I stand at the threshold of the pitch, remaining behind the corner.
My grip tightens around a bottle of water. I was supposed to give it to Elsa, but she doesn’t need it anymore.
The new boy passes her his sports drink and she gulps half of it down as if she was poisoned and he’s giving her antidote. Then, she snorts laughing at something he said.
She’s still wearing her track clothes. The jacket outlines her tits and slender waist. She hasn’t gone inside, waiting for the other girls to leave before she’d head to the showers.
Conveniently, Van Doren has been keeping her company instead of coming in the football team’s locker room.
I found out from Jonathan that the Van Doren twins are Elsa’s foster siblings. Still, he’s not her biological brother.
It took everything in me not to break his fucking leg during practice three days ago. Or yesterday. Or today.
My blood boils to the point of ignition every time I think Elsa only came to watch practice because of him.
I watch her closely. The slight twitch in her nose as she laughs. The few stray strands that fly all over her face. The flushed skin due to running. The rosy lips.
She’s so fucking beautiful.
And she’s happy.
The fact that she erased me this fast deepens the dark hole inside my chest.
If she can get over me so quickly, why the fuck has she told me she loved me?
Empty words.
Empty promises.
She was always shit at keeping her promises. Fuck. She didn’t even remember me when we first met at RES. For her, I was another boy, while I dreamt about her every time I managed to sleep.
For ten years, she’s been a constant in my life, but I was only a stop in hers.
If I want to, I can bring her back.
I can dominate her until she gives in, but it proved useless when she went numb on me in the bathroom.
I can grovel like I’ve been doing for the past week, but she’s not even glancing in my direction.
I can use Reed and the Van Doren twins’ weaknesses against her. Blackmail her. Force her to be with me.
And then fucking what?
She’ll never be fully mine if her closed-off head doesn’t open up to me.
“You look like a creep.” A bored voice comes from my right.
“Screw off, Queens.”
She stands beside me, crossing her arms over her chest as if she didn’t hear a word I said.
I tune her out and continue to watch Elsa. She waves at Van Doren and heads into the locker room.
Fucking finally.
A moment later, he strides in our direction. He smiles at me so wide, I’m tempted to cut his face open. The only reason I don’t is because Elsa would hate me even more.
Knight can still do it, though. With the right encouragement.
I tuck that idea for later.
“Nice game.” He nods in my direction.
I don’t acknowledge him.
He stops and wipes the sweat off his brow. “I hope to get along in the future.”
“Not if you keep messing with what’s mine.”
“Elsa is my foster sister. Oh, and I met her first.”
I meet his hazel eyes with my deadliest ones. “Doubtful.”
He leans in close and whispers so only I could hear him, “I was kidnapped by her mother first.” He steps back with the same smile still plastered on his face. “That means I’ll cut you if you hurt her.”
Van Doren brushes past me in the direction of the locker room.
I watch his back.
Hmm. So he was a victim of the red woman, too. It makes sense now why Ethan took him and his sister in.
Still, he has no right to threaten me. Not when it comes to Elsa. Especially when it comes to Elsa.
“You have yourself another enemy.” Queens studies her pink nails. “Why am I not surprised?”
“Aren’t you supposed to be gone?” I stare at the top of her head.
“Charming, as usual, King.”
“Don’t you have someone else to bug? Oh, wait. He’s not speaking to you.”
“You’re such a twat.”
“Could be.”
“You know, I was thinking about helping you out, but I changed my mind.”
She turns to leave, but I grunt, “Stop. Turn around and tell me your plan.”
Spinning around, she shoots me a glare. “I’ll talk to Elsa.”
“You will talk to Elsa,” I repeat to get a better feel of her words.
Queens was completely against this when I ordered her before. She didn’t budge even when I threatened to expose everything to Nash.
The fact that she changed her mind now could only mean two things. One: somehow she was persuaded. Two: she’s taking revenge against me.
I’m betting on the second.
If she’ll do as told, I’d take the bait willingly. Queens is about the only person Elsa would believe.
“Fine, let’s go,” I say.
“You’re not going to ask why I changed my mind?”
“Doesn’t matter.” For now.
“It’s because of her,” she huffs. “I might have unnecessarily been a bitch towards her.”
“You think?”
“Yeah, but I’m not worse than you.” She points a finger at my chest. “At least I didn’t hide something so big from her.”
“Shut it, Queens.”
“Whatever.” She walks by my side as we head across the pitch.
“Oh, by the way.” She flips her hair back. “You’ll do me a favour.”
Of course.
She’s using my desperation to get what she wants. Just like fucking Nash. I swear they’re cut from the same cloth.
Just wait until I have Elsa back and I’ll take my revenge against them both.
“Pray tell,” I speak in my most detached tone.
“Don’t mention a word to Cole about Adam.”
Hmm. Interesting.
“I don’t have to. He’s not stupid and will eventually figure it out himself.”
And with that, Queens and I head to the girls’ locker room.
Energy buzzes through my veins the closer I am to Elsa.
Alicia used to say that in order to be accepted, you have to bare yourself.
I never understood what that meant.
Until Elsa.
Now, I’ll do whatever it takes to be accepted by her.
If it means letting everything go, then so fucking be it.
