STEAMY ICE COLD Hockey Romance (Compilation)

Chapter 15: My Heartbreak

Lila Monroe

One day earlier

I’m done crying by now.

My eyes feel swollen and heavy, like they’ve been rubbed raw. My throat is dry from all the silent sobbing I did earlier, and my head is starting to throb. I’ve been lying on my bed for… maybe two days now? I don’t even remember.

“Lila, please come get your food. It’s getting cold,” Noah’s voice called from outside my door. I sighed. He’s the only one I’ve got here. My only real family.

“If Dad were here, he’d be sad, sis. Please come out,” he said again, softer this time.

I smiled weakly even though he couldn’t see me. I knew he was trying to comfort me, but I just couldn’t bring myself to get up. My chest still ached. My mind wouldn’t stop spinning.

“Sis?”

“Got it, Sir,” I muttered, dragging myself out of bed.

I wiped my face with the sleeve of my hoodie before cracking the door open. Noah was standing there with a plate in his hands, looking way too worried.

I tried to grab the plate and disappear again, but he didn’t move.

“Tell me what’s going on,” he said while blocking the doorway. “You’ve been locked in here for two days. You look like hell.”

“I’m fine,” I mumbled. “Just having a bad week.”

Noah didn’t buy it. He crossed his arms. “Lila. Come on. You’ve been distant ever since I left for that retreat. I get back and you’re like this? Who hurt you?”

I forced a small smile, but it felt fake even to me. After everything we’d been through together, he could read me way too well.

“It’s nothing,” I said, trying to slip past him. “I just need some space.”

He didn’t let me. Instead, he gently took the plate from my hands and set it on the dresser before stepping into my room and closing the door behind him.

“Sit,” he said, nodding at my bed.

I sat down slowly. Noah pulled out my desk chair and sat across from me with elbows on his knees.

“You’ve been crying… a lot. Your eyes are all puffy.”

I stayed quiet, staring at my hands. Noah waited for a moment before speaking again, his voice gentler this time.

“Was it about that hockey guy? Jax?”

My stomach dropped. I looked up too fast, and that was all it took.

“Was it about the post you made about him?” he asked. “I’ve seen it. Well… I didn’t see it myself, but people were talking about it at school. Some said it was a fire post on Insta. I don’t even have Insta, but apparently everyone else does.”

I felt my face heat up. Noah kept going, his voice still calm but clearly worried.

“People were saying you posted something about getting played or whatever. And then there were rumors that you and Jax had some kind of thing going on. I didn’t know what to believe… but now I’m guessing it’s true?”

I looked away, biting the inside of my cheek.

Noah let out a short breath. “Lila… did he do something to you?”

I stayed quiet for a few seconds, then finally nodded.

“We… were kind of dating,” I admitted.

Noah’s eyes widened. “You what?”

“Dating him. Kind of.”

Noah sat up straighter, his expression shifting. “Wait… you were actually dating Jax Harlan?”

I nodded again, feeling embarrassed.

Noah ran a hand through his hair. “Okay… and then what? What did he do?”

I hesitated, then said quietly, “He kissed someone else. Right in front of me.”

Noah’s face changed. The worry slowly turned into something sharper.

“He kissed another girl?” he repeated. “In front of you?”

I nodded, staring at my hands.

Noah leaned back in the chair and let out a heavy breath. For a moment, he didn’t say anything. Then he stood up and started pacing.

“You gotta be kidding me,” he muttered. “So that’s why you’ve been locked in here? Because that guy played you?”

“Noah…”

“No, seriously, Lila.” He stopped pacing and looked at me. “He kisses another girl right in front of you and you’re the one hiding in your room for two days? That’s messed up.”

I stayed quiet. I could feel him getting more worked up the more he thought about it.

“I knew something felt off about him. I should’ve said something earlier. You were so quiet after I got back, and now I find out it’s because some hockey guy decided to mess with you?”

“Noah, it’s not that simple—”

“Yes, it is,” he cut in. “He hurt you. That’s simple enough.”

He sat back down, but I could tell he was still pissed. His leg was bouncing.

“Did he at least try to explain? Or did he just let you walk away like that?”

“I didn’t give him a chance. I ran.”

Noah exhaled and rubbed his face. After a long moment, he looked at me again, calmer but still clearly angry.

“You really liked him, huh?”

I didn’t say anything, but the way my eyes started watering again probably answered for me.

Noah sighed. “Look… I’m not gonna tell you what to do. But if he hurt you like this, you don’t have to keep protecting his feelings. You can be mad. You’re allowed to be.”

I wiped my eyes with my sleeve. “I know.”

“So what now? Are you just gonna keep avoiding him forever?”

“I don’t know…”

Noah leaned forward a little. “I have an answer for that. I’m gonna talk to him.”

My heart throbbed.

“What?”

“I’m gonna find him after the game. I wanna hear what he has to say for himself.”

“Noah, you don’t have to—”

“Yeah, I do,” he cut in. “He messed with my sister. I’m not just gonna sit here and do nothing.”

He stood up and grabbed his jacket from the back of the chair. “I’m not letting this slide.”

I stared at him, my heart beating faster. Noah looked at me one last time before heading toward the door.

“Get some rest, Sis. I’ll handle it.”

“Noah! Don’t...”

But he had already walked out, leaving me sitting there with my heart pounding. I didn’t know what scared me more ….

The fact that Noah was going to confront Jax… or the fact that part of me actually wanted to see what would happen.