Chapter 44: Don’t Give a Damn

The words died in my throat.

Standing in the dimly lit, carpeted hallway of my apartment building with his broad frame blocking out the warm overhead light, was Knox Sheridan.

He was wearing his black Briar athletics hoodie, the hood pulled down to reveal his messy dark hair. His jaw was set tight, and his dark eyes locked straight onto mine. He looked exhausted, cold, and completely uninvited.

Silence stretched between us across the open threshold. The cool air from the hallway drifted into the apartment, carrying the familiar scent of his cedar cologne.

From the phone still pressed in my hands, Drew’s voice came through the speaker: "Nora? You there? Are you okay?"

Knox’s eyes swept over my face, dropping immediately to the phone in my hand. His jaw clenched tight as Drew’s voice carried clearly through the speaker.

Before I could step back or react, Knox took a step across the threshold, reached out with a quick arm and pulled the phone cleanly out of my hand.

"Hey!" I gasped, stumbling backward. "Give that back!"

Knox didn’t even look at the screen. He brought my phone up to his ear. "She’s busy, Miller. Stop calling," he said in a cold, flat tone.

Without waiting for a response, Knox tapped the screen with his thumb, ended the call, and tossed the phone onto the sofa.

My blood boiled, my hands curling into fists as I glared up at him.

"How dare you touch my phone!" I snapped, my voice shaking with outrage. "We are FAKE dating, Knox! You don’t own me, and you don’t get to control who I talk to!"

Knox stepped further into the entryway, using his boot to kick the front door shut behind him. The click of the latch echoed through the quiet apartment like a starter pistol.

"I don’t give a damn about Miller!" Knox barked, stepping into my personal space until his chest was inches from mine.

"Well, I don’t give a damn about you either!" I shot back, refusing to give an inch even as he dominated the room. "So tell me, why are you here? You ignored my texts for two days, and when I saw you on the quad yesterday, you looked right through me like I didn’t exist."

Knox’s jaw tightened, his dark eyes holding mine. "Because seeing you on the quad wasn’t an option, Bennett. And texting wasn’t going to fix this."

"So you think you can just ice me out for forty-eight hours and then show up acting like you own the place, just because you decided it’s time to talk?"

"You think I came here to chat, Bennett?" he asked coldly.

"I don’t care why you came!" I shouted, stepping closer, my chest heaving with rage. "If you had something to say, why didn’t you just call or text like a normal person?"

"Because Coach Brennan just gave me twenty-four hours before he pulls my athletic eligibility!" Knox snapped back. "And right now, I don’t have time to stand around and watch you flirt with your high school friend!"

"Don’t you dare turn this on me!" I yelled. "You breached #5 of our contract on Monday night! You brought a girl up to your bedroom at the SinBin while the whole campus thinks we’re officially together! You put my tutoring contract and my reputation on the line, and then you gave me the silent treatment like a coward!"

Knox let out a harsh laugh. "Then go to Pierce! Walk into the compliance office tomorrow morning and tell him I cheated on you! Tell him it’s over!" He leaned down slightly, holding my gaze. "Or are you getting attached, Bennett? Because that’s also against the contract."

"I’m not attached, Knox!" I shouted, the words tearing out of my chest. "I came to the SinBin on Monday to apologize! I felt terrible for pushing you in the study room, and I spent two hours in the library reading medical journals because I realized what you were dealing with! But, no, you couldn’t handle me knowing your secret. You were so terrified of looking weak that you used another girl to humiliate me! You’re an arrogant, selfish coward!"

The room went dead silent.

The careless playboy facade vanished in an instant, leaving Knox completely exposed. A muscle jumped along his jawline as he stared down at me. For the first time since I had met him, Knox Sheridan had no sarcastic comeback.

He just stood there, staring at me.

Knox took a slow breath. He reached up, rubbing a hand aggressively over his face, before dropping his arm back to his side. The anger in his posture slowly faded, revealing a heavy, bone-deep exhaustion underneath.

"You want to know why I didn’t text you?" Knox asked, his voice dropping into a low rasp. "Because Brennan pulled me into his office after practice today. Because I went rogue on Monday and didn’t turn in my weekly study log..."

"And whose fault is that?" I snapped, crossing my arms.

"... he scheduled an emergency comprehension exam for tomorrow at four PM in front of the athletic board," Knox finished, ignoring my interruption.

My heart suddenly dropped into my stomach. My anger evaporated, replaced by a sudden spike of dread. "What?"

"They’re giving me a fifteen-page corporate case study tomorrow," Knox said, and I could see the frustration in his eyes. "I can’t read it, Bennett. The text is dense and single-spaced, and the letters just scramble on the page. If I sit in that office tomorrow and try to read fifteen pages, I’ll fail. And if I fail, Brennan benches me for the season, and my draft clearance is dead."

I stared at him with my mouth slightly open as the weight of his words settled over the room.

Knox Sheridan, the untouchable, arrogant hockey captain of Briar University was standing in my living room, admitting his ultimate vulnerability out loud to the only person who knew the truth.

If he failed tomorrow, his entire athletic career was over, his father would step in to take control of his life, and my own tutoring contract would be destroyed right along with him.

But more than that, looking at his tired, guarded face, I saw the weight he had been carrying alone.

He took a step back toward the door, resting his hand against the wood. He looked down at me, his gaze unguarded and completely stripped of his usual armor.

"So tell me, Bennett," Knox challenged quietly in a low, serious voice. "Are you going to let me fail tomorrow... or are you helping me prep?"