Page 64 of The Pucking Coach's Daughter
“Later, then.”
“Is this an every night thing?”
He smirks. “Do you want it to be? I left you alone last night.”
And I was lonely. For the first time in a while.
“You left me alone because you had an away game,” I point out.
“Fine. See you tonight.” He hooks his bag over his shoulder and leaves me sitting at my desk, still in fucking disarray.
nineteen
sydney
The health clinic on campus can prescribe birth control. I learn that from Maddy, after I try to casually ask her about it at dinner. Having none seems a little too dangerous, especially since Penn lives on the reckless side. And Carter… he brought me the morning after pill, but I can’t rely on that.
I won’t.
Getting pregnant young is exactly what my mother did. And since I’m already following in her footsteps in more ways than one, I can’t jinx myself.
Better safe than sorry.
I head down after dinner, feigning nausea to my friends. But when I get there, I tell the nurse practitioner what I really need.
She nods without judgment. That’s a small miracle all on its own.
After reviewing my options, we go with the monthly shot. She gives me one right then and there—after a pregnancy test that thankfully comes back negative—and makes me an appointment to return at the end of November.
“Halloween is next week,” I gasp.
She laughs, ushering me out.
Halloween used to be fun. Like in high school, when I would go to house parties of my classmates, but everyone was kind of on equal footing in terms of sneaking alcohol and having enough funds to actually get good costumes.
I, for one, always put my creativity to the test.
I walk home, and a chill like ice slides down my spine. I stop short on the sidewalk. It’s a residential area, the university perfectly blended in with the surrounding neighborhoods in Framingham. The street is quiet, and yet…
There’s no one around. No one walking or jogging. I spin in a slow circle, trying to make sure, before I shrug it off and continue.
A car turns onto the road ahead of me. Their headlights are bright, but then they flick on their high beams.
I raise my hand to block the light.
The engine revs, the car flying toward me. My body goes tense as it draws nearer, my heart skipping. I almost fall off the sidewalk into the yard beside me, but the squeal of brakes comes a second later. It stops a foot from me, and someone jumps out of the passenger side. They’re wearing a mask.
Hell. No.
I backpedal, then turn and run across the lawn. The big one is on me in a second. He’s huge, easily doubling my body weight, and takes me down hard. We hit the ground, the air kicked out of my lungs, but he grabs my arms and hauls me up faster than I can comprehend. The driver looms in front of me. He dodges my kick and grabs my legs while the first guy takes my upper body. I manage to get out a piercing shriek before the big one stuffs something in my mouth.
I try to spit it out, but there’s too much of it. The one behind me has my arms pinned to my sides. Desperation kicks through me, and I twist harder than even I expect. I get a foot free. Without hesitation, I slam it into the driver’s stomach.
He lets out an oof, but his grasp on my other ankle doesn’t loosen. He quickly gets my other foot, and they carry me the short distance back to the car. The trunk is already open.
It’s sick how time slows down. I know what’s coming. They’re going to put me in it, shut the door. Once I’m in, I’ll be even more vulnerable.
I scream around the cloth in my mouth and throw my head back. It worked on the girl in the bathroom, but this angle sucks and I just bash it into his chest.