She Didn't Fix Her Reputation. She Threw It Away novel · Chapter 14 of 32

Chapter 14: Stay

The letters cut through the silver paint into bare metal.

Joel touched the last line with one finger, then looked at the flat tires.

"Stay by the door," he said.

"I'm already here."

Toni came out carrying the last equipment bag.

She saw the truck and set the bag down.

"I'll call the police."

"Tell them to look at the cameras," Joel said.

"Do they cover this corner?" I asked.

He glanced up at the fixture above the door.

"The lot entrance. Not the truck."

Toni took pictures before the rain blurred the letters.

I asked for one on my replacement phone.

The words filled the screen.

Grayson had put a ring in his pocket on camera.

Now someone had written ownership into Joel's door.

Two officers arrived, took the report, and promised to check the entrance footage.

Toni offered to drive me to her apartment.

Joel looked across the lot at the road.

"I won't have her walking out alone tonight," he said.

"I can take a ride," I said.

"Or you can stay upstairs. Your choice."

His apartment was above the skate shop, with a back staircase inside the rink.

Toni looked between us.

"I have my kid at home. Text me where you sleep."

"I will."

She gave Joel a look that made him raise both hands.

"I know," he said.

I followed him up the narrow stairs.

I still wore my bout jersey and jeans beneath the towel.

Joel wore the flannel and jeans he'd had on behind the rail.

There was a kitchen table, two mismatched chairs, and a shelf full of old hockey pucks.

The window looked down on the dark rink.

He put a clean towel and an oversized shirt on the chair.

"You can take the bed. I'll sleep on the couch."

"I don't want you giving up your bed for me."

"It's a couch. I've survived it before."

I stood by the window and watched rain touch the track lights.

"Why did you quit skating after the fight?" I asked.

"I didn't quit because of the clip alone."

He washed his hands at the sink, taking longer than he needed to.

"The rookie was already down. The other man kept hitting him. I knocked him out, and the room cheered."

"You stopped him."

"I did. Then I watched the clip afterward and heard the cheering."

He turned off the tap.

"My father had a rink with children learning on this floor. I came home and helped him."

I took his hand before he could hide it in his pocket.

"What do you want now?" he asked.

"I want this team to win. I want to work here tomorrow."

"And tonight?"

"I want to stay because I choose to."

He gave me time to move away.

I stepped closer instead.

His mouth met mine near the kitchen window, slow until I pulled his shirt toward me.

He touched the bandage below my knee and stopped.

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