The Enforcer’s Obsession

Episode 7 : WHY DO I CARE?

Ryker hated Parker's idea. He absolutely, unequivocally hated it.

The moment his boots hit the pavement of the campus parking lot the next morning, he had already decided to wipe the entire conversation from his memory. Fake dating was the kind of desperate, artificial stunt pulled by reality TV stars, not D1 hockey players. He had enough real, agonizing problems pressing down on his shoulders without adding a fabricated relationship—fake or otherwise—to the chaotic mess of his life.

Unfortunately, while Ryker was ready to move on, the media had no intention of letting him go.

It felt like every digital screen across the university grounds was flashing his jersey number. Everywhere he looked, students were huddled over their phones, their voices carrying on the crisp morning air as they dissected his life.

"Did you see the footage of the suspension? He completely snapped."

"I heard he almost broke the guy's jaw in the tunnel after the game."

"Honestly, it’s not surprising. Apparently, he has massive anger issues. I wouldn't want to be caught alone in a room with him."

Ryker shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his heavy black hoodie, pulling the brim of his cap lower over his eyes. He kept his gaze fixed on the concrete, his stride long and unbroken. People always believed whatever narrative was shoved down their throats. It was easier to consume a villain story than to wonder what drove a man to the edge. It was nothing new. He’d been the bad guy in his father's story for years; he could handle being the bad guy in theirs.

Meanwhile, inside the bustling campus cafeteria, the atmosphere was loud, smelling of cheap coffee and burnt toast. Lila sat at a corner table, trying to focus on her notes, while Ethan and Sophie sat across from her.

Ethan was rhythmically scrolling through his sports feed, his eyebrows knitted together. "They're still talking about Ryker on the local sports blogs. It’s the top trending topic for the university."

Lila sighed, setting her highlighter down. "It's been days. Don't these journalists have anything better to report on? Like the actual tuition hikes?"

"Welcome to the dark side of social media," Sophie said, shaking her head as she stirred her iced coffee. "People don't want policy, Lila. They love drama. They love watching someone at the top get dragged through the mud."

Lila glanced across the table at one of the headlines flashing on Ethan's screen: RYKER HAYES: HERO OR MENACE? Another blog post right below it read: THE DARK SIDE OF COLLEGE HOCKEY'S GOLDEN BOY.

She frowned, a strange tightness forming in her chest. "They don't even know what actually happened on the ice. They’re just replaying a ten-second clip out of context."

Ethan nodded in agreement. "Exactly. No one is asking what the other guy said to provoke him. Hockey is a physical sport, but Ryker isn't a mindless thug."

Sophie leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table. "You know what's truly funny about all of this?"

"What?" Lila asked.

"The exact same people calling him a terrifying monster today were completely obsessed with him two weeks ago. They were begging him for autographs at the arena."

"That's just how the internet works," Ethan murmured, locking his phone and tossing it onto the table. "It's a fickle ecosystem."

Lila looked back down at her textbook, but the words blurred together. "I actually feel bad for him," she admitted softly. "To have your worst moment broadcasted and picked apart by strangers... it must feel incredibly isolating."

Before Ethan could reply, a sharp, familiar voice cut through the ambient noise of the cafeteria, instantly freezing the blood in Lila's veins.

"Feeling bad for your new hockey boyfriend, Lila?"

The small, empathetic smile immediately vanished from Lila's face. She didn't even need to look up to recognize the smug, arrogant tone.

Jason. Of course. The absolute last person on earth she wanted to see.

Without waiting for an invite, Jason pulled out an empty chair from the adjacent table and slid into it, leaning back with an infuriating smirk.

"Leave, Jason," Lila said, her voice dropping to a cold, flat register.

"Come on, still mad about last week?" he asked, throwing his hands up in mock innocence.

"I said leave."

Jason ignored her entirely, shifting his gaze to Ethan and Sophie before looking back at Lila. "You know, people around campus are already talking. They’re saying you're hanging around Ryker Hayes now. Trying to upgrade to an athlete?"

Ethan's expression darkened instantly. He leaned forward, his shoulders squaring up. "Walk away right now, Jason. You’re not welcome at this table."

Jason smirked, completely unfazed by the threat. "What? Relax, man. I'm just talking to my girl."

