Episode 1
Chapter one: TRADED
Liam’s POV
My biggest dream became my worst nightmare, or at least the thing that would lead to my death. Hockey had been my entire life; I skipped classes to go to practice. I never missed one game.I would sit close to the screen, memorizing plays I thought I could copy one day. My mom once told me I belonged there. I used to believe her. Now the sight of it bothers me; I could barely bring myself to look at my equipment scattered around my living room.
I stood in the kitchen without remembering how I got there. The apartment felt big and lonely. The street was quiet, too quiet. The hon
king sounds and the fire truck that passed every day were the only things that reminded me I was still alive. My eyes drifted to the counter, to the knife resting there. All I could think of was death, the sharp blade diving into my skin.
It wouldn’t hurt, would it? It was nothing compared to the pain I felt for the past five years. But I couldn’t do it, I couldn’t die, not now. I was the only one my sister had. My mom died a year ago. My dad? Well…I never got to know him. My mom said he was a good man. He died because he was not able to get a bone marrow transplant.
My phone buzzed somewhere behind me, but I didn’t move. I already knew what it would be. Just another call I didn’t want to answer. Another reminder that my life didn’t belong to me, but to other people making decisions about where I go, or how long I was allowed to stay.
I wanted to quit, I really wanted to, but hockey was all I knew; I didn’t have a degree, I just had my hockey stick.
With a sigh, I exhaled slowly and ran a hand over my face.
Five years.
Five good years of being the villain in a story I never agreed to. I didn’t regret attacking Lucas Cross. As a matter of fact, I wished he had died. I wished they could believe me. He r***d my sister; she didn’t deserve that.
I didn’t care about what the media thought; I was tired of proving my innocence.
My phone buzzed again. This time, I did not ignore it.
“What?” I asked.
David released a long sigh. “Nice to hear from you, too.”
David was my agent, the only one who didn’t give up on me. Without him, I would have quit hockey a long time ago.
“What do you want?” I asked, clearly irritated.
“I have been trying to reach you for an hour.”
“I know.”
“So… how have you been? I hope you went on dates. It's time to move on from Hannah, Liam…” David said.
I totally forgot to mention her. Hannah was my fiancée; she broke up with me because I was the most hated hockey player in the world. And I didn’t blame her.
“I’m about to hang up. Say what you have to say,” I said, though I already knew what he wanted to say.
There was a brief pause before David spoke again. “You have been traded.”
Of course.
I leaned back against the couch. And stared at the ceiling. I sighed again. The news barely registered in my head. I had been traded so many times that it no longer had any meaning. It was just another city. Another team. Another locker room filled with people who poorly judged me. People who hated me without getting to know the real me.
“Okay,” I replied.
“Okay?” David repeated in disbelief. “That’s all you have to say?”
“What else do you want from me?”
“I don’t know, maybe ask where you are going.”
I closed my eyes. “Fine…where?”
Another pause followed; it was longer this time. Something about it made me feel uneasy.
“Drum roll, please… the Vipers!”
To other players, this would have been the best news of their careers. But to me, it made no sense. The Vipers were one of the strongest teams in the league. They were championship contenders. The same team Lucas Cross was on, the man whoruined my reputation. He was the Golden Boy five years ago, everyone's favorite, then he r***d my sister, and I attacked him. From then on, I was the villain who ruined his career, but I wish I had killed him.
“They don’t need me.”
“I know, they hate you.”
“So why did they trade for me?”
David hesitated again before he answered, and it was starting to piss me off. “Because Damon Cross asked for you.”
I sat upright. A surge of new energy filled my body immediately. For a moment, I thought I had heard it wrong.
“Did you just say Cross?” I asked.
“You heard me. I think Damon is Lucas’s relative, but yup, same blood and all.”
My grip tightened on my phone. Out of every season player in the league, Damon Cross, who was related to Lucas Cross.
Absolutely not.
Damon was the last person who should want me on the team. He was hockey’s golden boy after Lucas. More importantly, he was connected to the family responsible for ruining my life.
“No,” I said flatly.
“What do you mean, no?”
“I am not going.”
David groaned. “Liam…”
“I am serious.”
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to prove yourself.”
“I SAID NO!”
I hung up immediately and tossed my phone on the couch. I sat in silence for a few minutes. Everything was coming back: the death threat, the way they booed me each time I entered the arena. Some stalked me, then tried to kill me. They mocked me, all thanks to Lucas Cross. They all saw me as the villain.
The idea that Damon Cross had specifically requested me felt wrong. Suspicious. People didn’t just decide to help me unless they wanted something bad to happen to me, or maybe they are trying to get something out of me.
I know whatever was happening wouldn't end well.
Why had Damon Cross chosen me?
