Juicy Rebound (IceCats 1)

“She loves you,” I remind her, and she shakes her head.

“He isn’t worth it.”

“Eh, I wouldn’t mind taking a swing at him.”

Nico nods, even though his eyes are closed. “I wouldn’t either. Bastard.”

Amelia doesn’t agree. A sob shakes her body as she stands and heads toward the door.

Nico lets out a loud sigh as I get up to follow. “Good luck with that.”

I ignore him as I go after Amelia. The coolness of the night air hits me in the face as I try to catch up with her. I hear her crying as I chase her onto the bridge that connects to the police station to town. Whoever thought it was a good idea to build a police station in the middle of a lake, I’d have to say was a genius because it’s cool-looking. But it damn sure does make it colder out here. I’ve almost caught her when she whips around, tears streaking her face as she holds her stomach.

“I was doing so great, and then he had to come along,” she cries before bending down, hugging her knees as she buries her face in them. I squat beside her, but when I try to hug her, she shakes her head. “Please don’t.”

Wow, that hurts.

An ache starts in my gut as I watch her cry.

“He ruined my life, and just when I thought I had gotten out and I was finally happy again, he shows up and is now trying to ruin Shelli’s. I don’t know what his issue is with me. Am I that horrible?”

I want to hold her, beg her to believe in herself, but she needs her space. “No, you’re not, Amelia. You’re amazing—”

“If I am so damn amazing, then why does he insist on hurting me? On ruining everything I’ve rebuilt?”

“Because he’s a piece of shit, and he couldn’t handle how fantastic you are—”

“Chandler, I’m not. You just don’t understand.”

Her sobs are loud and ear-shattering. They shake her whole body, and I don’t know what to do. I know what I want to do, but I don’t know if she’ll let me. Unable to debate anymore, I reach for her, pulling her against my chest, her knees bumping into my thighs. I tilt her face up, taking her mouth with mine, and she falls into my kiss. She clings to me, and I do the same to her. I want to make all this pain go away. I want to kill that dude, but I know she wouldn’t like that.

I pull back to kiss her nose and then her top lip, ignoring the fact that her face is wet. I know what I am about to ask might not go over well, but I have to know. Especially after Shelli’s comment about Drew being a wife-beater. I clear my throat. “Amelia, what happened?”

She closes her eyes, more tears leaking out the sides as she leans her forehead into my chin.

“I know you didn’t leave him because of Shelli.”

“I did,” she whispers, her voice raw. “I called her in a panic. She came over to check on me, and when she saw my face, she convinced me to leave.”

Rage rushes through me. “Did he put his hands on you?”

She nods her head against my chest. “Yeah.”

I go still against her, and I know she feels it. She moves out of my lap, rising to her feet as she rubs her hands down her face. I stand too, my eyes locked on her as she walks to the railing of the bridge, leaning into it. “I wanted so badly to have what my mom and dad had. Drew and I dated through high school, and it was all like a fairy tale. First love and all that jazz. When he broke up with me, I was angry, but I understood. I wasn’t leaving Nashville. I wanted to go to school and compete locally near my family, but the more he started calling, the more I missed him. I missed him so much. I allowed him to talk me into leaving because I really didn’t think I’d find another love like what we had.” She looks over at me and shrugs. “You terrified me in college. Made me feel things I hadn’t felt before, and I got nervous. Drew was comfortable, and I knew what I was getting. You were a mystery. Not to mention, I was scared of what Ryan would do to you. I didn’t think it would work out, and you are such a good person, I didn’t want to hurt you.”

I’m unable to speak as she looks away. She rubs her hand along her cheek, catching her tears as she lets out a long sigh. “The first year together, everything was fine. He wasn’t how I remembered, but then I figured we had gotten older and we needed to grow together. I wanted so desperately for him to treat me like his princess that I tried everything. I did everything. Anything he asked, I did. But I wasn’t enough. After we got married and then I lost our baby, things started to change.” It’s apparent the pain is still there. Tears roll down her cheeks in rivers, and her voice is raspy from her sobs. “The first time was when he got sent down to the minors. He came home one day, and I dropped a bowl his mom had given us when I was trying to put it up in the cupboard. He loved that bowl, I guess, and he lost it. He pushed me into the wall and then backhanded me across the face. I convinced myself it was my fault, and he promised it wouldn’t happen again.” She closes her eyes as she takes in a deep breath. “But it happened at least once a month for a whole year.”