I said nothing as I looked down at him. His hazel eyes were narrowed and furious, and he was absolutely refusing to back down.
Every instinct I had told me to grab the front of his shirt, shove him back against the opposite wall, and take whatever he was offering. But if I let myself touch him right now, I wouldn’t be able to walk away.
So instead, I pushed past him and walked away down the hall before I could change my mind, leaving him standing there.
I took both flights of stairs fast and didn’t stop until I shoved through the front door. The freezing wind hit my face the second I got outside, but my chest still burned where he’d pushed me.
Chapter 13 - Karter
Aplastic sports bottle smacked me in the chest. I fumbled and pinned it against my ribs, snapping out of a blank stare at my open locker.
Aleksey freezing me out was starting to seriously trash my focus.
Ever since I’d watched him turn his back and walk away from me, I’d been trying to shrug it off and let go like he asked. But it wasn’t working.
The past few days Aleksey looked right through me as if I didn’t exist, and all I had to show for it was zero sleep.
“Are you alive, man?” Matt asked. He stood a few feet away, chucking his knee pads into his bag. “You looked like you were skating in cement today. Coach Corby yelled at you two times.”
“Three,” I corrected. I pressed my fingers into my right shoulder, trying to rub away a stiff ache. “It’s just crunch week stress. I’ve got two exams back to back.”
Matt bought the lie. “Yeah, I heard you pacing the room at two in the morning. You keep opening the door, too.”
My stomach dropped. I wasn’t pacing over finals.
I was awake at two AM because that was roughly when Aleksey usually got back from his night shift at the Food Mart. The second I heard him walking across the floorboards out in the hall, I’d crack my door open. But I’d just stand there, staring through the gap, only to lose my nerve and shut it again.
“It’s just one of the exams,” I deflected. “I’m trying to nail down the material.”
Matt slammed his locker shut. “Hey, if that tutoring mandate with Zotov is stressing you out, you know you can tell Corby it’s not working. Right?”
I grimaced. Matt had no idea what was going on, but the fact that he so easily drew a line between my mood and Aleksey set off alarm bells.
“It’s not that,” I said. “He’s fine.”
“He’s a dick,” Matt shot back, dumping a roll of tape into his bag. “You don’t have to do the guy’s homework if he’s making you miserable. Seriously, Karter. Talk to Coach.”
“He won’t care.”
“He’ll care if you’re too drained to play. It’s hard enough keeping my own grades afloat without adding someone else’s mess, so I don’t know how you’re doing it. You shouldn’t have to.”
I scrubbed a hand hard over my face and swallowed the frustration and forced a careless shrug.
“It’s whatever.” I grabbed my bag. “He’s a pain in the ass to deal with.”
“Yeah, so drop him,” Matt insisted. “Tell Coach he’s not showing up.”
“I’ll think about it.”
Matt let it go with a nod. He zipped his bag and slung it over his shoulder. “Well, don’t let him mess with your ice time. We need you for this weekend.”
Right then, Aleksey walked past the end of our row. My gaze snagged on him immediately, tracking him. He kept his head down and didn’t even glance my way.
I shoved the rest of my gear into my duffel and yanked the zipper shut so hard it jammed. If I had to sit here and pretend everything was fine for one more minute, I was going to put my fist through a locker.
“I’m heading out,” I muttered to Matt, grabbing my bag.
I spent the rest of the afternoon hiding out in a back corner of the library with my textbook open. I didn’t read a single word. I just sat there grinding my teeth, running out the clock until the mandatory hockey team meeting.
