A game of revenge

JERALD 

The minute I stepped into the arena, the screaming and shouting hit me like a water wave. Hundreds of voices echoed across the arena, with chants and loud music blasting from every corner.

The cold air burned my lungs as I inhaled sharply, holding my hockey stick tighter.

Oh sweet lord.

Nothing could have prepared me for a moment like this.

It had been a month already since I joined the Seattle Wolves hockey team, and now we're playing the Union match.

Players skated around during the warm-ups, waving at the chaotic fans who couldn't stop screaming.

My eyes roamed across the ice, and despite the entire chaos going on around me, my eyes found him.

Benjamin Stilinski...

My ex.

My stepbrother. 

And my biggest mistake.

My chest tightened the moment our eyes met, he was skating onto the ice with his team.

The new jersey suited him properly, his hair swaying with every movement he made.

I tried to look away, but I couldn't, his stare was strong, almost glaring, like he could snap me within a second.

He looked really furious.

“Hey,” Adam said, bumping my shoulder lightly. “You good?”

I swallowed hard, forcing myself to look away from Benjamin. “Yeah.”

But Adam didn't buy the response.

He followed my gaze before letting out a quiet whistle.

“Benjamin Stilinski.” He said, a sly smirk prying at his lips.

I furrowed my brow, “You know him?”

“Yes,” he scoffed. “Flying Tigers captain.”

“Oh,” I nodded quietly, trying to focus on something else.

“He sure looks like he wants to commit murder,” Adam added.

I laughed, “That’s just his usual face.”

“A fan?” he asked, staring at me.

I scoffed, “Not even a bit.”

The announcer's voice came through the microphone.

“WELCOME EVERYONE, TO TONIGHT'S GAME BETWEEN THE SEATTLE WOLVES AND THE NEW YORK FLYING TIGERS!!!”

The screams became louder, and my heart throbbed loudly.

My chest started pounding, this was my first official game.

I adjusted my gloves nervously while trying not to look at anyone, but it was too hard because even with all the noise, I could feel his hot, piercing gaze on my skin.

Then the whistle blew once, loudly.

Game On.

The puck hit the ice, slamming hard before the two teams lunged at it aggressively.

I pushed forward, gripping my hockey stick tighter as players moved past me. The game was moving too fast and I was just a trainee on the ice.

“Jerald!” Adam shouted, moving past me in a whoosh.

I moved immediately, skating towards the right side while Adam passed the puck. The black disc found its way to me over the ice.

My heart raced, I swallowed hard and caught it.

“Pass it.” Someone roared behind me.

A Flying Tigers player slammed into me really hard, almost knocking me to the ground, but I still managed to keep the puck with me. Barely.

Pain shot through my shoulder as I moved forward, slowing my pace.

“Jerald, keep going!” Coach shouted.

I pushed forward again, heat rushing through me as I moved.

And just as I looked up, Benjamin appeared in front of me.

My breath seized, his dark eyes glaring into mine for a brief second before his hockey stick slammed against mine and forcefully took the puck from me.

The crowd cheered loudly for him as he moved with great precision.

He skated down the rink with a smooth pace while his teammates followed, blocking the wolves from attacking.

“COME ON! COME ON!” Our goalie shouted.

Two defenders tried to attack him, but he dodged them effortlessly before passing the puck across the rink.

My breath caught, and everywhere fell silent as the puck flew in the air, going straight at the net.

SMACK!

Our goalie blocked it.

The Seattle crowd erupted in jubilation.

I exhaled shakily, my chest calming down as I knelt on the rink.

The other teammates skated towards the goalie, jumping on each other.

The referee's whistle screamed loudly.

Half-time.

“Hey Jerald,” Simon, a teammate called.

“Hey,”

“What the hell did you do out there?” he said, trying not to raise his voice. “We almost lost.”

I exhaled softly, “I...m...I'm sorry.” 

“Sorry?” he scoffed, “We fucking missed!”

He poked at my shoulder, pushing me backwards.

“Hey! Hey!” Adam skated towards us. “Simon get back.”

Simon glared at me before returning back to his position.

“You good?” Adam asked, raising my chin up.

I nodded and suddenly, I turned and was met with Benjamin's piercing gaze.

“You’re hesitating on the ice, Jerald,” he added. “Can you do this?”

A smirk formed on my lips, and I returned my gaze to Benjamin.

“Yes,” I said louder than necessary, grabbing Adam's arm.

“Good.” he nodded, his hand still on my helmet.

I deliberately turned towards Benjamin and the anger in his eyes was good enough to burn the entire ice rink down.

The satisfaction that rushed through me was satisfying.

Let him watch, let him feel the pain I felt whenever he leaned forward to kiss his cute boyfriend.

It was finally my turn and damn, revenge felt so good.

The second half of the game began.

Things got uglier, Benjamin got extremely furious, pushing anyone in sight just to score.

Adam skated with the puck, then Benjamin decked him hard.

“What the hell man!” Adam snapped, pushing him back.

Benjamin's eyes flickered to me, and I saw him mutter something to Adam, but Adam scoffed and skated backwards.

“Is everything alright?” I skated towards him.

“Yeah,” he murmured, fixing his helmet.

“Let me,” I said, helping him fix it properly.

The referee blew the whistle, and the game continued to get messier.

And I kept increasing the tension.

Every time Benjamin looked my way, I moved to Adam, making sure he saw.

I laughed at his jokes, touching his shoulder and even helping him fix little problems.

I knew exactly what I was doing but I wasn't going to stop.

Adam passed the puck to me and I caught it, skating forward fast. But Benjamin slammed into me before I could process what was happening.

“What the fuck!” I shouted, pulling off my helmet.

“Stop what the hell you're doing, Jerald.” He leaned closer but I pushed him backwards.

“It’s none of your fucking business.”

Before he could reach for me again, Adam skated towards us and shoved him aside.

“Fuck off man.” He roared at him.

Benjamin laughed coldly, “You've got him too?”

My chest tightened at his words.

The referee blew the whistle before things escalated.

“He’s only using you, captain,” Benjamin added with a glare before skating off.

__________________

The locker room was pure chaos after the game ended in a draw.

The team jeered amongst themselves as they celebrated, even though it wasn't a true victory.

I sat quietly while pulling off my skates, avoiding Adam's gaze as he stared at me from across the room.

Finally, he walked over.

“You want to tell me something?” he asked calmly.

I knotted my brows innocently, “Something...like what?”

He chuckled softly, “You and Benjamin.” he said, “What’s going on?”

I looked away immediately, “It’s not what you think.”

He scoffed, “Then what is it? That he's your ex?”

My stomach churned.

Then he scoffed, “You’re using me to make him jealous, right?”

“No.”

“Don’t!” he snapped, “you dare lie to my face, Jerald.”

I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

Then he nodded. 

“And I thought we had a chemistry.”

“Adam,” I whispered.

But he turned and grabbed his hockeybag before turning back at me one last time.

“Just so you know,” he said quietly. “He still looks at you like you're his.”