Ruined By The Hockey Captain

#2

BELLA

“I need to get to Zach. What the hell was he thinking?”

The words were already out of my mouth before I’d fully cleared the bleachers, my boots eating up the concrete corridor in fast strides. Amy’s footsteps scrambled behind me.

“Bella, wait!” Her hand caught my arm. “I’m coming with you.”

“Go to class.” I eased her grip off my sleeve, not unkindly. “I’ll find you after.”

“I can’t just walk into a lecture after that —”

“Amy.” I stopped, turned, looked her dead in the eyes until she understood I wasn’t negotiating. “Please. I’ve got him. Just go.”

She bit her lip. Wavered. Then, with a tight nod, she turned back toward the quad.

The second she was out of sight, I moved faster.

The hallways blurred past me. I navigated the turns on instinct, following the distant smell of antiseptic until I found the right doorway and through it, was Zach.

He was sitting on a training table, surrounded by a couple of teammates and the medical staff who were busy attending to him, pressing an ice pack to his swollen jaw.

Something in my chest eased a bit.

“Zach.” His name came out softer than I intended, all the urgency deflating the moment I saw him breathing and intact. I crossed the room straight to him. “Are you alright?”

He pulled the ice pack away, wincing. One look at my face and his expression shifted. His thumb came up, brushing my cheekbone once in that quiet, steadying way he’d been doing since we were kids.

“Hey. I’m fine. Don’t worry about it.”

The tenderness lasted approximately three seconds.

“What were you thinking?” I kept my voice low, conscious of every set of ears in the room. “You punched Blake, Zach, of all people. Are you completely insane?”

His jaw hardened. The warmth in his eyes went cold. “Of all people?” He scoffed. “Who the hell does he think he is?”

One of Zach’s teammates, who had been standing nearby watching the doorway, shook his head and stepped closer. “Man, you really shouldn’t have gone at Blake. Team captain, campus golden boy and his father basically finances half the sports facilities on the campus.”

Zach didn’t even blink. His posture stayed locked, stubborn in that particular way that meant he’d already decided the consequences weren’t worth considering. “I don’t care who his dad is. He crossed a line.”

I stared at my brother and felt the helplessness settle over me. “You never listen,” I said quietly, arms folding over the oversized jersey. “You just react. Every single time.”

The fight went out of him all at once, his shoulders dropping on a slow exhale. “Don’t worry about it, Bambi.”

That stupid nickname. It always did exactly what he intended it to do.

He shifted on the table, his gaze moving past my shoulder to the empty doorway. “Hey — did Mom show up?”

I looked down at my shoes. Then I looked back up. “No.”

He didn’t flinch. Didn’t even look surprised, just emptied out, the small flicker of hope extinguishing cleanly behind his eyes. He reached for the water bottle a teammate offered and drank deeply, his throat working fast.

“Should we just go home?” I asked, leaning in. “You could actually rest for once.”

He set the bottle down and shook his head. “I’m going out with some of the guys later. Don’t wait up.”

My forehead creased. “Zach, you haven’t slept at home in weeks. Where are you actually —”

“I’m busy.” His voice closed the door on it. Before I could find another way in, his hands came up, cradling my face, tilting me to look at him. His eyes were fierce with something that had no patience for argument. “I’ve got everything under control. I promise. Okay?”

He pressed his lips to the top of my head.

“Now go to class. You’re going to be late.”

I exhaled and let it go. “Take care of yourself. I’ll see you later.”

“See you, Bells.”

I turned on my heel and walked out of the training room, The doors swung shut behind me. The corridor absorbed the silence, and I pulled out my phone, thumbs moving quickly across the screen as I started typing out a quick text to Amy to let her know Zach was breathing and in one piece.

My head was still down, eyes on the screen, when the hallway narrowed toward the main exit.

I turned the corner at full speed and walked directly into a wall.

Except walls didn’t breathe.

The impact sent my phone flying from my grip. My balance snapped as I began to tip backward. But before I could hit the ground, a strong hand shot out, grasping my forearm, steadying me instantly and pulling me back onto my feet.

The warmth of the hand burned through the fabric of my sleeve.

I steadied myself, blinked and looked up.

The air left my body completely.

Towering over me was Blake.

He was still wearing his padded hockey pants, his dark hair damp with sweat and curling slightly at the nape of his neck. A faint dark bruise was already starting to form along the hard line of his jaw where Zach had struck him, but his dark eyes were intensely focused and completely unbothered by the collision. His hand hadn’t moved from my arm.

Then a slow devastating smirk tugged at the corner of his lips, Like he’d been expecting this exact moment and had simply been waiting for it to arrive.

“Zach’s little sister,” he said, his voice low and smooth in the empty hallway. “I’ve been waiting for the day I’d finally introduce myself.”