The Hockey Star’s Remorse

Chapter 51

Lucas sighed, running a hand through his hair. “You are persistent. Look, | care about Evie, and | think it’s fair to say that you can’t be trusted either.”

Timothy's anger wavered for a moment as he looked into Lucas’s eyes. How much had Evie told him? Or maybe Lucas had just made his own assumptions from the news?

Still, despite what he did to Evie, Lucas was the one dating her. He was also the one cheating on her in plain sight.

“| care about Evie too,” Timothy said, his voice softening. “Enough that I'll tell her all about how you’ve been going behind her back.”

Lucas looked down, wiping away the speck of blood that had escaped his busted lip. “So you really like her, huh?” he asked, his voice oddly neutral.

Timothy took a deep breath. “I want you to leave Evie alone,” he repeated. “She deserves better than this, and | won't let you hurt her.”

Lucas nodded, his expression pained. “I don’t want to hurt her,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. “But | don’t know if | can stay away from her.”

“If you care about her, you'll let her go,” said Timothy. “It’s the least you can do after everything that’s happened.” Lucas looked torn, as if waging a war within himself. Finally, he looked up at Timothy, his eyes filled with regret.. “I'll break up with her,” he said finally,

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As | stepped into the quaint little grocery store, | reached into my back pocket and pulled out the list of ingredients. Cake seemed like the safest choice, assuming he hadn't thrown out the last slice | gave him.

| pushed my cart down the aisle, picking up a bag of flour and sugar, only to put them back moments later. Should | make a classic vanilla cake, or something more adventurous like a chocolate raspberry cake? The choices seemed endless, and | didn’t want to disappoint Timothy with a subpar creation.

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Agonizing over a cake would have seemed so silly to me before, but here | was biting my nails over baking something perfect for Timothy. The events from these past couple of days were still lingering in my heart. The fear of losing Timothy had been unbearable, and the realization of how much he meant to me was both overwhelming and uncomfortable.

Then again, he shouldn’t have been something for me to lose.

As | strolled down the sidewalk, my phone rang, and | saw Lucas’s name flash on the screen. | answered quickly and pressed the phone to my ear.

“Hey, Lucas,” | said, approaching my car. “What’s up?”

Lucas’s voice on the other end sounded slightly strained. “Hey, Evie,” he replied. “Are you okay?” | asked, opening the passenger door. “You sound off.”

“I've been thinking,” Lucas started. | chuckled. “Oh, really? What’s on your mind, Lucas?”

Lucas cleared his throat, not sounding as chipper as he usually did. “Well, you know we've been pretending to be ina relationship for a while now. | think it’s time to call it quits.”

| rolled her eyes playfully. “Oh, no! What went wrong? Was it my cooking again?” That

got a laugh out him, but it quickly died off with a sigh. “Oh, it was definitely the cooking. But seriously, I’m breaking up with you, Evie. It’s been fun, but | think we’ve had enough of our fake relationship.”

“You're breaking my heart, Lucas. How will | ever survive without you as my pretend boyfriend?”

“Well, I'm sure there's one fella waiting next in line,” he said with a snort. “Your darling hockey player gave me a shiner last night.”

My eyes widened. “Oh my gosh!” I slammed the door and rushed to the driver’s seat. “Timothy punched you? Are you okay?” “Yeah, I’m fine, Lucas assured me. “Guess he caught me having too much fun with some guy at the club.”

A mix of emotions surged through me. On one hand, Timothy cared about me

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enough to stand up for me, even with the relationship being false. On the other hand, | hated the fact that my friend had to get punched for no good reason.

“He was pretty worked up about it. He was really protective of you,” Lucas continued. “Even told me to break things off between

us. “Break things off...” | placed the phone on the dashboard and turned on the speaker. “So you're breaking up with me?” Lucas kissed his teeth. “Well, | don’t plan on getting punched again, so yes, I’m ending things.”

| stifled a laugh and placed my hands on the wheel. My amusement had quickly deteriorated into something more delirious. The barrier between Timothy and me was quickly eroding.

| took a deep breath, trying to collect her thoughts. “I’m sorry,” | said sincerely. “If there’s any damage or medical bills, I’ll cover it.”

“No, no,” Lucas replied quickly. “It’s fine, really. Just...

There was a brief pause on the other end of the line before Lucas spoke again. “I hope you can figure things out with him. He really cares about you. His fist told

me.” “He does,” | said, almost absently. “And I’m really sorry, Lucas. | might sock him in the face when | see him again, just for you!” “Please do!” he said with a laugh. “Listen, I'll let you go. Just take care of yourself, okay?”

“| will,” | promised.

After hanging up with Lucas, | found myself feeling a mix of emotions. | was relieved that he didn’t blame me for what happened, but | couldn’t help but feel. guilty for unintentionally leading him into Timothy's wrath. | was going to have to confront him about it.

As | left the elevator to the apartment floor, | noticed a woman standing nervously. in front of Timothy’s door. She seemed out of place, and her disarrayed appearance piqued my curiosity. | hesitated fora moment, wondering if | should

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approach her, but my concern for Timothy outweighed my uncertainty.

“Um, excuse me,” | said gently, stepping closer to her. “Are you looking for someone?”

The woman turned to face me, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. “Yes, I-I’m looking for Timothy,” she stammered.

| couldn't help but notice how her eyes darted nervously between me and the door. “I’m Evie, Timothy’s neighbor. Is everything okay?”

She let out a sigh of relief. “Oh, yes.”

| furrowed my brow slightly, sensing that there might be more to the story than she was letting on. “Are you sure you’re okay?” Linda nodded rapidly. “I’m sorry, | must look like a mess. I’m Linda.”

| smiled warmly, trying to ease Linda’s nerves. “It’s okay, Linda,” | said. “What did you need Timothy for?”

Linda smoothed down her hair. “I was just worried about his condition. He hasn’t contacted me in a while, so | came to see him for myself.”

For some reason that irked me. Were Timothy and Linda close?

“He’s probably out. | know he’s been doing press tours lately, even though he’s not feeling his best right now. Do you want to come in my apartment and wait?”

Linda hesitated for a moment before nodding gratefully. “Thank you, Evie. | hope. I’m not intruding. “Not at all,” | assured her as | opened the door to my apartment next door. “Come in and make yourself comfortable.”

As Linda stepped inside, | couldn’t help but notice the awkward tension in the air. | wanted to put her at ease, so | offered her a seat on the couch and fetched a glass of

water.

“Here, have some water. It’s been a stressful day for both of us,” | said, trying to break the ice.

“Thank you,” Linda replied, taking the glass with a grateful smile.

“Don’t worry too much. Timothy will be okay. He’s strong and resilient,” | told her.

Linda looked at me, her eyes filled with a mix of emotions. “I hope so. | care about him a lot.”

“Dedicated fan?” | asked, partially joking. Her look was serious though, like the weight of the stress was wearing her down. Linda took a deep breath, her hands trembling slightly. “I’m Timothy's... well, | guess you could say I’m his lover.”

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