Page 144 of Chasing Hope

Grayson drops his head and sighs. “I’m going to go intervene.”

“Good luck,” I say gruffly.

“Sounds like he found the present I left him,” Kieran says with a dark chuckle.

Grayson turns, walking backward down the corridor to the locker room. “You can come help me clean up the mess, then.”

Kieran gasps, holding his gloved hand to his lips. “Me? I’m not good in a crisis, Cap.”

I can’t help but laugh at the fucker, Grayson, too, even as he takes off down the tunnel as a crash rings out.

Side-eyeing Kieran, I drawl, “You really enjoy riling Johnson up, don’t you?”

He snorts. “Are you kidding? It’s like my Superbowl.”

Barking out a laugh, we enter the locker room in time to watch Grayson hold back a red-faced Johnson, his hands fisting a torn-down banner. Kieran, it seems, made a collage of Irving dressed up as Johnson’s date and Johnson’s face once he saw Irving at the restaurant.

I bite my lip to stop myself from joining the team and laughing. I seek out Caleb as I always do when shit like this goes down but his eyes are already on mine, narrowed.

My quiet laughter dies as I remember the secret I have to hide. Avoiding his gaze, I keep my head down, pass the chaos, and shower as quickly as I can.

As I’m packing up my duffle bag and Johnson’s rage has quieted to angry mutters under his breath, I hightail it out of the locker room, feeling Caleb’s eyes on the back of my neck like a searing burn. I’ve almost made it to my car without incident when I hear his voice boom across the parking lot. “Valenti, wait up!”

Fuck.

I can’t lie to his face, I fucking can’t.

Turning, I’m hit by the indescribable need to blurt it out, to say that we need to help her, to tell him that someone hurtourgirl. That someone needs to pay.

But instead, I just watch in silence as he jogs across theparking lot, molding my face into a mask of stone. His brows furrow as he stops.

“The hell is going on? I’m meant to be giving you the cold shoulder, not the other way around.”

I stare past his shoulder. I never thought there would be a day where I couldn’t look my best friend in the eye because I consciously lied to him.

“We’re good. Everything’s good.”

Caleb’s head rears back. “Valenti…what the fuck is going on?”

My skin feels like it’s on fire. I’ve never felt so fucking horrible in my life.

This is why Evie started avoiding us.

“Where have you been staying?” I ask, deflecting.

Caleb’s brows pull down further. “At Irving’s.”

“I think space right now is probably best,” I blurt.

Caleb steps forward. “Matteo, what’s going on? I know I’m mad at you, but it doesn’t mean you can’t talk to me.”

My heart pinches painfully, my throat burning with the need to scream that someone hurt the love of my life. Then I remember her face and the promise she made me keep and I have to physically force myself to look away from Caleb’s eyes, ones so similar to Evie’s.

Fuck, why is he such a good friend?

“Sorry, man, I have to go,” I say, my voice cracking slightly as I clap him on the shoulder.

I leave him speechless as I turn on my heel, jumping in my car. I tear out of the parking lot, not daring to look back in my rearview mirror. I know I’m not easing his worries, know that I’ve just made him mentally spiral, but I can’t lie to him.