I Hate Football Players 3 | 18+

Chapter 126: Ellie

"Aww, Mom," Ryder groaned quietly and glared at me without a blink. "She prefers Ellie... Isn't that right, Ellie?"

Tension spread up through my wrists as my hands balled into tight fists at my sides. "That's not going to work anymore," I warned him not to goad me about my name. "I-I'm not afraid of you."

"No one's asking you to be afraid, Eleanor," Mrs. Stevens pinched two perfectly French manicured nails into the bridge of her nose. "All we wanted was you to be silent. Wasn't asking much, apparently a million dollars wasn't enough either... So either you're greedy for more or just incredibly stupid."

"I didn't ask to be pulled into court -" I started when three steps of her five-inch heels brought both of her palms smacked into the walls outside my shoulders. My spine flinched under the close proximity, where her rose-scented perfume permeated into and burned the insides of my nose.

"But after ruining my son's life, you just can't stay away from the quarterbacks, can you Eleanor?" Her lips curled upwards into a sneer and her ice glared at me like daggers. "Like some kind of fame whore, you just have to draw attention towards yourself. You forgot Eleanor, we bought your silence."

"I n-never -" I stammered as nerves shredded what little confidence remained inside me. Under the weight of her glare, the disgust that rolled off her in waves with each breath that passed, I'd never felt smaller.

"You'll never understand the love that exists between a mother and a son," she scoffed quietly as her eyes stared down into mine. "Especially one who's been unfairly targeted by a jersey-chasing little slut."

My lips parted but snapped shut like a trap when she leaned in closer until her breath fanned over my nose and cheeks. "Testify in court against my son, Eleanor, and I will destroy your name, your pathetic life, your brother's life, and your boyfriend's life. Like you've done to my son, I will drag your brother's name down into legal hell for assault and battery against my son. I will bankrupt your mother so she has to sell that pathetic little Santa Cruz house to pay for his legal fees."

With one step closer, her stiletto heel crushed into my left foot and I gasped at the pain that radiated as she applied more pressure with each enunciated word. "I will put your boyfriend behind bars for sleeping with a minor. His mother and brother will be out on the streets from fighting his legal battles. All because you couldn't keep your... little... mouth... shut."

In the silence that followed, I swallowed hard against the lump that swelled up in my throat, choked off both my air supply and words until my lungs burned, and rendered me speechless. Only a rough cough escaped me as my eyes studied every detail of her face.

Beneath the perfect makeup application, the layers of foundation and cheek contours, I saw a slight puffiness under her eyes, worry lines curved around the corners of her mouth, and the slight red striations in the corners of her eyes.

My gaze shifted over her shoulder, where Ryder stood, his chin dipped low and eyes shot venomous daggers in my direction. Yet the more I looked, the more I saw his eye shadows, hollowed cheeks, and slight gray tint over his skin.

"You're scared," I whispered so quietly that Mrs. Stevens leaned in closer.

They're scared... of me. Me.

The more I looked, more of the veil of control that shrouded over this family slipped away, their hold over me lessened, and the power their words inflicted on me diminished. Like a dimly lit candle, a warm glow spread through me, rose up from deep inside my gut, up my throat, and left my parted lips not in the form of an insult, witty comeback, or even clever remark, but a laugh.