull away from Sully and look over to Jax and Corey still on the ice beating the fuck out of each other; they both were the fighters of the team.

I walk away, sliding my feet as fast as they can across the ice, before I step off the ice, slide my heels off, and my walk turns to a run, and I bust out the rink door, and I don't stop.

They set me up, they knew, they knew he was here. This is why I have walls, and why I never let them down. Just when I thought my life was finally turning around, it slaps me in the face again.

I need to feel nothing, I don't want to feel this pain again. I won't do it; so I go where I know I can hide.

Jax

Getting my last good punch in before I pull myself off Corey, wanting to take his head and smash against this ice.

"Jax that's fucking enough, what the fuck are you doing?" I look to my father, spitting the blood from my mouth at his feet.

"This piece of shit is not taking my spot as Captain or any spot on this fucking team; Do you understand me?"

"This isn't your team anymore Jax."

"The fuck it isn't, this will always be my fucking team."

"You keep Corey on this team, you will be down a goalie." Koda growls, and a smile curls on my lips, begging my father to stand his ground because I will be taking another player from him.

"Corey is the reason Macie wants no fucking parts in this place, all over a fucking bet."

I turn and watch Corey trying to get up, on all fours, and he looks up at me and spits at my feet, "You're just pissed I got that pussy before you."

My foot comes up and I kick him in the face like a fucking football.

"JAX!" My father yells but I ignore him completely as I bend over Corey slumped over on the ice, and growl my words as he grunts and holds his nose, "You either leave, or I will break every fucking bone in your body so you can't ever play."

I stand and look to Sully, realizing Macie is gone, "Where is she?"

"She took off." He responds with a shrug.

"And you let her go! What the fuck Sully."

What the fuck is wrong with these stupid fucks. I walk past them all pulling my phone from my pocket and start calling her .

Fucking bitch; She won't answer, but that's okay, I know where she is.

Dakota

I made my mind up, not wanting to play pro, I enjoy the freedom, the stress-free play of a game, but I'm done.

I will not play for this team that is falling apart, I don't belong here, I belong with my boys and my sister. It's been the four of us, and they left, leaving just me, and I don't fucking like it.

I knew about this bet they all had, but never knew the full details of it, I stayed out of their fucked up ways. I can't believe they did this to Macie.

She has been there for everyone of them, has always supported us as a team, she was our biggest cheerleader, and they did this to her. I can't stay because of that.

I get my pads off, getting dressed, I grab my bag and sticks before out the door I go.

Seeing Corey in the hallway, like nothing happened, talking some girl up and I laugh, taking my sticks in both hands.

I go to walk past him, but not before I swing both my sticks, hitting him in the back of the legs, making his legs buckle and he falls to the floor.

I look to the girl he's trying to talk up.

"You don't want to play with a little boy like him." And I walk away, laughing; Fucking piece of shit.