Two

(Athena's POV)

.

For a second, I thought I heard him wrong because there was no way Luca Ryder had just looked straight past me and called who?

“Sienna?”  My rival?

The crowd screamed, while I just stood there, frozen at the edge of the rink with my hand still over my mouth like a complete idiot, tears still burning in my eyes for a moment that had never seemed to belong to me.

My heart was slamming so hard against each other while Sienna Hart laughed from the other side of the ice like she'd been waiting for this night.

My biggest rival and Wesmore’s golden girl. WeThe one person who hated losing to me more than Luca ever did.

She skated toward him with that smug smile I’d wanted to wipe off her face for two years straight, dark ponytail swinging behind her, eyes already on me before she even reached him.

And Luca…God, he fucking smiled at her!

The arena exploded when he pulled her close with students screaming, phones up and cameras flashing. His teammates were yelling like they'd just witnessed the greatest love story in college history.

I still couldn’t move.

This wasn’t real. It couldn’t be.

He had to be joking. He had to be doing something stupid for the crowd before he called me too. Maybe it was for attention. Maybe it was some game. Maybe he was just trying to throw people off because we were still in public.

Yeah.

That had to be it.

Because he promised, and Luca Ryder had never looked me in the eyes and lied. Right?

And then I moved before I could stop myself. I stepped off the rink, ignoring the way my teammates stared at me as I pushed past them. Tessa wasn't around because if she were, she would have pushed me back. I ignored Coach shouting in the distance.

Luca was still holding Sienna when I reached the cluster of celebrating players.

His hand was around her waist and her hand was on his chest.

She saw me first, and her smile only sharpened. Luca turned at the same second, and for one thing second, just one, I could see something flashing across his face e.

I grabbed his wrist before I could think.

“Athena…”

“Come with me!”

I didn't wait for permission, I just reached him out, trying to withhold the tears threatening to fall down my face.

He came because I was pulling hard enough and maybe because he knew exactly what this was.

The second we were just far enough from the center of the chaos, I let go and turned on him.

“What the hell was that?”

He blinked at me, then glanced over my shoulder toward the celebration like he was annoyed I'd interrupted something which only made my stomach drop.

“You promised me.”

His eyes came back to mine and I could barely breathe.

“You promised me,” I repeated, louder this time. “You said after the game. You said you were done hiding us. You said you were going to tell everyone.”

For one horrible second, he just stared at me, then his mouth two themed which made me frown. “Luca? You won't say anything?”

And just like that, he laughed. A freaking laugh! Like.i had just said the funniest shit he'd heard all night.

The sound hit me so hard I actually stepped back. “What?” My voice cracked. “Why are you laughing? What's funny to you, Luca?”

He shook his head, running a hand over his mouth like he was trying to hold it in, but that only made it worse. “Athena,” he said, still laughing, “you cannot be serious right now.”

My whole body went cold. “What?”

“Come on.” He looked around like he was waiting for someone to jump in on the joke. “You really thought I meant that?”

I stared at him, the world around me starting to tilt. “W…what do you mean?” I stutter.

He gave me a look I didn't recognize at all. A cruel one at that. “Jesus,” he muttered. “I knew you were obsessed with me for like a year of this fake thingy, but I didn't think you were this far gone.”

My lips parted in disbelief and no sound came out. “what?” I whispered. “Stop. Don't do that.”

He laughed again and behind him, a few of his teammates had started wandering over, drawn by the tension or maybe because they already knew what was happening.

I didn’t know which answer would’ve hurt less.

“Stop saying what you are saying. What is a fake thingy? Our relationship? It's all love, remember? You begged me to trust you,” I said, voice shaking now. “You kissed me, you said you loved me.”

At that, one of his friends snorted, then another let out a low, entertained whistle that made my blood run even more colder.

Luca looked over at them, then back at me, and the smirk on his face made me want to be sick. “Did I?”

I think my heart actually stopped.

“You don’t get to do this,” I snapped, grabbing the front of his jersey. “You don’t get to act like I made this up. You asked me to throw that game for you!”

That got their attention and a few heads turned. I saw someone closer raise their phone.

Luca looked down at my hand on his chest, then slowly back at me, and smiled. “Careful,” he said softly. “People might think you’re losing it.”

I let go like he burned me. “Tell them,” I said, desperate now, hating how broken I sounded. “Tell them the truth.”

His brows lifted. “What truth?”

“That you and I…”

“Oh my God.” Sienna’s voice sliced right through me. She stepped up beside him, laughing so hard she had to hold onto his arm. “Are you still doing this?” she asked, looking me up and down like I was something stuck to the bottom of her skate. “Athena, babe, this is embarrassing.”

I turned to her, my chest heaving. “Stay out of it.”

She laughed harder. “No, please, keep going.” She waved a hand, and two more girls from Westmore stepped closer with their phones already recording. “This is gold.”

My stomach dropped. Too many phones and eyes on us but Luca wasn't stopping them, he just stood there and watched me..

Watched me drown.

“You told me you loved me,” I said, looking at him because I couldn’t bear looking anywhere else. “You told me you wanted me.”

He tilted his head, then he shrugged. “Maybe I wanted to win.”

The words slammed hard into me and I stared up at him while Sienna burst into laughter so loud it turned heads.

“Oh my God,” she said between breaths. “She really fell for it.”

One of his friends actually clapped. “Damn, Ryder. You had her throwing championships for you? That’s insane.”

I couldn’t feel my fingers, couldn’t feel my face. Nothing except the way every pair of eyes around us was on me now.

“It was just a game, sweetheart,” Luca said, voice light and careless. “Don’t tell me you actually thought I’d claim you in front of everyone.”

“Why?” I asked, and I hated how small it sounded. “Why would you do that to me?”

Sienna answered before he could. “Because you needed to be humbled.”

Her smile was so fucking vicious. “You skate around here like you own everything. Like you’re untouchable. Like every guy should want you just because you’re good with a stick.” She stepped closer. “Now look at you.”

I looked at Luca, tears threatening to pour down. Luca looked at me like I was stupid for ever believing him and it only made my throat tightened in pain.

So I turned before they could see me break into pieces, but behind me, I heard Sienna's laugh.

I also heard someone say, “She’s crying.”

Heard another voice ask if they got the whole thing on camera.

And just like that, I ran.

I ran to nowhere in particular until I got in front of the abandoned lake puck. The one place on campus where nobody came this late unless they were drunk, stupid, or both.

My breath came in sharp with ugly pulls as I stumbled toward the dark water, tears blurting everything.

My chest hurts, my skin hurts and I could still hear them laughing out loud.

For one second, I thought about Tessa, the coach, my team, and my mother. Then I thought about the video, the phones and tomorrow morning.

Everyone seeing it. Everyone laughing. Everyone knowing I was stupid enough to lose to a boy who never wanted me.

A sob ripped out of me and I took one step forward, then another, and jumped.

“You crazy fam!”