Xander’s POVThe locker room was too bright.Too loud.Every word, every clang of a stick against the bench, grated on my nerves.I sat in front of my stall, lacing my skates tighter than I needed to, pretending that the pressure biting into my ankles could drown out the noise in my head.Olivia’s face wouldn’t leave me alone, the way she’d looked when I left her apartment before dawn, hair messy, eyes hollow, whispering that single word: go. First I sat at her driveway in my car for a very long time. Then I’d gone.And then I’d driven straight here, parked in the dark lot, and sat staring at the steering wheel until sunrise.“Yo, Cap.”Trevor, one of the defensemen, clapped a hand on my shoulder. “You good? You’ve been quiet since warm-up.”“Fine,” I said automatically. The word came out sharper than I meant.He raised his hands in surrender. “Alright, man. Just making sure.”Fine.Everyone kept asking that.Olivia had said it last night, Ethan this morning, now Trevor.I was starti
Last Updated : 2025-10-05 Read more