Hooked by Love (Bellevue Bullies #3) Read online

  Caleb Rutherford: Dude, right? I wish! I got involved with this family and shit went bad. I quit the league. Instead of jumping back in, I just said fuck it and left. Guess my heart wasn’t into it.

  Jace Sinclair: Got involved?

  Caleb Rutherford: Dude, you wouldn’t believe me if I told you but the dad is fucking Benedict Haverbrooke, and I knew that after what happened, I wasn’t going anywhere. Their words, not mine.

  Jace Sinclair: Sucks, bro, but listen hit me up if you are ever in Nashville.

  Caleb Rutherford: Absolutely, dude, good luck.

  When my tears fall onto the screen of his phone, I can’t believe what I’m seeing. What I’m reading. “You contacted him?” I ask, my tears falling faster down my face.

  “I had to know the truth.”

  I look up then, my lip wobbling as I push his phone into his chest. “I told you the truth. I don’t know what he is talking about, but my dad wouldn’t do that—not for me. He loved Caleb.”

  “You may not think your dad loves you, but come on, Avery. With everything that happened, how could he not retaliate?”

  “Because he didn’t know!” I scream, my body shaking as my breath whooshes in and out of my body. “No one knew. I didn’t tell them what he did because Matty told me that if I did—” I pause, my throat tight as I shake my head. How do I admit this? How do I tell him this? Looking up, I feel my lip tremble as my tears fall in a rush. “That he’d kill me if Caleb went down for what happened. I believed him and kept my mouth shut.”

  Everything hurts, and this is why I didn’t ever want to talk about this. It’s all so embarrassing, such a painful memory, and I hate it. I hate who I was, that I allowed people to do that to me. That I didn’t stand up for myself, tell Matty to stuff it, and bring Caleb down. I let him get away with hurting me, almost killing me, and that’s something I have to live with. But I learned from it, I fought through it, and I’m better now. I am. I’m going to be okay.

  But when I see Jace’s face, suddenly, I’m worried I won’t be.

  Tears are in his eyes as he slowly shakes his head. “I don’t know, Avery. I hate this, I do, but you have to understand. This is my career, and while I love you and you are everything to me, I’m scared.”

  Dropping my bag, I wrap my arms around him, pressing my nose into his chest. “No, you have nothing to be scared of. I won’t let anything happen to you. I promise.”

  Taking me by my shoulders, he pulls me back, holding me at arm’s length. The look in his eyes hurts. Physically hurts. My heart, it just stops, breaking into pieces before falling into my gut, dissolving away into nothingness. His jaw clenches, the emotion, the pain, apparent on his face. “Avery, I don’t know if I can believe that. The proof is right here.” He brings his phone back out, the conversation on it taunting me.

  “I don’t know what that is because I can promise you, my dad did not do that. He never knew and he loved Caleb, still talked to him after everything.”

  But Jace shakes his head. “But yet, Caleb claims he quit ’cause of your dad, your family, and they loved him. They don’t know me. I’m nothing to them. So what does that mean for me?”

  “It means nothing because all that matters is us. They don’t matter,” I cry, my tears dripping off my jaw. When his hands drop from my shoulders, I start to cry harder because he isn’t taking me into his arms.

  “I don’t know if I can believe that, and that’s what scares me, Avery.”

  I move my hand along my cheek, catching my tears. Why is this happening? Why is Caleb lying about my family? Why is he still tormenting me? Damn it. As apprehension fills my body, I know what this means. As much as I don’t want to say it, give it voice, I ask, “So, what? You’re breaking up with me?”

  I’m surprised when he shrugs. “I don’t know.”

  My face scrunches up, my tears coming faster. “You don’t know?”

  He shakes his head. “I don’t. I need time to think. So you go, and we’ll talk when you come back.”

  “But how does that make sense?” I shriek, my heart hurting. “Either end it or don’t. Don’t drag me along, letting me think the worst.”

  “No, don’t do that,” he barks back at me. “Give me time. You’ve lied, you’ve held back shit. The least you can do is give me time to think.”

  I shake my head, because I refuse to be walked all over. “If you want me, stay with me. Forgive me because I’ve apologized. Believe I lied, if that’s what you want to call it. But I did it because of what it did to me. I’m telling the truth about my dad. And Caleb is a lying bastard, I can promise you that,” I hiss out, my tears falling into my mouth as I talk. “But if you don’t want me, if I don’t mean enough to you, and you’re too scared to love me because of some lies from people who don’t even matter, then let me go.”

  “That’s not fair,” he seethes, his eyes wild. “I need time. I need to sort through this.”

  “Sort through what?”

  “The truth!” he yells back, and when a tear rolls down his cheek, I’m done.

  I shake my head as I look away. “Do you love me, Jace?”

  “Yes. You know I do.”

  “Then what is the problem?

  “I’m scared, Avery. I can’t lose my career.”

  It’s like he’s cutting me. Like he’s the one with the blade now.

  Closing my eyes, I don’t know why I even ask the next question. I know the answer—I’ve always known it, yet I need to hear it from his lips. “So hockey is more important than me?”

  His eyes are angry. “Don’t do that. Don’t make me choose. That’s not right.”

  “Isn’t that what you’re doing? Trying to figure out if I’m worth the risk? When there isn’t even a fucking risk because my dad doesn’t fucking care who I am dating!”

  “The proof is right here,” he says, holding his phone up. “Your dad does care, and I don’t know what that means for me.”

  “What it means is that you are choosing hockey over me.”

  “That’s not what I fucking said. I just need some time. Give me some fucking time!”

  “Fine, take all the time you need because I’m breaking up with you.”

  Fuck, did I really say that? When his eyes widen, I know I did. Instantly, I regret it, but I refuse to let him know that. I won’t be second fucking best.

  “What the fuck, Avery?” he yells, but I know I’m doing the right thing.

  Or at least, I think I am.

  Lifting my bag, I put it on my shoulder and look at him. “I’ve been second fucking best to that sport my whole life, and I won’t be any longer. I love you, Jace, I do. And this hurts more than I can even explain, but there is nothing else to say.” My voice breaks and tears still trickle down my face. I don’t want this. I don’t want to break up. But damn it, I said I wanted more. I want to be important.

  I go to walk around him, but he takes me by my arm, stopping me. “There is plenty to fucking say.”

  “No, there isn’t.” I pull my arm from his and reach for my car door. “Good luck to you.”

  Despite his protests, I get in, slamming the door and starting my car. I ignore when he starts beating on the window, demanding I get out and talk to him. Because I can’t. I can’t do this to me. I matter too much. I hit reverse as he hobbles back from the car, shaking his head. Without even looking at him, I pull away as my heart breaks even more. I don’t know how that happened. I can only ask why.

  But I can’t help myself, and I look in the mirror to see him with his hands on his head, his elbows in the air, and tears in his eyes.

  And all I can think is…

  This is what true heartbreak feels like.

  Jace: Really? Come on, talk to me.

  Jace: Don’t be like this.

  Jace: Are you really ignoring me? I’ve called you seven times.

  Jace: Avery, this isn’t fair. You have to get what I’m saying here. I don’t want to lose you, I love you.

  Jace: Come on.