Hockey Hearts: Puck, Secrets $ Rivalries

"What?!!” Callie's sleepy eyes flew open. A second ago she had been lying across the living room couch, mindlessly scrolling through i********: while the television played some reality show she had not been paying attention to. She had already decided to stay home for the night. Her neighbor had invited her to a summer party, but she had turned it down. She was in no mood to fake smiles or answer questions about how she was doing. Now she was sitting upright so fast that the blanket slid onto the floor. "No way." She brought the phone closer to her face and zoomed in on the picture. Unfortunately, it was real. Her ex-boyfriend, Jason, stood with one arm wrapped around another girl. Both of them were smiling so brightly that it made her want to throw something. "What a jerk." She stared at the picture a little longer before something else caught her eye. The necklace. The girl was wearing the exact silver necklace Callie had pointed out in a jewelry store window two months ago. She remembered laughing and telling Jason how much she loved the necklace. It had been far too expensive for a high school student, and he had promised to save up and buy it for her someday. She had actually believed him. Now he'd bought it for his new girlfriend and posted it online for everyone to see. "You son of a bitch." Callie dropped the phone onto the couch cushion beside her and covered her face with both hands. Five years. Five freaking years had gone down the drain. They had started dating in middle school, survived awkward school dances, first kisses, exam stress, family vacations, and endless hockey tournaments. Then, two months before graduation, Jason had looked her straight in the eye and said he needed to "find himself." Find himself, my ass. She snorted. That had to be the weakest breakup excuse in history. Apparently, he had found himself standing next to another girl before summer had even started. She reached for her phone again before she could stop herself. Her thumb hovered over his profile and she wanted to leave a sarcastic comment. She wanted to send him every angry message that had been trapped inside her for weeks. Instead, she locked the screen and tossed the phone onto the couch again. "No." She refused to become that desperate ex-girlfriend who refused to move on. After a long moment, she picked it up once more, but this time she opened something entirely different. A plain website with a dark background appeared. It had a fake name on it but no profile picture. Just a simple anonymous blog followed by thousands of people who had no idea who she really was. Nobody knew it existed. Absolutely nobody including her family, friends and certainly not Jason. Whenever life became too loud, this was where she came. Her fingers hovered above the keyboard for only a few seconds before the words began pouring out. She wrote about first love. About believing someone would always choose you until one day they simply didn't. She also wrote about dating young athletes who were constantly surrounded by attention, compliments, and girls waiting for their chance. She admitted how easy it was to mistake loyalty for forever but she never mentioned Jason's name. Neither did she mention hers. When she reached the end, she read it over once. Then her finger hovered over the Publish button. The button stared back at her. Then she began to think...Was it too personal? maybe nobody would even read it or probably someone would. She shrugged at last. "To hell with him." Her finger tapped the screen and the post went live. A strange sense of relief settled over her. It wasn't enough to erase the hurt, but at least it wasn't trapped inside her anymore. Just then, loud music drifted through the open window. She looked toward the house next door. The party was already in full swing. People laughed somewhere outside, and colorful lights flashed across the backyard fence. Callie sighed. She had spent months hiding at home every weekend. Enough was enough. "This summer is supposed to be fun," she muttered as she stood. She had her internship as a PR/ Social media manager for the city's professional hockey team. It was a whole summer surrounded by players, media staff, and social media campaigns. She refused to spend the whole summer feeling sorry for herself. Twenty minutes later, she was walking next door. The music was loud enough to shake the floor. Someone immediately handed her a plastic cup the moment she stepped inside and she did not even ask what was in it. After the second drink, she laughed more easily. Then the third, and Jason's stupid face became slightly less annoying. By the fourth, she was dancing with neighbors she barely knew. After a while, she shouted over the music and asked someone where the bathroom was. They pointed her upstairs, and she thanked them before slipping inside. Closing the bathroom door behind her, she leaned against it and laughed softly. Her cheeks were warm and her head felt pleasantly light. She looked into the mirror. "You actually look cute." She turned her face from side to side. Her mascara was still perfect. Even her lipstick had somehow survived. Not bad. She reached into her purse and pulled out her makeup pouch anyway and applied a little powder, fresh lipstick and a quick touch of blush. Perfect. Then Jason's i********: picture floated back into her mind. Her smile disappeared and she narrowed her eyes at her reflection. "If we're playing this game then we might just play it well..." She adjusted the strap of her top to reveal one shoulder. Just enough to make someone look twice. She tilted her head and ruffled her hair to make it slightly messy but still sexy. Fantastic. A knock sounded on the bathroom door. "Occupied!" she called. "Sorry!" someone answered. Callie giggled. Then she lifted her phone. The lighting in the bathroom was surprisingly good. She angled it slightly higher and made one more adjustment. Click. She looked at the photo. It looked cute and confident and just a little dangerous. Exactly what she wanted. Jason was going to regret everything. She opened her Messaging app. Still smiling to herself, she tapped the chat she thought was his without really paying attention. The picture disappeared from her screen. Message sent. "There." She slipped the phone into her purse with a satisfied grin. That would definitely ruin his evening. Her phone vibrated almost immediately. Then again. Then a third time. "Wow," she laughed. "Desperate already?" She pulled it back out. Three read receipts had already appeared. But then her smile slowly faded and she frowned. "...Wait." She blinked twice before bringing the screen closer. Her eyes then slowly lifted to the name at the top of the screen. Her stomach dropped.