Chapter 4 Jason

I looked at Tiffany's face, and the shock written all over it was priceless.

I knew Tiffany hated Maya for whatever reason, and using Maya as an escape route had been the best move I'd made in days.

Well, except for punching Reagan.

Considering Tiffany was now hooking up with him, beating him up had felt pretty damn rewarding, especially after all the stupid things he'd said about the Ice Jumpers.

"So I break up with you, and the best thing you can do is pretend to be hooking up with this ugly bitch?" Tiffany snapped. "She's not even half of what I am."

I could hear the jealousy beneath her anger.

"Who said I was pretending?" I asked confidently, lying without hesitation. "I've wanted to break up with you for a long time."

I turned toward Maya.

She was already boiling with rage.

"And let me tell you, Maya is better than you in more ways than I can name in one day," I said, tightening my arm around her.

Tiffany's expression darkened.

"I've had a crush on Maya for a long time. I just never had the courage to tell her."

It was a lie, but if it made Tiffany angrier, I wasn't complaining.

"And when I realized you weren't interested in me anymore and had decided to sell yourself short with my rival, I figured it was the perfect time to make my feelings public."

I smiled.

Tiffany stared at me for a few seconds before turning around and storming toward the door.

Reagan shot me a dirty look before following her.

"Enjoy my leftovers," I called after them.

Then I let go of Maya.

"Are you nuts?" she asked, immediately putting both hands on her head.

"Why?"

I casually sat back down, crossing my legs as if nothing had happened.

I'd embarrassed Tiffany before she could embarrass me.

As far as I was concerned, it was a win.

"You just told your girlfriend—"

"Ex-girlfriend."

"I don't care whatever the hell she is!" Maya snapped. "You just told her that you and I are in a relationship."

She pointed toward the door.

"Relax. It's no big deal. I just wanted her to know she's replaceable."

I uncrossed my legs and stood.

"You are not right in the head," she said. "And you better pray she or nobody else tries to make this public."

She stormed away.

"Babe, babe," I called after her, laughing.

Chad stared at me.

"You know that's not cool, right?"

He walked over and sat beside me.

"You just put Maya in the spotlight."

"Relax. Nobody is going to know. It happened here, between us."

Chad gave me a look that said he didn't believe a word I was saying.

But I wasn't worried.

At least, not yet.

We stayed at the arcade for another two hours before deciding to call it a day.

I threw a knowing glance at Maya before walking out.

The drive home with Chad was unusually quiet.

Every few minutes, he shot me a dirty look.

I didn't need him to say anything.

He thought I'd done something stupid.

I didn't.

I kept telling him nobody apart from the people who were there knew what had happened.

Eventually, we reached home.

I barely made it to my room before collapsing face-first onto my bed.

Sleep took me almost instantly.

The Next Morning

My phone rang.

I groaned, reached for it and squinted at the screen.

Chad.

I wiped the sleep from my eyes and answered.

"Hey, man. I'm on Instagram right now."

His voice sounded urgent.

"What's happening on Instagram? It's fucking seven in the morning."

"Just go on Instagram."

The line went dead.

I yawned and opened the app.

The first video on my feed made me sit upright.

Tiffany.

She was crying.

"Hello, guys."

She wiped her eyes.

"I know many of you are probably wondering why I'm crying. I've been inactive for a while because something terrible happened."

Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks.

"So, as you all know, Jason and I have been in a relationship since high school. Yesterday, I found out that he had been cheating on me with a girl who works at Hayley's arcade."

My stomach dropped.

"I'll show you the video where he made that confession."

The screen changed.

Then I saw myself.

Standing in the arcade.

Holding Maya.

Telling Tiffany I'd had a crush on Maya for a long time.

The video from yesterday.

The one I thought had stayed between us.

I immediately got out of bed.

I called Chad.

He picked up almost instantly.

"What's going on?" I demanded.

"I warned you about this yesterday, didn't I?"

His voice was serious.

"But just like you always do, you brushed it off like it was nothing."

I ran a hand through my hair.

"You have to find a way to fix this."

The line went dead.

I stared at my phone before opening the comments.

They were already brutal.

User_7543222467: Jason is not only a beast, but a man-whore."

User_59764235: That bitch is just pretending. Look at their faces."

Ghost_viewer677888: I feel like this is staged. How do we know this isn't some publicity stunt before the next game?"

Matt_644433: That bitch is so ugly, I couldn't even watch the video to the end."

Ken_yaddy: We're so sorry about this, Tiff. Your fans are going to make sure that girl sees nothing but hell."

My chest tightened.

I slammed my phone face-down on the bed and dragged both hands through my hair.

How the hell was I supposed to fix this?

My phone rang again.

Coach.

I took a deep breath before answering.

"Meet me at the rink. Now."

The call ended.

I stared at the screen for a second.

Then I got up, threw on the first clothes my hands could find and stormed out.

The Rink

I said a quick prayer before walking inside.

The moment I opened the door, I saw my dad.

His hands were clasped behind his back.

Beside him stood Coach.

His eyes were red with anger.

I immediately knew this wasn't going to be a friendly conversation.

"What's going on, Jason?" Coach asked, his voice controlled.

My dad stepped forward.

"What's going on between you and Tiffany?"

His baritone echoed, 'Tiffany came to the arcade to tell me she was done with the relationship. Reagan was with her, and then"

"Then you thought it was a good idea to announce that you were dating that girl?"

Dad cut me off.

I opened my mouth, but he didn't give me a chance to speak.

"What more do you want from me, Jason?"

He pointed at me.

"I've given you everything. A life. A roof over your head. Money. Opportunities. Everything."

His voice grew louder.

"And what do you do with it? You go around making a mess."

"Dad, I wasn't thinking. I just"

"Exactly."

He stepped closer.

"Do you know how much I had to pay to stop Mr. Miller from filing a lawsuit? Do you know how much I gave the board to keep you on this team?"

I swallowed.

"I"

"Tell me one time you thought before making a decision."

He stopped directly in front of me.

"I have spent years cleaning up after you. Every time you make a mess, I shield you from the public, the paparazzi, the media, everyone."

He poked a finger against my chest.

"And you've proven to me that I'm wasting my time."

"Dad"

"No."

His voice was colder now.

"You are on your own this time."

He stepped back.

"Fix it yourself."

I stared at him.

"Until you do, I don't want to see you."

He brushed his shoulder against mine as he walked past.

"Dad!"

He didn't stop.

I turned toward Coach.

"Coach"

"I'm sorry, Jason."

He looked at me for a moment.

"But you're suspended until the end of the finals. You're not going to show your face here until then."

Then he walked away.

I stood there alone in the middle of the rink.

The silence felt heavier than the shouting.

For the first time since I made that stupid decision at the arcade, I realized something.

I hadn't just embarrassed Tiffany.

I'd put Maya in the middle of a storm she never asked for.

And now I had no idea how to get either of us out.