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“See you.”
I turned back to the hall and noted how it had started to empty out. Tyler was gone; he probably shouldn’t have snuck away from his own team to begin with. Josh was gone, too, and there weren’t many people left in the hall. Despite the small numbers, I couldn’t have counted them if I’d tried, because one in particular was left. Cayden stood in the middle of the hall, intimidating in his padding and jersey. His eyes hit mine and felt like a touch.
Raw feelings bubbled up from where I’d stuffed them inside my chest. His gaze on me still felt like electricity. How long would it be before my dumb heart understood that he had written me off, just like that? How long until I got it through my thick skull that he was done with me? I hoped it was soon. I needed it to be soon. I couldn’t cope with the long, unfading disappointment, spiked by sharp betrayal.
He walked toward me, taking long, measured steps. My heart picked up its beat, nerves gathering in my belly.Is he going to speak to me?He paused just beside me, his dark eyes sweeping over my face. Tension rose between us like an oncoming storm.What was he going to say?His eyes were a mix of hurt and anger, just like mine. Before I could get too excited, he looked away, the unspoken words never leaving his mouth. He continued past me, leaving me alone and longing in his wake.
* * *
There was something wrong with Cayden. From the second the first buzzer sounded, he was off his game. It started when he crashed into Tyler, the Volcanoes’ centre, and they both went careening into the boards. My gaze stayed on them, even when Beckett picked up the puck and raced down the ice, sinking the first goal of the game. The stadium erupted into cheers, even as Cayden was given a warning and allowed to take his place in the center again.
As soon as the play was back in action, he hooked the puck to Asher, who raced down the side. Again, my eyes were pulled to Cayden, who’d once again gotten in Tyler’s face. Tyler ignored him, skating away and watching the play, until Cayden purposely bumped into him. Tyler turned to him, and soon enough, the two were fighting. Their teammates pulled them apart, and only Cayden was sent to the penalty box. He watched the game, his expression thunderous, as the Volcanoes made the most of the Hellions being shorthanded and evened the score.
When his five minutes were up, he burst out and scored in the first thirty seconds. Then he seemed to focus on Tyler again. After another collision sent them both into the boards, Beckett got up in Cayden’s face, and it looked like the two Hellions were about to throw down. My father was pulling his hair out, gesturing wildly from the edge as he watched.
Cayden and Beckett both got sent to the bench for a shift change, and their argument seemed to continue. Beckett stabbed a finger in my direction, and Cayden tensed even more.
When they got back out onto the ice, Cayden seemed withdrawn. He didn’t fight again with Tyler, but he didn’t score either. It was like he was muted and couldn’t switch back on. The Volcanoes took the lead.
As soon as the first buzzer sounded for intermission, I headed down to catch my dad before he went to the locker room. He was tense, his jaw clenched, his lips pursed. This game was important, and it wasn’t just the team’s hopes of Nationals that rested on it, but my dad’s future goals to coach college hockey.
“Dad, what’s happening?”
“I don’t know. It’s Cade. He’s distracted, and we could lose like this. He has to get his head back in the game, and now. Keep your eyes open for me—I can’t find him anywhere, and I need to speak with him before the end of intermission.” My dad bustled away.
I took my water bottle from my bag, just as my mom came running into the crowd.
“Oh, thank God, I thought I’d missed more than the first period.”
“No, you’re fine, which is more than I can say for the Hellions.”
“Are you serious? Cayden is still so upset?”
I shrugged. “He’s been in the penalty box nearly three times already. I’m not sure if that’s upset or unhinged.”
“Upset, of course. He’s been upset all week, ever since that unfortunate article came out. You can understand why. Now everyone is talking about him, and he’s a private person. It must be hell.”
“Yeah, invasion of privacy is the worst. Sometimes people get what they deserve,” I muttered, my mood turning sour when I thought of my journal. “I’m just going to get some air, okay? I need to cool down.”
I left the busy seating area of the rink and headed for a side door. With one push, I was outside at the back of the building, blissfully alone. The cool night air calmed me, and I took long, bracing breaths. I tilted my head back and stared at the purple evening sky. Night was creeping in, and I stood in the dusky twilight. I wasn’t going to feel sorry for Cayden. Nope. Not me. So, his dreams were going up in smoke. It wasn’t my fault, even if he thought it was.
There was a slight scraping noise, and I realize that someone was leaning against the wall beside the door. Eyes fell on me. Familiar eyes. I wasn’t even surprised that he was here. It was like we just couldn’t stay apart. We kept getting pulled together. I was stuck in his orbit, a small, pale moon to his blazing sun.
I turned and looked at him, curious how he was faring after the first period of the game. He’d inflicted a lot of damage, but he’d taken a lot of hits, too.
His head leaned against the wall behind him, his eyes unreadable as he watched me. I thought of the confession he'd made when we were fighting in the locker room, about how I’d broken his heart and endangered his future. Even though it wasn’t true that I had spilled his secrets, the truth remained that he was distracted and unfocused, and if he wasn’t careful, the chance to play college hockey would slip through his fingers.
It wasn’t my fault, I knew that, but still, seeing him right now, defeated and wretched, I couldn’t help but feel the tiniest bit sorry. His dreams could die tonight. No matter how mad I was at him, I didn’t want that. The little boy who’d hung the torn dream catcher in the window of Jack’s dirty trailer deserved more than that.
“You’re choking, West.” My voice came out strong. Meeting Cayden in general had made me stronger in a lot of ways. Nowadays, I apologized far less than I used to, which was a dramatic improvement.
“I’m aware,” he replied quietly.
“So, do something about it.” I folded my arms over my chest and stared him down.
“Why do you even care? You should be happy. I’ll go back to Midnight Falls, and your little boyfriend, Tyler, can celebrate his victory.”
I frowned at him. “Tyler isn’t my boyfriend.”
