Falling Offside.

Chapter 3 DON'T BLAME HIM.

For the rest of lunch, I couldn't stop thinking about the message. Not because I wanted but because it had already clouded my memory, following my every thought like an itch at the back of the head. I hated the doubts that came with it and the questions I'd been asking myself. I shoved the phone into my backpack immediately. No. Absolutely not. Mason was responsible for all that'd happened to me and a text wasn't going to change that.

“Can I sit here?”

A voice pulled me back from my thoughts. I looked up and a girl with black hair and bright eyes stood beside my table,holding a tray in one hand. I looked around and every other seat was occupied.

“Sure, I mean nobody has ownership of cafeteria furniture”, I scoffed.

“Good”

I blinked and she smiled.

“I like your attitude”

“Pardon?”I turned, surprised and shocked at her comment.

“You've been staring at the sandwich for a while,” she said, pointing at my plate. I looked down and a laugh almost escaped me.

“See,” she said gleefully “I made you smile”

“Oh please,” I scoffed.

“I'm Sophie Bennett”, she stuck out her hand almost immediately. I hesitated before taking them.

“Isla White”

“Oh, I know who you are”

“Yeah right”, I sighed and she noticed immediately.

“To be honest, half the school’s been talking about you all morning”

“That's comforting”

“It's really not”

“No”

“Wow, that sounded better in my head.”

I laughed properly now, easing all the tightness I felt all day. Immediately, the bell rang and chairs scraped noisily on the floor. We followed the crowd and the farther I went, the more the whispers intensified.

“That's her”, “I didn't think she'd be back”, “is she still–”.

I caught small pieces of the conversations as I walked. They still remembered and this was one of the perks that living in a small town came with. Everyone knew your business especially when it happened during a charity exhibition game. Wonderful, just what every girl would want on her first day.

I tightened my grip on my bag. “Just get through today, one class at a time ”, I muttered.

The last period of the day was not a class. It was an orientation where every student of Ashbourne Academy gathered in the gymnasium. Yay me!

The hall was already packed up when I arrived. Students filled the bleachers, teachers lined the walls, banners hung and school colours were everywhere– blue, white, silver. I immediately wanted to turn back, if only I could but unfortunately, no one had a choice in this. Sophie saved me a seat at the far end of the bleachers, away from the crowd or so I thought.

Principal Wright climbed up the stage and the mic squealed. Everyone groaned and few people laughed. He smiled like this happened yearly.

“Welcome back Ravens”.

Light applause followed. I leaned back against the cold metal bleacher and tuned out most of the speech. I was lost somewhere between academic excellence, school spirit, responsibility. My thoughts drifted back to the message, to Mason and back to questions I didn't want. The principal's voice suddenly cut through my thoughts.

"And now I'd like to welcome someone who represents everything Ashbourne Academy stands for."

The gym erupted into cheers. I looked as uninterested as I was from the start.

"Your student council representative and hockey captain..."

A brief pause followed,causing a slight tension buildup in the crowd. Then—

"Mason Ryder."

The applause became deafening, students stood, whistles echoed through the gym, someone shouted his name somewhere and somewhere amongst the chaos, my vision became blurry, suddenly.

No! No!! No!!!

Mason walked onto the stage. He looked like he belonged up there, like this place loved him. Of course it did. The cheering continued and beside me, someone yelled,

"Go Ryder!"

More laughter followed and I couldn't breathe properly. My chest tightened and the gym suddenly felt too hot, over crowded and too loud. Mason stepped up to the microphone and the cheering slowly died down. Then he smiled, that annoying stupid smile everyone fawned over.

"Thanks."

A thunderous applause erupted this time and I looked away. I couldn't do this– sit here pretending everything was fine. His voice echoed through the gym.

"Most of you already know me—"

A few students laughed.

"—but for everyone who's new, welcome to Ashbourne."

I squeezed my hands together. Mason continued.

"This school has always been more than classrooms and grades."

I swallowed hard that I could hear my heart violently pounding in my chest

"It's a community."

The gym remained quiet. Keenly listening, watching and believing every word.

"It's a family."

And then something snapped inside me immediately. "A family." The word hit harder than it should have. Maybe because families were supposed to protect each other, maybe because mine had fallen apart or maybe because hearing it come from him felt wrong.

A strong wave of rage enveloped me and before I could stop myself, I laughed loudly. The sound escaped before I could catch it, sounding sharp and bitter and wrong.

The entire gym came to a standstill instantly. My heart almost missed a beat. Oh no! Too late. Every head had turned: Students. Teachers. The principal. Everyone. And at the center of it all— Mason.

I should've apologized or looked away or even sat down and kept my mouth shut. Instead, I stood. My legs shaking, heart racing but I stood anyway because in that moment, I wasn't in the gym anymore. I was back on the ice. Back in the worst night of my life. Mason stared at me and confusion slowly crept and occupied his face, then concern and then understanding.I hated all of it.

“Isla…. Everyone is watching,” Sophie reached out in whispers. I didn’t listen, I didn’t care.

"Something funny?" The principal's voice sounded nervous.

I looked away from him and looked directly at Mason andI heard myself speak words from my heart and not brain.

"Family?"

The word came out harsher and firmer than I intended, carrying the right amount of emotions I felt, causing a few students to gasp in shock and confusion. Mason didn't move or speak, he just watched me and my pulse hammered.

"You really want to talk about family?"

The gym felt frozen. Every person in the room staring but none understanding. Not yet. Mason's jaw tightened.

"Isla—"

"No."

That came out sharper again and this time, I was fully immersed in the rage I carried on for long. How dare he move around so freely like he didn’t cut my dreams short. A few gasps echoed through the bleachers and I didn't care. Not again. I couldn't contain two years of anger within me anymore.

"You should tell them."

The confusion on people's faces grew and Mason looked pale. My voice shook. Not from fear but from anger and hurt.

"Go on." "Tell them what really happened."

Nobody moved. Nobody breathed. Nobody talked.The entire gym paused and stared at us, waiting and watching. Mason stood there, not talking, not defending himself and for a second, I felt stupid. I expected anything but the silence he gave.

The silence lasted exactly three seconds before the gym exploded–the way crowds do when something interesting happens. Whispers, gasps, questions hoping and longing for answers, people turning to each other, teachers suddenly looking nervous. Everyone was talking at once. I stood there breathing hard, wondering if I completely lost my mind. “Yes!!!” I screamed within because calling out the most popular guy in front of the entire school wasn't exactly normal behavior.

The principal was the first to recover.

"Okay..." he said into the microphone and a nervous laugh followed which didn't help. "Let's settle down..."

Nobody settled down, not even a little bit. I didn't stay to hear the rest. I just turned and walked out fast, ignoring the whispers, stares and humiliation quickly crawling up my neck. The gym doors slammed behind. My hands were shaking and my heart felt like it was trying to escape my chest.

“What had I just done?”

I leaned against the lockers and shut my eyes. Took a breath, and another, and another. Slowly, I opened my eyes and froze. Something white was sticking out of my locker. A folded photograph. I pulled it out, unfolding it carefully.

The image showed the rink, the night of the accident and the timestamp sat in the corner. “Ten minutes before my fall.” My pulse quickened as I quickly scanned the picture.

Nothing seemed unusual as I'd remembered. Just the crowd, the ice, the skaters. Then my peering eyes caught something unusual and my blood turned cold instantly–Standing near the rink entrance, partially hidden in the background was someone I recognized, someone who was never supposed to be there, someone I trusted.

I sank into the chair and suddenly, for the first time in two years… I wasn't sure what was true anymore.