My Hockey Alpha novel Chapter 196

Nina

“Nina,” Justin said, shaking my arm. “What are you doing?”

I blinked, shaking my head as I returned to my senses. “S-Sorry,” I said. “Just zoned out.”

Justin was silent. When I looked at him, he looked angry and jealous, and his lips were pressed into a thin line.

“Did you enjoy your dance?” he asked, folding his arms across his chest.

I wanted to correct him and remind him that we weren’t together as a couple, but for some reason, I was too dazed by my encounter with Eli to speak up. So I simply shook my head and stared at the floor. “Not really,” I replied. “I wouldn’t have danced with him if it weren’t for the social pressure.”

Justin seemed satisfied by this, and before I could stop him, he suddenly grabbed me by the wrist a little too hard and pulled me in. In an instant, he pressed his lips firmly against mine, so hard it almost hurt. Then, when he finally pulled away, he leaned in close to me and whispered something in my ear.

“Come back to my place later,” he whispered, planting a kiss on my neck. “I think it’s time we finally take our relationship further.”

As Justin spoke, I felt myself shudder. And in an odd way, I almost felt scared of him at that moment. I couldn’t explain it, but his sudden shift in demeanor was a bit frightening, and I didn’t know what to say.

“Um… I’m going to use the restroom,” I said suddenly. I just needed to get away.

Justin stared at me for a moment before letting me go. Without a word, I quickly scurried past him and out of the auditorium, into the quiet hallway. As I made my way to the bathroom, I could already feel the tears beginning to well up in my eyes and I picked up my pace, just barely making it into the bathroom before the tears began to flow.

I didn’t like the way that Justin was trying to coerce me into sleeping with him. It felt deliberate, as though he knew I was vulnerable right now, and I was more drunk than I should have been that night. My hands shook as I pulled out my phone and started to text Lori and Jessica that I was going to go home early by myself so as not to ruin their night, but before I could hit send, the bathroom door suddenly swung open.

I quickly jerked my head up to see who had come in; my first instinct was that Justin had followed me, but it wasn’t him.

Instead, it was the new girl. Sadie.

She had a dark scowl on her face, and I instantly knew that she was deliberately looking for me.

“H-Hey,” I said, backing up against the wall as she suddenly charged toward me, her hands balled up into fists at her sides. “I-I didn’t ask for any of that to happen. It was only a coincidence—”

“Coincidence?” she snarled, coming too close for comfort, so close I could feel her hot breath on my face as she breathed heavily through her nose. “You’ve been staring at him ever since we got here, Nina. I know what you’re after, and I’ll tell you what; he’s not interested. I’m at the end of my rope with you. I should’ve killed you when I had the—”

My eyes widened as the girl spoke. She suddenly stopped herself, her face turning an even deeper shade of red.

She knew my name? And what did she mean when she said that she should have killed me?