FAKE DATING MY CRUSH'S HOCKEY RIVAL

CHAPTER 4 - SHATTERED

AMBER’S POV

The sound of the slap echoed around the room.

My head snapped to the side, and my cheek burned like fire. For a second, I could not hear anything except a loud ringing in my ears. I pressed my hand to my face, and when I pulled it away, there was blood on my fingers.

Her nail had cut me.

I turned to Maverick. I was sure he would jump in front of me now. He had seen everything. He would tell Camille that she had gone too far. He was my best friend, and he had promised to protect me when we were kids.

But Maverick was not even looking at me.

“Ah!” Camille was holding up her right hand and staring at her nails.

“Look at what you made me do! My nail is ruined!”

“Are you okay?” Maverick took her hand gently and turned it over. “Does it hurt?”

“It hurts so much,” she sniffed.

He glared at me. “First you broke her iPad, and now you’ve ruined her nails!”

I stared at him in shock. Blood was dripping onto my collar, and he hadn’t even looked.

“Maverick, my face is bleeding,” I muttered.

“You made her lose her temper,” he snapped. “What did you expect?”

“She smashed the iPad herself,” I said. “I was standing right here. She lifted it over her head and threw it on the floor. I swear it on my life.”

“Enough. Stop lying.”

His words pained me more than the slap did. He had called me a liar.

By now, the noise had drawn a small crowd. A few of his teammates were standing at the door in their jerseys, and some students from the stands were peeking over their shoulders. Everyone was whispering.

Camille wiped her tears and stepped forward.

“Maverick, please don’t be angry with her,” she sighed. “It’s not her fault. I think she still hates me because of what happened back in middle school.”

“What happened?” Maverick asked.

“There was an accident.” Camille bit her lip. “Amber fell down the stairs one day, and she blamed me for it. She told everyone that I pushed her. It was a freak accident, I swear, I wasn’t even near her. But she never let it go. She even changed schools, just so she could tell people I was a bully. She has been spreading rumors about me ever since.”

Everyone in the room gasped.

My jaw dropped. I had never fallen down any stairs in my life. Every word out of her mouth was a lie, and everyone was buying it.

“That’s not true!” I cried. “She’s the one who bullied me! She called me names and put gum in my hair…”

“Shut up, Amber,” Maverick said.

I froze.

“Just shut up.”

He was breathing hard now, and his voice was cold. “Camille just came back, and she’s already crying because of you. I don’t want to hear another word. Apologize to her at once!”

I stared hard at him and for the first time in twelve years, I realized something I had always ignored – Maverick never really cared about me. He just enjoyed having someone as loyal as I was around him.

It was a painful realization, but I had to come to terms with it.

Suddenly, a new wave of anger washed over me.

“No,” I said.

“What?”

“I said no,” I repeated. “I’m not going to apologize for something I didn’t do. There’s a camera in the hallway, right outside this door. Check the footage and it will show you everything.”

For a moment, the room was silent. Even Camille’s face went pale.

Maverick looked at me and rolled his eyes.

“I don’t need to watch some dumb footage, Amber. I know what I saw.”

“You didn’t see anything,” I said. “You came in after it was already broken.”

“I said apologize.”

“Just look at the footage! It’ll take five minutes.”

“I’m not interested in that!” He raised his voice. “It’s not about a video. It’s about you being so jealous and mean that you’d hurt someone I care about. Say sorry, and let’s end this.”

I looked around at the faces in the doorway. Everyone was staring at me, and nobody looked at me kindly. They all believed Camille.

I was tired, my face hurt, and I wanted to go home.

“I’m sorry,” I mumbled.

“Louder,” Camille said. “I can’t hear you.”

“I said I’m sorry.”

Camille smiled. “It’s okay. I forgive you.”

I clenched my teeth so hard that my jaw ached. I picked up my books from where I had dropped them, and I turned around and pushed my way toward the door. I didn’t care what happened next. I only wanted to get out.

I took two steps and then something caught my ankle.

I didn’t even see it coming. My foot hit something hard, and I crashed down to the floor. My books flew out of my arms and scattered everywhere. Above me, I could hear a soft giggle.

I looked back and saw that Camille pull her foot back slowly.

“Oh no!” she said. “Are you okay? Be more careful, Amber.”

A few people in the doorway laughed.

I felt my face burn hot with shame. I got on my knees and began to gather my books with shaking hands. I just wanted this to be over.

But Camille was faster than me.

She bent down, and I saw what she was reaching for. It was a folded piece of paper that had slipped out of my notebook.

“No, wait…” I lunged toward it but I was not fast enough. She snatched it up and stepped back.

“What is this?” she said, unfolding it. Her eyes ran over the page, and a slow smile spread across her face.

“Oh, this is good.”

“Give it back!”

“Everybody, listen up!” Camille lifted the paper high, and the whole room went quiet. “Amber wrote a little poem. Let me read it for you.”

“Camille, don’t…”

She cleared her throat.

“Everytime I watch you skate down that ice, my heart skips a beat,” she read in a soft, dreamy voice. “You’re the star of the team, and your smile’s like a dream.”

There was a long pause. Then the whole room burst into laughter.

“Oh my God,” someone whispered. “She wrote that about someone on the hockey team!”

“Who is it?”

“She said the star of the team. That must be Maverick!”

I wanted the floor to swallow me whole. My cheeks were on fire, and I could feel every eye in the room on my face. This was the worst moment of my entire life. It was far worse than every name Camille had ever called me.

“Look at you,” Camille chuckled. She waved the paper at the crowd. “Little Amber, following the captain around like a puppy, and writing love poems in secret. That’s so sad. How long have you been dreaming about him?”

I couldn’t speak. I could barely even breathe. Slowly, I turned my head and looked at Maverick.

He was standing very still, and the look in his eyes – it was not just shock. It was something close to disgust.

The boy I had loved my whole life was looking at me like I was some piece of trash.

“Is this true, Amber?” He asked, his eyes fixed on me. “Do you have a crush on me?”

My mouth went dry. Everyone was waiting for my confirmation and there was no lie I could tell. The poem was in her hand, and it was in my writing. It was all so clear.

I took a shaky breath, and I decided to damn the consequences and tell him the truth.

But almost immediately, someone interrupted me.

“Well, this looks like a fun party.”

Everyone turned around. The crowd at the door split apart, and Ryder walked in with his gym bag slung over one shoulder. He was wearing a black hoodie now, and the tip of his nose was red and a little swollen. He took in the scene with one lazy glance – the broken iPad, the blood on my face, and the paper in Camille’s hand.

His eyes rested on me, and something in them darkened. It was only for a moment. Then it was gone, and the smirk was back.

“Sorry to interrupt,” he said, as he strolled over to Camille and plucked the paper out of her fingers like it was nothing.

He glanced at it. “So this is the cause of all the fuss? I was wondering where it went.”

Camille gaped at him. “What do you mean? It’s yours.”

“Of course it’s mine,” Ryder smiled.

“That’s not possible,” Camille shook her head. “She wrote about the star of the team. That’s Maverick.”

“You flatter your boyfriend, Camille,” Ryder scoffed. “Everyone knows I’m the star of the hockey team.”

He walked over to me, and before I could even blink, he put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me against his side.

“And now everyone should know that Amber and I are dating.”