Nobody believed his casual act. Lila certainly didn't. The anger she had been trying to suppress for weeks began to simmer just beneath the surface.

"You really moved on fast, didn't you?" Jason sneered, his tone turning bitter. "From me to a guy who suspends his way out of games."

Lila clenched her jaw so hard it ached. "You cheated on me, Jason. In our own apartment."

"It was one mistake, Lila! You’re blowing it completely out of proportion."

"You keep calling it that," she said, her voice trembling slightly with a mix of fury and disbelief. "A mistake is spilling coffee. What you did was a choice."

Jason rolled his eyes, letting out a loud, dramatic sigh. "God, you act like I completely ruined your life. It's not that big of a deal."

Ethan stood up immediately, his chair scraping loudly against the cafeteria floor. "Okay. We're done here. Get the hell out of our space."

Jason stood up too, trying to match Ethan’s height, his arrogance flaring. "What? She needs someone to defend her now? She can’t even speak for herself?"

Sophie crossed her arms, her eyes cutting like glass. "No, she needs someone to teach you basic manners and human decency, because clearly your parents skipped that chapter."

Jason laughed mockingly, a harsh sound that drew the attention of the surrounding tables. The conversation quickly became heated, voices rising over the clatter of plastic trays. Students nearby stopped eating, turning their heads to watch the drama unfold. A few people pulled out their phones, whispering and recording the confrontation. It was exactly the kind of public, humiliating attention Lila utterly hated.

Across campus, Ryker was walking toward the varsity hockey building, his mind focused entirely on the brutal workout his coach was undoubtedly going to make him endure as punishment.

As he bypassed the student union, he caught the fragmented voices of two students walking a few paces ahead of him.

"Dude, I seriously feel bad for Lila Bennett."

"Same here. Every single day it’s some new drama with her psycho ex-boyfriend."

"Honestly, that guy doesn't know when to quit. He was cornering her again near the food court."

Ryker’s footsteps slowed to a sudden halt. Lila?

His expression darkened instantly, a cold, protective instinct flaring to life in his chest. Before his brain could fully process the decision, he changed direction. He didn't think about his schedule, his suspension, or the eyes on him. He just started walking toward the cafeteria.

Fast. Very fast.

By the time he pushed through the heavy glass doors of the cafeteria, however, his heart hammering against his ribs, the situation was already over.

The crowd had dispersed. Jason was nowhere to be seen, likely having slunk away before campus security or a professor intervened. Ethan was sitting back down beside Lila, speaking to her in a low, calming voice. Sophie was gesturing wildly with her hands, still ranting dramatically about how much she utterly despised certain narcissistic people.

And Lila?

Lila looked entirely calm. Her shoulders were tense, and she looked exhausted, but she was calm. Like she’d handled this kind of exhausting garbage worse times before.

Ryker stopped near the brick pillars of the entrance, blending into the shadows. Nobody noticed him standing there. He took in the sight of her, and for some inexplicable reason, a heavy wave of relief settled deep inside him. It was a strange, foreign feeling. One he didn't particularly enjoy because it made him feel vulnerable.

Why had he run here like a madman? Why did he care?

She wasn't his friend. She wasn't his responsibility. She wasn't anything to him but a tutor he’d met a handful of times. So why had simply hearing her name in trouble been enough to make him cross half the campus in a blind panic?

Just then, Lila laughed softly at something Sophie said, a small, weary sound that cut through the noise of the room.

The sound caught Ryker's attention, trapping his gaze. As if sensing the weight of his eyes, Lila's head lifted. Her blue eyes scanned the room before locking directly onto his.

Neither of them spoke. Neither of them moved. The bustling cafeteria seemed to fade into a dull hum around them. For a long, suspended second, they just stared at each other across the distance.

Then, Sophie said something else, tapping Lila’s arm, and Lila broke the contact, looking away back to her friends.

The moment vanished as quickly as it had arrived.

Ryker released a sharp breath he hadn't realized he was holding. He shifted his cap, his jaw tight.

"Hm," he muttered to himself.

Shaking his head to clear the intrusive thoughts, he turned around on his heel and walked away, disappearing back into the corridor. He was completely unaware that across the room, Ethan’s sharp eyes had tracked his entire movement from the entrance to the exit.

And Ethan was definitely going to remember it.