Chapter 67 – Pretending You Are Mine Novel

“Why didn’t you tell him that you didn’t write that part in the article?”

“Because he’s not going to listen to the voicemail,” I answer, knowing Silas too well. “There’s no point.” I draw my legs up to my chest and grip them tightly. “I think I’m f**ked.”

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**SILAS**

“Man, you have to eat something,” Posey says as he takes a seat next to me at a table in the arena while my phone buzzes on the table. Another phone call from Ollie, but I let it go to voicemail.

“I did. I had a protein bar,” I say.

“That’s not enough, and you know it.” Posey passes a plate of pasta salad toward me. “Come on, man. Eat something.”

“I don’t want to f**king eat something,” I say as I lean back in my chair. “f**k, Levi, does it look like I want to eat something?”

He pauses, studying me. “It looks like you want to punch your fist through a wall.”

“Accurate,” I say as my leg bounces up and down at a rapid pace.

“Have you spoken to her?”

“What the hell would I say? Thanks for throwing me under the bus for your own career gain? Thanks for spreading my dirty laundry for the f**king world to see?” I shake my head. “No. f**k her.”

“Okay, I can see where your head is at, but maybe something to consider, what if, I don’t know . . . what if it wasn’t her who wrote it?”

“What the f**k are you talking about? That’s the article she wrote. I read it before she turned it in. She told me she made a few changes. The part of me being cheated on, those were her changes. And why the hell are you defending her?”

“I’m not defending her. I’m just trying to figure this all out, okay? It doesn’t seem like Ollie would do that to you.”

“And you think you know her better than I do?”

“From what you know of her, is this something she would do?”

I glance away, my anger overtaking my common sense. “She knew about Sarah. She was one of the first to know. How did it end up in her article?”

“I . . . I don’t know,” Posey says as he scratches the back of his neck. “All I know is that I’ve seen the way she looks at you and cares for you. It’s hard to believe she would do this.” He pauses and then says, “What if . . . what if it was Sarah?”

“What do you mean?” I ask.

“What if Sarah went and told someone? I mean, she did have that altercation with Ollie at the bar. Maybe Ollie pissed her off, and Sarah went in for revenge?”

I run my t***ue over my teeth, giving that idea thought. “How would she even know who Ollie was, that she was writing an article to begin with?”

Just then, the person of question, Sarah herself, walks into the cafeteria. It’s rare when marketing people go on trips with the teams, but because she’s been helping fill in for Penny, some duties have been split.

Sarah glances around, and when she spots me, she heads right for my table.

But this time, instead of her trying to attack me with her sex appeal, she has a worried exp**ssion on her face.

“Silas, can I have a word with you?” she asks as she wrings her hands in front of her.

“Whatever you have to say can be said in front of Posey.”

She glances at Posey and then back at me. I wonder what’s going on in her head. Is she guilty? She has to know about the article. I swear everyone knows about it at this point. That thing spread like wildfire.

“Okay.” She clears her throat. “I wanted to talk to you about that article that was written. I’m already getting emails from other news outlets asking for an interview, for a comment. My name is being tossed around because I was your last girlfriend, and now my boss is questioning me. Why . . . why did you have her write that? I know I hurt you, but this is playing with my livelihood now.”

“So . . . you didn’t have anything to do with this article?”

“No,” she says in disgust and shock. “Why would I want to put that out in the world? I’m ashamed of what I did, Silas. I don’t want to be known as a cheater. There are comments in that article of people tearing me apart. Do you really think I would want to add that kind of disaster to my life?”

I’ve known Sarah for a very long time, and I know when she’s being manipulative, when she’s lying, when she’s sad, angry, and telling the truth. And I know, from the depths of my soul, that she had nothing to do with this.

She swipes at a tear and whispers, “I don’t want to lose this job.”

“You won’t lose your job,” I say. “I’ll make sure of it.”

“Dude . . .” Posey says. When I give him a death glare, he doesn’t back down. “She f**ked you over. Made you feel like absolute shit. Made you self-doubt, and you’re just going to jump in and protect her like that? What the f**k, man?”

Sarah stiffens next to me. “Everyone makes mistakes, Levi.”

“That wasn’t a mistake,” he says, his voice harsh. “That was messing with my boy. You realize the kind of man Silas is? He would do anything for the people close to him, and you cheated on him, God knows how many times. Frankly, it’s disgusting you think you can ask for help without even apologizing or owning up to what you did. You’re a shit person, Sarah. Simple as that. If your name is being dragged around, then you f**king deserve it.”

“Levi,” I say, trying to calm him down.

“What? It’s true. You deserve better. Don’t sink to her level.”

“I’m not sinking to her level, but I’m also not going to just sit back when the girl I was with f**ked us both over. Sarah shouldn’t lose her job because of what she did to me.” Even I’m not that petty.

“The whole reason you were even with Ollie is because of Sarah,” Posey practically yells. “Like where’s your f**king head at, man?”

I know he’s right.

Sarah doesn’t deserve my empathy.

She doesn’t deserve anything from me.

Yet for some reason, I feel bad for her.

“I don’t know.” I r*b my hand over my forehead before I stand from the table. I look down at Sarah and say, “You had nothing to do with this article?”

“I swear, Silas. I wouldn’t do that to you, and I sure as hell wouldn’t do that to me. I know you don’t trust me, and I get that. I do owe you an apology. What I did to you, how I treated you, it was awful and I’m sorry. I saw how badly I hurt you, and I wouldn’t do that again. Maybe I was jealous of Ollie, but I’d never be vindictive, especially if it hurt me in the end too.”

Because it always revolves around Sarah. That’s something I need to remember.

I just nod and take off toward the locker room.

Where the f**k is my head at? Great question.

I’m angry.

I’m hurt.

And I’m trying to figure out why the girl I thought I loved would do this to me.

Maybe what it comes down to is I got played.

Simple as that.

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**OLLIE**

“Did you watch the game?” Ross asks as he comes into my dorm room.

I shake my head as I bury myself further into my bed, where I’ve stayed for the past three days.

Thankfully, I haven’t had to go to work because it was a weekend, and I skipped out on classes on Friday, so I’ve just remained planted here, unmoving, not wanting anyone to communicate with me besides Silas.

And he hasn’t said one word to me.

Not a single one.

And I don’t blame him.

From his vantage point, another woman he loved betrayed him. If only he would listen to me.

Ross takes a seat on my bed. “Silas got into another fight.”

My gut squeezes from the thought of it. The other night when we were watching, Silas got into an altercation with another player. I watched as he tossed his gloves to the ice along with his helmet and upper-cutted another player. That other player did the same.

The sight of them grappling nearly made me throw up.

“Was it bad?” I ask.

“The player caught Silas right in the face. The announcers were saying it looked like Silas just gave up and wasn’t invested in the fight at all. And from where I sat, it seemed like he wanted to be punched. It was their second loss in a row, and Mr. Mustard was complaining about Silas and how he needs to get his head in the game.”

“I’m sure it’s not, thanks to me.”

“But you didn’t write that piece in the article.”

“I know that, and you know that, but he doesn’t. For all I know, Silas is reeling right now. He trusted me when his trust was hard to earn, and look what happened. He’s hurting, Ross, and all I want to do is fix it.”

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