Number Eleven

Chapter 15.

Oakley POV

Ava lied to me. I know she did. 

I might not have her verbal confirmation, but I've already put enough pieces together to know for a fact that her breakup with David was not a mutual decision nor was it for whatever bullshit reason she tried to sell me yesterday. He did something to her and I intend to find out what.

Looking around the locker room, I finally spot the guy I've been looking for since practice ended fifteen minutes ago.

"Remer come here for a second would you buddy?" 

His head snaps in my direction, breaking his conversation with our backup goalie before he makes his way over to me. I notice just how short he is the closer her gates, and pull back my oncoming smirk when I practically tower over him.

"Hey Hutton, you need something?" 

I want nothing more than to knock the helpless grin right off his f*****g face.

"Yeah actually, coach needs up to grab some s**t from the storage room," I lie. 

"Uh yeah, sure man." He nods before slapping a hand against my shoulder. 

Self-restraint is not one of my specialties, and boy do I have to force myself not to rip his slimy hand from his arm right now.

I follow a few steps behind him until we reach the storage room. He twists the doorknob and pushes the door leading to the storage room open and we step inside. 

As he looks to me for direction, I give my head a shake and fold my arms. 

 His calm expression is replaced by one of confusion and a hint of fear? He moves a few steps away from me and squares his shoulders only for me to do the same, making our height difference well known to him. 

"Clearly, coach doesn't need anything. But I, on the other hand, do."

"And what is it you need, Oakley?" he asks, c*****g a brow. 

"Tell me what you did to make Matt and Adam hate you so much." My words come out strong and demanding, daring him to lie to me.

"Oh, I get what's happening here. I saw your little sign last game. She's beautiful isn't she?" His lips form into a jeering smirk and I clench my fists to try and stop myself from throwing him against a wall and beating the s**t out of him right here.

"I don't know who you're talking about." I play dumb, baiting him. He seems dumb enough to spill it all out to me and answer all the questions I've been dying to know.

"Oh, you know. Green eyes, long brown hair, phenomenal ass--" My self-control is snapped like a twig as soon as the words slip past his lips. My clenched fist winding back and smashing against his nose, a loud crunch ringing in my ears.

"You f*****g prick," I snarl before throwing another punch, this time making contact with his jaw and sending him stumbling backward.

As he tries to regain his balance I sneak a glance to the door, noticing that it's wide open and inviting to anyone who walks by. I turn my attention back to him a second too late and he catches me off guard, sending his own fist slamming against my left eye. I feel the skin bust open above my eyebrow and the warm liquid starts dripping in a steady crimson stream down my face. 

He throws one hell of a punch I'll give him that.

"You take a punch just like she did. Like a little b***h," he sneers before I launch myself at him again, any conscious thought dissipating as I  send us onto the ground. 

I have him pinned underneath me and continue sending punch after punch at his smug grin. 

I can't see him anymore, all I see is Ava being thrown to the floor, having the fist that was just thrown at me being thrown at her instead.

The rage bubbles inside me, taking control of every move I make. 

"Oakley." I vaguely hear past the sound of my own heartbeat pumping in my ears.

"Oakley! Oakley that's enough!" Arms wrap themselves around my waist, pulling me up and off of David. I push forward, trying to break free of the arms keeping me from giving the bastard what he deserves.

"You're dead! You go near her again and you're dead!" I shout, not caring that we have an audience. 

"f*****g hell Oakley! What the f**k were you thinking? You'll be lucky not to be cut from the team!" I realize it was Matt that pulled me off of David and for the first time, I take notice of Adam and Tyler as they drag his battered body out of the storage room.

"He deserved it," I answer shortly, suddenly exhausted. The pain in my hands causing me to finally unclench them and I look down to examine the damage.

"Don't you think I've wanted to do that to him since the day I found out what he did? Ava is going to kill you," he sighs, running a hand through his hair. f**k she's going to be pissed.

"Just help get me to the bathroom, I need to fix my knuckles."

                                                                                            ~~~

An hour later I'm finally blood-free. A few places on my knuckles had to be stitched up, along with the split skin above my eyebrow, meaning we had to go to the team medic and listen to her scold me like a damn child.

Matt didn't tell me where the guys took David, just that they were taking care of it. And as far as I know, coach isn't going to find out that the fight took place at the rink, just that we got into it about something afterward. If he even finds out at all. 

As of right now, I'm sitting in Matt's truck as he drives me home. He refused to let me drive myself and practically forced me into his truck with the promise of returning my truck to me by tomorrow. 

"Hey man, thank you. For everything today," I sigh as soon as we pull up in front of my apartment. He turns his head, reaches over to slap me on the shoulder and nods.

