Page 26 of The Pucking Coach's Daughter
In the mirror, I make eye contact with the person holding me. The sad part is, I don’t even recognize her. Her light-brown hair is up in a severe ponytail, her eyeshadow is an interesting shade of purple, and her face is utterly ordinary.
Minus the hate in her gaze.
I squirm, trying to wiggle loose while focusing on Andi. She’s clearly the one running this show. The one holding me is strong, though, and doesn’t allow me any leeway.
“How long did you wait for me?” I ask.
She huffs. “Fucking forever. Oliver texted me that you were here before the game started, but you were with the coach’s wife. Thank God she decided to leave you alone, right?”
Because Perri and my father don’t really know the extent of bullying… or how much the entire school seems to loathe me.
Like my unknown texter said, maybe I just need to wait for someone to fuck over the football team. If only they had made it to the playoffs.
“The last thing we need is you showing up at a hockey game,” Andi continues. “Miranda, do you have it?”
She pulls out a roll of duct tape from her coat pocket, coming into the bathroom and placing it in Andi’s hand. She quickly retreats to the doorway, her gaze turned outward.
“Now…” Andi tilts her head. “Maybe off with the sweatshirt.”
The girl behind me immediately yanks it over my head. I throw myself backward, crashing into her, but the mountain of a girl barely stumbles. She shoves me into the counter, bending me over until my cheek is pressed to the faucet. They get the hoodie the rest of the way off, and the rip of duct tape comes a second later.
They bind my wrists together and hoists me upright.
The muscle turns me to face them, one hand on my upper arm.
“You seem cockier now that my hands are bound,” I observe. “What’s your name?”
She frowns. “You don’t know?”
“I don’t really care minus having someone on my mental shit list. Unless you want to be called Ogre…”
“Kate,” she snaps.
“Kate,” I repeat. “Got it. Not sure why you’d think I would know that. Do you just follow Andi here around like a little lamb?”
Andi punches me in the stomach.
The pain of it is surprising—as is my unpreparedness. I let out an unholy grunt, nearly doubling forward.
“Careful.” Andi grips my hair and yanks my head back. “You’re all alone here.”
“Sorry,” Miranda suddenly says. “There was an overflowed toilet, it’s flooding… we already called maintenance.”
“Have you seen Sydney Windsor?” Perri asks.
I open my mouth, and Andi lunges forward. Her palm connects with my lips, her sharp nails digging into my cheek. I stare at her. Because really, is it worth this? The anger in her eyes seems visceral, though. How far she’ll go is anyone’s guess.
“She hasn’t come back to her seat,” Perri finishes.
“No, ma’am, I’m sorry.”
After a long minute, Miranda pops her head back in and gives us a thumbs-up.
Well, gives her friends the motion.
Andi rips off another few inches of tape and covers my mouth. I shake my head, scowling at her. There will be fucking payback for this.
Kate pulls me sideways. I nearly trip over my feet as I try to follow her quick movement.