Dangerous Play

21 » the blame game (i)

What was she playing at? "Yeah, my boyfriend is also on this team," I said slowly. "Kieran? Remember him? He's kind of standing right here." I nudged Kieran, and he lifted his hand from my shoulder in a reluctant half-wave.

Marissa didn't even spare her ex a second glance. "I'm not talking about Kieran." She leveled her blue eyes on me, and I saw vindictive glee in those icy depths. A chill ran down my spine at her expression. Suddenly, I had a feeling that I'd completely misjudged who had the upper hand in this situation.

Finn snorted. "What kind of cryptic bullshit is this? Come on, Kieran, we have a game to play." He started walking away.

"I think you're going to want to hear what I have to say, Finn," Marissa called. Kieran's arm tightened around my shoulders, but I didn't dare risk looking away from Marissa to see his face.

Finn turned and narrowed his eyes. "Then spit it out."

Marissa's lips curled up in a triumphant smile. "Did you know your sister and Maddox have been sleeping together?"

————

Finn reeled back in shock. He didn't know how to react. For one, he wasn't even sure he believed Marissa—she was his best friend's crazy ex, and his sister's mortal enemy, after all. But on the other hand, if it were true, and neither Abby nor Maddox—who he saw damn near every day—had thought to tell him anything...

Before he could even process what was happening, his feet were carrying him toward the tall figure clad in all lime green standing in goal. Anger bubbled up inside him as he strode across the field.

Charlie, the other center back, was passing a ball with Maddox to warm up. He noticed Finn first and raised a hand in greeting, though the smile was quick to fall off his face when he saw his stormy expression. "Hey man, you good?"

"Finn!" Maddox exclaimed. His blood boiled at the sound of the goalie's voice. "You wanna take some shots? I always thought you'd make a decent forward."

Finn shot him a glare, and the other boy fell silent, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. A hand landed on his shoulder. He turned to see Kieran behind him, shaking his head. "Come on, Finn. You know Marissa's just trying to throw you off."

Finn shook off Kieran's hand and looked at Maddox. "Were you ever going to tell me about you and Abby?"

Maddox blanched, dark eyes widening. "What?"

Rage blossomed inside him. He'd hoped that Marissa was lying, but Maddox's reaction had all but confirmed the truth of what she said. He could barely stand to look at his teammate, whose face had turned the same color as the lime green uniform he wore. "So how long have you been screwing around with my sister?"

"Finn, it's not like that," Maddox protested. "I would never do anything to hurt Abby—"

"How long?"

Maddox closed his eyes. "...Since last year."

Finn took an involuntary step forward, but Kieran stepped in between him and the other boy, holding his hands out to stop him. "You need to calm down."

His temper spiked again. "Get out of my way."

By now, the rest of their teammates had noticed that something was wrong. He spotted Cairo peering in their direction with equal parts curiosity and concern etched on his face.

"Can't do that," Kieran said. "Look, it was a long time ago, okay? Drop the issue."

Finn looked up sharply. "You knew?"