Chapter 008
1263 Words
Chapter 8
Wren
When had he even noticed I was here?
The school was crazy about hockey.
Correction—the school was crazy about hockey players.
They were the stars of the campus. With their popularity, athletic builds, and good looks, they always had people buzzing around them. Girls showed up for the games. Some came for the sport. Some came for the players. And some came purely for the drama.
Especially the drama involving Axel Hart and Knox Callaway.
I could already imagine tomorrow's school newspaper.
Captain and Former Captain Clash During Practice.
Again.
Honestly, the journalism club practically survived on those two.
But that wasn't what I should've been thinking about.
Because right now, a pair of black eyes—darker than a black hole—were locked onto me.
And there was a glimmer in them.
A dangerous one.
Knox looking excited to see me was bad news all by itself.
My stomach sank.
Perhaps he thought I was here to give him my answer.
Well, I needed to make myself clear.
I wasn't interested in his stupid game.
I wasn't interested in his blackmail.
I wasn't interested in dating him.
Today, I would break up with Axel on my own terms and then tell Knox to get some sense into his head and leave me out of whatever twisted revenge plan he was cooking up.
That was the plan.
A reasonable plan.
Unfortunately, life seemed determined to ruin every plan I made lately.
Knox lifted a single finger into the air.
Wait.
The gesture was clear.
Then he turned around and skated toward the locker rooms.
I swallowed hard.
This definitely wasn't how I imagined this conversation happening.
Still, maybe this was good.
Maybe I could finally explain everything.
Tell him I was ending things with Axel.
Tell him to return the envelope.
Tell him to stop acting like a psychopath.
Simple.
At least, it should have been.
I had barely taken two steps toward the exit when a hand suddenly wrapped around my wrist.
I startled and spun around.
Axel.
His face was thunderous. His helmet was gone, his hair damp from fresh shower, and irritation practically radiated off him.
"Why are you standing here?" he demanded.
Before I could answer, he grabbed my hand.
"Come on. Let's get out of here."
His jaw clenched. "I'm in the worst f*****g mood right now."
Of course he was. The coach had just torn him apart in front of the entire team.
I opened my mouth. Planning to tell him exactly why I'd come here. Planning to finally end this.
But then Axel stopped talking. Mid-sentence. His grip on my hand tightened.
And I knew exactly why. Because my nightmare had just walked into view.
Knox emerged from the locker room corridor with that familiar grin stretched across his face.
Except...
No.
Not a grin. Not entirely. There was still amusement there. But underneath it, I noticed something else.
Irritation. The same irritation I'd seen on the ice moments ago.
His gaze moved from Axel. To me. Back to Axel.
Then he walked directly toward us.
My stomach dropped.
No.
No.
No.
Don't do this. Not here. Not now.
Knox completely ignored the warning I was silently sending with my eyes. He stopped beside me. Then reached out and grabbed my free hand. My entire body stiffened.
His grip was firm. Possessive. Impossible to miss.
One hand held by Axel. The other held by Knox.
I looked like the rope in some deranged tug-of-war match.
"There you are, little birdie." His voice was low. Smooth. Far too familiar. "I've been waiting for you."
My eyes widened. Oh, God.
No.
No, no, no.
Across from me, Axel looked completely confused. Then suspicious. Then furious.
His gaze dropped to Knox's hand wrapped around mine. Then rose to my face. Then back to Knox.
I looked between the two hockey players standing on either side of me. One looked confused and angry. The other looked entirely too entertained.
This situation was probably Knox's dream scenario.
Everything happened so fast that I barely had time to react.
One second, I was standing between them, silently praying that neither of them would do anything stupid. The next second, Axel released my hand and lunged forward.
His fist tangled into the front of Knox's jersey, grabbing him by the collar.
"Motherfucker, what the f**k do you think you're doing?" Axel snarled. The veins in his neck stood out as he jerked Knox forward. "How the f**k do you dare breathe around my girlfriend, let alone come over here, grab her hand, and talk to her?"
He shoved him again. "Do you have a death wish?"
The entire arena seemed to freeze. Every nearby player stopped moving. People in the stands turned their heads. A few students immediately pulled out their phones.
Because of course they did. Drama was practically a school sport at this point. Yet despite being grabbed by the collar and shaken around, Knox didn't seem remotely concerned.
In fact...
The bastard was smirking. His eyes weren't even on Axel. They were on me. And somehow, his hand was still wrapped around mine. As though Axel wasn't currently threatening to kill him. As though none of this bothered him in the slightest.
"Girlfriend?" Knox repeated slowly in a sarcastic tone.
For the first time, his gaze shifted toward Axel. Then it returned to me.
Something flickered across his face. Annoyance.
Then Knox sighed.
"Your time is up, birdie."
The amusement vanished from his expression completely.
And somehow, that was even worse.
Axel's jaw tightened.
"Wren."
His voice came out sharp.
"Her name is f*****g Wren."
He looked ready to explode.
"And how the f**k did you even get near her?"
Then his eyes dropped.
Straight to our joined hands.
The moment he noticed Knox was still holding mine, something inside him snapped.
Axel immediately grabbed my wrist and ripped our hands apart.
The force of it made me stumble backward.
"You touch her again," Axel growled, stepping between us, "or talk to her again, and I'll break every tooth in your mouth."
His finger jabbed toward Knox.
"This isn't an empty threat, Callaway."
Another step.
"Stay the f**k away from her."
His voice lowered.
Dangerous.
"I don't share what's mine."
My jaw clenched.
Hard.
First of all...
I wasn't a thing.
Second...
The audacity.
The absolute audacity.
How dare he stand here and act possessive?
How dare he claim me as his?
How dare he threaten people over me while sneaking around with my best friend behind my back?
The hypocrisy was so staggering that for a moment, I couldn't even speak.
Who the f**k did Axel Hart think he was?
Around us, more people were gathering.
Players.
Students.
Fans.
Whispers were already spreading through the arena.
And I hated every second of it.
This was exactly what I hadn't wanted.
Drama.
Attention.
A scene.
Yet somehow, I'd ended up in the center of one anyway.
Across from Axel, Knox's black eyes found mine again.
His jaw tightened. He actually looked irritated, triggered even.
"Birdie—"
Smack.
The punch landed before he could finish the sentence.
The sound echoed through the arena.
A collective gasp followed.
My eyes widened.
Knox's head snapped to the side from the impact.
For one long second, everything went silent.
Completely silent.
Even the whispers stopped.
I stared.
The crowd stared.
Everyone stared.
And suddenly, with Knox slowly turning his head back toward Axel, I had a horrible feeling that things were about to get much, much worse.
- Writer