"Don't worry about it. You're one of us now, and we take care of each other around here." 

I smile gratefully before grabbing my duffle from the backseat and stepping out of the truck. 

Once I reach the door to my apartment, I go to unlock it only to realize it's already unlocked. 

With scrunched brows, I give my head a shake. 

As I slowly push the door open, I'm attacked by a storm of brown hair. 

Ava jumps, wrapping her legs tightly around my waist before planting kisses on my cheeks. Letting out a slight oof I look down at her worried expression. 

"Oh my god, are you okay? Morgan called me when Matt let her know you were in a fight and were seeing a medic. A medic! What even happened?" It all comes out in a jumbled mess, but I catch enough of it to give her the answers she's waiting for. I gently pull back from her and watch as her eyes widen in shock as she examines the nasty marks and bruises that now cover my face.

"It's not as bad as it looks, you should see the other guy," I joke, only for her to give me an exasperated look before planting her feet back on the ground. 

"This is not funny, you could have seriously gotten hurt. Who did you fight anyways?" 

Of course they didn't tell her. 

"Promise you won't get mad and leave?" I'm sure desperation is written all over my face but I don't care. I don't want her to run. Not after the progress that we've made.

"I promise." It comes out as barely a whisper, making it clear to me that she's started to put the pieces together. 

"I only wanted to talk to him. I needed answers Ava and you weren't going to give them to me. You lied to me yesterday."

"I know. I'm so sorry," she whispers, her voice cracking. 

The pain I feel from the sadness in her voice is nothing compared to the pain that shoots through me when I see the tears well up in her eyes. I immediately pull her back into my arms, holding her as tight as I can as I begin to feel sobs shake through her body. My reassuring words do nothing to stop the warm liquid that continues to soak through my shirt.

"It's okay sweetheart. It's okay," I whisper into her ear as I continue rubbing her back in soothing motions, trying desperately to take her pain away.

A few minutes later nothing is heard but the small sniffles she makes as she slowly lifts her head up, meeting my concerned eyes with her somber one.

"That was so embarrassing. I don't usually cry, I'm sorry." Her face flushes pink and I watch her duck her head down as she stares at the floor beneath us.

"You have nothing to be sorry for. I shouldn't have pried so hard, I just hated knowing something happened to you and I couldn't do anything to fix it." 

I let out a deep breath before I place my finger underneath her chin and tilt her head up to look at me again, "In case you haven't noticed, I'm crazy about you, Octavia Layton." 

"I'm crazy about you too, Oakley Hutton," she whispers as she stretches on her tiptoes and wraps a small hand around my neck, pulling my head down to meet her lips with mine in an anything but gentle kiss.

My arms find their way to her waist on instinct and pull her right up flush against me. I kiss her back, hard, letting her know I want this as much as she does.

I slowly begin to drag my non-stitched hand up her body and smirk against her lips when I feel her shiver as my fingertips brush against the material of her shirt that lies beside her left breast. 

My hand finally reaches its destination, grabbing the back of her neck in my large palm and wrapping my fingers in the hair resting there. A quiet moan radiates through the silent apartment as I push her back against the front door, a jolt of pleasure rushing down to the hardness building in my jeans when I realize it came from Ava.

Our mouths are moving fast and passionately together as I move my knee to rest in between Ava's legs, pushing against the heat radiating there. Her hands move from their spot around my neck until they meet the hem of my shirt, gently yanking on the material. I take the hint and unlatch our lips, moving slightly backward, just enough to pull my t-shirt off and throw it somewhere across the room.

I grab under her thighs, effortlessly lifting her small body up so she can wrap them around my waist and carry her over to the couch before gently laying her down and resting my body on top of her. I start planting wet kisses down her neck before making my way back up to claim her lips with mine again. 

The heat from her fingers starts tracing my stomach, over every muscle I know lives there, igniting a low groan from my throat. She removes her lips from my mine and moves them down my neck, sucking hard enough underneath my jaw to leave a mark before letting them meet mine once again.

I pull back slightly and try to get my breathing under control. 

"If we don't stop now, I won't be able to baby," I manage to choke out. She nods her head in understanding and leans up to give me a quick kiss before dropping her head back against the couch and closing her eyes.

"Can we watch a movie?" she mumbles.

"We can do anything you want. What do you want to watch?" I move off of her, quickly adjusting the rock hard problem in my jeans, and grabbing the remote off the coffee table before turning on the T.V and moving into the spot she gives me beside her.

"Surprise me," she gently mutters.

I end up just picking the first movie that pops up on Netflix, knowing we'll both be asleep not long after it starts and adjust our positions so she's laying back against me, using my chest as her pillow. 

The beginning of the movie starts and I catch the opening credits before I'm letting my eyelids softly shut.