The run was excruciating, but well worth it. The screaming in my muscles helped distract me from the screaming that would most certainly be accompanying my trip to visit my parents.

My mother wasn't like most. She valued family above all else, and once you severed that tie or broke her trust, it was nearly impossible to gain it back, and the thought of having to use every single ounce of energy left in my body to do so was agonizing.

"Hey, how long were you out running for?"

I smiled as Amalia welcomed me at the front door of the rent house, glad that I could spend a little time with her before I had to bite the bullet and go home.

"A few hours. You wanna come with me on my next one?"

She laughed as if what I'd said was the funniest thing she'd ever heard, and it probably was considering the word 'athletic' and Amalia's name were pretty much polar opposites.

I was always the one who'd stand up for her in school if someone was picking on her because of her sexual orientation and received some flack for it on my own as well but it didn't matter to me. I'd beat anyone up who would try to get physical with her.

I knew what it felt like to be a victim, and I didn't want anyone else to feel that way. I excelled in gym class and then joined the cross country team in high school, and the stories of my strength spread around the school and soon no one picked on Amalia ever again.

"So tell me, what is the world ending story that is making you go home? I though you said you never wanted to see your mom's face ever again?"

I cringed as she brought up those words that I'd uttered in the heat of the moment, knowing full and well that they were bullshit the second they'd come out of my mouth but the damage had already been done and my mother was already more hurt than she'd ever been at my hands.

It was my fault that our relationship was so strained, always taking Nate's side over hers even when he was the most toxic person I'd ever been with in my life.

I'd let him manipulate me into isolating myself from my real friends and family and he kept me in his pocket until he needed me.

I was done being someone's punching bag, and most importantly, I was done being the victim.

It was my turn to stand up for the innocents, the ones who didn't deserve what had happened to them.

Sure, Marnie had cheated on Emmett but she was still a human being. She didn't deserve being drugged and taken advantage of by Rafael, and he was going to pay for what he had done to her, and I was the one who was going to make him pay.

Suddenly, I was more than grateful for my mother for once for putting me through rigorous and extensive martial arts classes from elementary school all the way up until high school when I quit for running.

Maybe before we went to the club later in the week I could find somewhere that taught Krav Maga or self defense to brush up on some of my skills...lord knows I would need it facing off against a man like Rafael who could easily break me in half like a twig if he got the chance.

If anything went south I needed to be able to defend myself and not rely on anyone else to save me. No one was there to save me all those years ago, and I wasn't able to save myself, but I wasn't letting that happen again, never again.

I shivered as the memories threatened to overtake me so I sharpened my vision and focused on the present, where my therapist told me I should always live and I listened intently to Amalia's new conquest- a girl she'd met at the farmer's market.

"She was funny and witty and she flirted with me too, so I'm pretty sure she's game. I wish I had a picture to show you!"

"She sounds awesome, girl. I'm glad you're not still hung up on that girl from the club last week. I mean, if she ditched you she's not worth it. I don't even remember her name."

"Marilyn," she told me despondently, and I realized that she was a little more torn up about the girl that I had originally thought.

"Hey listen...I'm going to Oceans later this week with Emmett, do you wanna come? Maybe she'll be there?"

"Yeah, and I can go with the girl from the farmer's market and make her jealous! Oh my god, thank you so much! Wait, you're going with Emmett? What about that Rafael guy? Didn't you go on a date with him too?"

"Yeah...that's a long story. We're gonna need a drink for that."

Thirty minutes later and the entire story finally told, Amalia was ready to fight.

"Okay so when we're at the club, I'll keep an eye on him and his friends that he's with. You know, I bet I could fake seduce one of them and then we would be able to get him alone?"

"That's not actually a bad idea. Despite your affinity for women, you do have a way with getting men to do whatever you want them to do..."

"It's because when I flirt I just don't give a shit. I do whatever and I say whatever comes to mind, and it always works."

"Wow. Maybe I should try that sometime..." I trailed off as we both dissolved into fits of laughter.

"Okay so now all you have to do is call up your dad and say you want to come over for dinner, have a family meeting or whatever."

"Right, like it's that easy..."

"Well, isn't it?"

"Not really. There's some...family dynamics that are pretty hard to explain."

She grabbed my phone from my bed and tossed it to me.

"Well we can talk about that later, this can't wait."

She was right, I just didn't want to admit it.

I hit my dad's contact and listened to the ring until finally he answered.

"Lydia?"

"Hey dad, it's me. Can we talk?"

Practices were getting harder and harder as well as dodging the reporters that swarmed the field house afterwards trying to get an exclusive with me or follow me home.

News about my impending join to the Patriots was growing and I had multiple agents hot on my trail to get me on their firm.

"Mr. Scott?"

I whipped my head around as I made my way to my truck after practice.

"Yes?"

A woman in her mid thirties with short dark hair and dressed in professional attire approached me.

"I'm Lucille Vaughn, an agent with Sports Management Corp, and I would like to sign you to our firm.

Speak of the devil.

"Thank you, but I'm still deciding on who I want to represent me."

She wouldn't take no for an answer as she thrust her card in my direction.

"See all this? I could hire security and have these paparazzi gone in two seconds. As for any interviews, I could set them up so you're not ambushed after practice. I know what I'm doing, and I can get you any endorsement you could ever want. Just think about it."

There was a glint in her eye that told me that she wouldn't give up no matter how hard I tried so I took her card and promised I'd look into her company.

Pulling out of the parking lot, however, I spotted a certain football protege that was touted to be my 'rival', Drayton Merrick.

He wasn't someone I expected to see at my school, and I definitely didn't expect what I saw next.

Holding his hand with a million dollar smile on her mouth was none other than my ex-girlfriend, Marnie Thomas.

The emotions that swirled in my gut were all confusing, but there was one that overpowered most of them, and that one was rage.

I was angry that she'd just skipped over to the opposing side when I said no to her. Or, had she been with him the whole time and was just using me to get information on if I was really joining the Patriots or not...

That one made more sense, given the fact that her apology to me had been the most sincere she'd ever been to me in her entire life, and Marnie was never sincere.

Fumes were practically coming out of my ears as I drove home, and the only thing I wanted was to talk to Lydia but she was locked in her room having girl talk with her friend Amalia.

I had an itching to get into trouble...

And I knew just where to start.

I dialed up Marnie's number. She wasn't going to know that I caught her in her little act, and I was going to use that to my advantage.