Loving Him | ✔️

17 - The Secret

Here's a packed chapter! Most of you guys are probably not gonna like what happened, but I promise it'll be worth it if you keep reading:)

Q: Do you have siblings? If so, how many? (I have one sister. We're twins:))
xo

|Chapter Seventeen|

     "Congratulations!" I run into Knox's arms.

     He kisses me and I smile against his lips. Knox has been winning all his fights and is making his way to the top two. He has one more fight before he makes it to the finals where he'll compete for the title.

     "Well done, Knox," Kurt gives him a pat on the back.

     He nods and turns back to me.

     "One more," I tell him, referring to the last fight that will put him with the best of the best opponents.  

     He smiles, a little bruised up from today's fight. Normally he doesn't get hit very often, but today the guy he was fighting was better than his previous opponents. In the end, he won without needing to go to the third round. Kurt and Jack have kept me up to date with the benefits of him not getting hit around during these fights because he'll be at top shape when the next fight comes, but I'm not as concerned with that as I am with what everyone seems to be hiding from me. I've pulled away from Knox a little, but I don't know how much he notices. I think my little defense stance at a fight a couple weeks ago really bolstered our relationship, but I feel like things are slipping now.

     "Alright. Knox, change and we'll head to that bar we passed on the way here," Jack says, gathering the rest of the guys to meet at the bar for a victory drink.

     He nods and I leave the room with the rest of the guys, letting Knox know where I'm going before I walk off. I walk around the stadium and sigh. It's been a long journey, but I know it's about to come to an end. Hopefully, at the end of this Knox will be the winner, but I'm proud even if he doesn't make it all the way. He's gone through rehab and had to start over with his training, but still he's proven himself to be more than just another competitor. I ignore the glance Kurt peeks in to watch me outside the room and try to brush it off.

     For a while, I've just felt so left in the dark. It's like Knox, Kurt, Jack, and so many of the prep crew travelling across the country with us all know something I don't. During the day, he's always checking his phone and answering it the second it buzzes with an alert. Once, I caught a glimpse at his screen, but he doesn't have his text messages on display anymore so I couldn't read a preview or anything. The contact was just a number, too, with no name attached. Knox will leave me sometimes in the night to make texts too. I don't ever get out of bed to see them or see him, but sometimes I can hear him walking around in the living room.

     Recently, Kurt and Jack have been acting extra weird around me. It's mostly just whispers or looks, but I'm getting tired of it. Before, the whole secretive act they were playing drove me crazy, but now it's like something big is happening, but I have not a clue what it is. I don't want to believe something could be happening with Knox or that he's cheating on me, but sometimes my mind wanders. I'll wait until after Knox wins the competition or is beat out of it to confront him about everything. Right now he needs to focus, and me meddling with things that are merely suspicions isn't going to help anything.

     I see some people cleaning up and closing down the place. Soon, the lights will be turned off and I'll have to head out. I sigh. What's taking Knox so long anyways? I told him where I would be, and all he had to do was change. I head back to the dressing room, assuming he's probably still in there.

     "Hey-" I start to walk in and immediately all words stop, my body frozen in the doorway.

     The scene in front of me feels like ice cold water being dumped on me, shock evident in my features. Next, fire makes it's way into my veins and anger takes the place of shock. There's a scantily dressed girl on Knox's lap with her top pulled down, exposing her bra. Knox is reaching for her which breaks me. I see him drop his hands and hide something, looking at me with a shocked expression. That's the last straw. There's no pretending this didn't happen and waiting until the competition is over to talk to him about it.

     "What the hell is going on?" I ask, tears pricking my eyes.

     Knox looks at me with pained eyes. They both look caught, gazing at me with matching deer-in-the-headlights looks. Tears threatening to escape, I leave the room and run, not wanting to hear her have to explain to me that he doesn't love me. That he's been cheating. I fly down the halls and burst outside, hailing a cab before he can come after me. I jump inside the yellow car and take a few deep breaths, looking out the window and seeing Knox making his way to the doors.

So that's what he's been doing all this time. He's been texting someone else. I'm done playing stupid with all this. Done. What I saw in that room was unexplainable. She was sitting on his lap, her top down, and he was fucking reaching out to her.

     "Where to, miss?" the cabbie asks, snapping me out of my thoughts.

     I give him the address to where Knox and I are staying, silently urging him to go faster because Knox is almost outside the building. Tears leak down my cheeks as I try to brush them away. Who knew that even without words and whispered sweet nothings, I still fell hard and got my heart broken. I'm packing my bags and jumping on the first flight to New York. After everything, he does this. I've been so supportive and in denial of him cheating when really I was just being naïve.

     Now look where I am.

How could I have been so stupid? God, all the signs were there right in front of my face and I couldn't see past them because of my blind love for him. He played me like a fiddle for what? Just to indulge in some fantasy about stringing along the rehab therapist? I try not to let the cabbie know I just got my heart broken, but by the glances he sneaks in the rear view mirror, he knows.

     I pay the cabbie and run up to the room, taking the stairs two at a time. I unlock the door and head to the closet. I'm sure Knox will be here in a moment so I need to be quick in packing up my stuff. I don't have much to tidy up since I didn't unpack into the hotel that much, but the tears blurring my eyes don't help me any.

     I'm packing the last of my shirts from the laundry when I hear the door open and close. He's here. I start shoving everything in the bag and see a shadow loom over me. I gulp, tugging on the zipper to close my hastily packed bag.

     "I'm leaving," I say without looking at him.

     He kneels next to me.

     "I know you've been taking late night texts," I say, sniffling, refusing to cry in front of him.

     He shakes his head.

     "I know you've been hiding something," I continue.

     He shakes his head again.

     "I'm the only one left in the dark. It seems like Kurt knows and so does Jack," I say.

     I start walking away when he grabs my waist. I turn to face him, finding a man who looks desperate, but I know better. He conned me. Nonetheless, this is it. His only chance to fess up and tell me what's going on before I walk out that hotel door and out of his life.

     He says nothing and hugs my waist. He rests his head on my stomach. I almost break.

     "Goodbye Knox," I say and slip out of his grip.

     I start walking away.

     "I love you."