Saved By Love (Bellevue Bullies 7)

“So leave it there.”

He glares at me.

“Don’t put me in a category I don’t belong in. You know me. I thought we were friends, and I would never deliberately hurt someone. Your issues with my sister are your issues. Don’t put them on me. That was between you two, and you can’t blame me or hold me responsible for something I had no hand in.”

He’s frustrated and visibly overwhelmed. “None of this matters. Stay away from Callie.”

“I won’t.” I say it simply and with way more strength than I realized I was capable of. “Unless she says she doesn’t want to see me or spend time with me, nothing and no one will keep me away.”

“Do you want me to kick your ass?”

I scoff. “You can try, but as a grown-ass man, I’d hope you could control yourself. Especially since we’re not on a sheet of ice, where the only penalty is a trip to the box.”

“Not that you’d know anything about that,” he sneers, catching me off guard. “Since you can’t even get on the ice.”

“Wow, low blow. And…we’re done,” I say, walking around him. “I would think as former teammates, you would show a level of respect, but I can see that’s not the case.”

“If you respected me, you’d stay away from Callie.”

I shrug. “Then I guess I don’t respect you,” I say. “But how could I, when you came for my family and, now, for my mental illness.”

He doesn’t say anything as I walk away, and I’m thankful for that. My emotions are too wild, and my feelings are hurt. As I always do, I replay my interaction with Nico and try to see where it went wrong. Problem is, he was mad from the start. I guess I could have been more honest about my intentions with Callie, but it’s hard when someone is coming for your family and being blatantly disrespectful. I deserve better than that. I would never treat anyone like that. I get that he has his own diagnosis and he isn’t good at social interaction, but I thought we were better than all that.

I almost call Owen to tell him, but I know how Owen is. He’s a fight-now, talk-later kind of guy, which would make the plane ride back to South Carolina an awkward one. I would call Shelli and bitch at her, but it’s not her fault. It’s no one’s, really. Nico was into my sister at the time, but in the end, they both found who it was they wanted and needed. So I don’t know why he is being such an ass.

I’m almost to the house when a text comes through.

Callie: Hey, dinner should be quick. We’re going to the diner. Wanna meet up and go for a ride? We don’t have practice tomorrow morning, so no curfew.

I read her text four times, and even with my latest interaction with Nico, my answer stays the same.

Me: Am I driving, or are you?