Hockey game (1)

KAIDA'S POV

Maverick stared blankly at me, if anything, he didn’t find my witty reply funny.

“I need to leave, it’s getting late,” I said with an awkward smile as I walked past him.

As I pushed the restaurant entrance door open and left, I could feel his gaze boring into my back until I was finally out of sight.

And upon arriving at the apartment I share with Ember, I took off my bag and fell flat onto the bed, the weight of the breakup weighing me down.

Fresh tears cascaded down my cheeks, and my chest tightened.

It was hard to breathe as snorts mixed with sobs pushed their way out. I was sure that by tomorrow, my eyes would be red and puffy.

The entrance door to our apartment pushed open, and I immediately wiped my face clean and sat upright. I didn’t want Ember to know, at least not yet.

If she knew, I was sure she’d cuss Liam out and even go to the arena where he practices to create a scene. I didn’t want her to do any of that because of me.

As expected, my door creaked open, and she peeked in, her features morphing into a frown with her lips pushed forward in displeasure.

“Why are you crying, Ida?” she asked, pushing her whole body through the door and walking up to me. “Is this about Liam?”

I shook my head negatively, using the back of my hand to wipe away the fresh tears that fell at the sight of my best friend.

“This is about him, after all,” she snickered. “So what is it this time?”

“He broke up with me,” I said, and more tears followed.

It hurt so much, like my heart was being squeezed out of my chest.

I could vividly remember how our relationship started.

Liam had been into me first.

It was my first year in college, and we met during one of his games at the college arena. We exchanged contacts and began talking until it led to a romantic relationship.

“What was the reason?” Ember asked, her voice revealing her displeasure. “Why did that walking red flag break up with you?”

“He didn’t specify. He just said he was tired of our relationship, Ember.” The more I spoke, the more impossible it was to hold back my tears. “I didn’t say anything wrong, yet he broke up with me.”

Through my wet, sticky lashes, I could see anger in Ember’s eyes. she was mad.

“Let’s go to the college arena,” she said, rising to her feet, ready to go cuss Liam out until she lost her voice, but I quickly stopped her.

“Let’s not do that, Ember. Liam would think I can’t get over him.”

“Then stop crying and show him you can do fine without him!” She stomped her feet against the tile floor. “If we can’t cuss him out, at least let’s bash his car!”

“We won’t do that too,” I shook my head and wiped my tears. I felt a little better now that Ember was with me.

“Gosh… You’re such a joy killer,” she rolled her eyes and pulled me into a comforting hug. “You’ll be fine, Ida. You’ve always been a strong girl.”

……..

I felt a little better last night, but when morning came, the repercussions of my constant tears hit me hard.

My eyelids were heavy, and my head spun like I had drunk ten bottles of vodka the previous night.

“Shit!” I cursed, holding my head as I headed to the bathroom for my morning routine.

Once I was done, I dressed in casual wear and was about to go through my phone when the door to my room slammed open. I flinched in fear and sighed upon seeing Ember standing by the door with a wide grin.

“Why are you here?” I asked, and she walked towards my bed.

“I’m here to take you out. You need to get over your breakup with that son of a gun.”

“Okay, so where are we going?”

“To Maverick’s hockey game at the college arena.”

My heart skipped a bit.

“I’d prefer lying on my bed and catching up on some sleep,” I declined as fast as I could.

After yesterday’s encounter with Maverick, I wouldn’t want to see him, especially not at his game.

“So you can cry again?” Ember frowned. “Stand up right now, Ida. I won’t let you become a shell of yourself because of that son of a gun.”

“His name is Liam, Ember. Stop calling him that,” I said, trying to correct her.

Her brow arched as she eyed me suspiciously. “Now, you’re supporting him, aren’t you?”

“No, no, I’m not,” I heaved a sigh in resignation. “Fine, let’s go to his game.”

Hockey had never been my favorite game, but because Liam was the captain of a hockey team, I came to like it as time went on.

Yes, I liked hockey, but I could never get used to the loud noises from enthusiastic fans and the screeching of hockey skates on the ice.

I watched in silence as Ember joined other fans in screaming loudly when Maverick’s teammates made their entrance onto the ice. But never in a million years would I have thought that the opposing team was Runner Hockey team. Liam’s team.

I thought I would be able to get over him if I didn’t see him for a while, but I was wrong.

The minute he stepped onto the ice, it felt like I was being stabbed with a dagger. I sucked in a deep breath, trying to calm my racing heart, but it was nearly impossible.

Ember paused upon seeing him and slowly turned to me. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know his team was the opposing team.”

I knew she was sincere with the apology, but it didn’t ease the pain in my chest. So, I excused myself from the arena to a quieter area nearby.

I needed some space to breathe, far from where Liam was.