Chapter 19 Breaking Point
Rafe’s POV
Kai’s words don’t register at first, not because I didn’t hear him clearly.
“I bet you're so surprised,” his voice shatters through my thoughts instantly. “Come on…you don’t have to act all tough in front of your step-brother.”
The air between us shifts instantly.
Sharp.
Immediate.
I take a step closer to him, my legs moving before I can even realize what I’m doing. “Funny,” I whisper, my voice low enough only to his hearing. “Because from where I’m standing, it looks like you’re just here to make a scene.”
“Maybe I am,” he says, his eyes flickering with something close to amusement, before changing back to that smug look, “Or maybe I just wanted to see what all the hype was about you.”
His gaze rakes over me again, slow, deliberate, like he’s trying to see if I would break under his stare.
I don’t respond.
I don’t need to.
Because I know exactly what he’s implying.
“Why don’t you quit messing around and go straight to the point, Kai,” I snap back. “Don’t try to sugarcoat it.”
The instant I say those words, a humourless laughter tears out of him, that annoying smug look on his lips widening even more now.
“Alright,” he says. “I think you’re nothing more than a temporary moment. Something shiny that people get excited about… until something better comes along.”
“And so…you think that something better is you?” I shoot back.
“I don’t think,” he snaps, his voice dripping to a low, dangerous whisper. “I know it, Rafe.”
The confidence in his tone makes something in me snap, and I step closer again, close enough now that the tension between us is impossible to ignore.
“You’ve always been like this,” I mutter. “Talking like you’re better than everyone else in the entire world. But you’re nothing.”
“And you’ve always been like this,” he replies immediately, “Trying too hard to match up to me when you know it’s just too damn impossible.”
That hits deeper than I expected.
For a split second—
I’m not here anymore.
I’m back there.
Back in that miserable house where nothing I did was ever enough for my step-dad. Because Kai was always the perfect son…the perfect everything and never me.
I swallow hard, forcing the memory down. I can’t let myself drown in those miserable moments anymore.
“Enjoy it while it lasts,” Kai’s voice snaps me back to reality as he leans in, his voice low enough that no one else can hear. “Because when we step onto that field…” he pauses for a second, his lips brushing the shell of my ear. “I’m going to humiliate you in front of the entire world.”
“You can try, but we all know you’ll always fail.” I force out the words, even though panic is creeping into every part of me now.
“Oh, I will,” he replies calmly. “And when I’m done… I’ll make sure everyone sees exactly what you are.”
“And what’s that?”
“Nothing but Kai Navarro’s little bitch.”
That’s it.
I swear to God, one more word from him and I’ll punch him so hard across his face.
My vision sharpens instantly, anger flooding through me so fast it almost drowns everything else.
“Say that again,” I growl, stepping closer to him until our lips brush. But Kai straightens slightly, completely unmoved by my words.
“Why?” he asks. “So you can get angry? Prove my point for me?”
“Shut your fucking mouth! Because you know nothing about me,” I snap back, jaw clenched so tightly now I could feel pain vibrating through my teeth.
“Oh…I know enough, little brother.”
Silence crashes between us quickly, heavy and suffocating as it fills the entire room. Kai doesn’t utter another word, and neither do I. He doesn’t need to, because he already said what he came to say.
Instead, he steps back, adjusting his jacket slightly like nothing just happened. Like he didn’t just try to dig up every buried past I’ve spent years trying to forget.
“See you on the field, Rafe,” he says finally. Then he turns and starts to walk away from the room.
Just like that.
Like he didn’t just make this day much worse for me!
I’m still standing there, my hands still shaking even though I try to hide it. Before anyone else can say anything to me, I turn and walk out.
Fast.
Ignoring the looks and whispers echoing behind me with every step.
“Fuckkkkkkkkkk!!!”
The words rip out of me by the time I reach the locker room, and I push the door open harder than necessary, the sound echoing slightly in the space.
“That son of a bitch!!”
I run a hand through my hair in frustration, pacing the locker room like a caged animal trying to let loose.
“How dare he say such things to me?”
I slam my fist lightly against one of the lockers. Not enough to hurt, but enough to release the rage exploding inside me.
“Damn it,” I mutter under my breath.
Why do his words still get to me?
Why does he still—
CREAK!
The sound of the door opening behind me shatters through my thoughts instantly, and I turn to see the last person I expected to see right now.
“Hey…are you good?” Shawn’s voice echoes behind me as he steps in, his steps slow, and deliberate.
A short, humourless laughter tears out of me before I can stop it. “Of course,” I say quickly, shaking my head slightly. “You just couldn’t stay away, huh?”
“I saw what happened,” he replies, stepping closer towards me. “You don’t have to—”
“Don’t,” I cut him off sharply before he could finish. I turn to face him now, the anger still vibrating hot under my skin.
“Don’t fucking do that.”
“Do what?”
“Act like you care when deep down you don’t!” The words come out harsher than I expect, but I don’t take them back. If anything, he deserves it.
Shawn’s expression shifts slightly—not anger, it was something else I didn’t quite figure out yet. “I do care, Navarro,” he says.
“No, you don’t,” I shake my head in protest, stepping back. “You just don’t like seeing things get messy especially when your perfect reputation is on the line.”
“That’s not true.”
“Then what is it?” I shoot back. “You feel pity for me now?”
The words land hard.
I see it in his face.
Just for a second.
“Yeah,” I whisper. “Thought so.”
“Rafe—”
“Stay out of my fucking business, Calder!” I cut him off cold, my voice dropping to something much more dangerous now. “This doesn’t concern you.”
“It does if you’re—”
“It doesn’t!”
Shawn takes a step closer anyway, even though every single one of my words is meant to push him away.
“I’m just trying to help you.”
That’s it.
That’s the final push.
“I don’t need any fuckin help,” I shoot back, my voice echoing through the entire locker room. “Especially not from someone like you.”
His expression tightens slightly, but he doesn’t back down. If anything, he steps even closer, close enough until there is no distance between us. “Whatever your brother said to you—”
“It doesn’t matter,” I interrupt. “None of it matters.”
But even as I say it—
I know it’s a lie.
And maybe he knows it too.
He just stands there, staring at me with those deep blue eyes, as if he could see straight through everything I’m trying to hide.
“Rafe…” he starts again.
“Just—” I drag a hand down my face, frustration boiling over. “Just stay the hell away from me, Shawn.”
For a moment, something in his expression shatters, not completely. But enough to see that my words really hurt him deep.
Before I can feel any ounce of regret, I turn away from him, my hands clenching at my sides. “Just go, Calder,” I mutter.
He parts his lips as if he wanted to say something, but he doesn’t. Instead, he turns away, his steps echoing through the locker room as he reaches the door and walks away.
I exhale slowly, dropping onto the bench, my head falling into my hands.
Kai’s voice echoes in my mind.
The expression on Shawn’s face when I just told him to stay away from me right now.
And somewhere in between—
Everything starts to crack.