All Chapters of Breaking The Ice Between Us: Chapter 211 - Chapter 220

Harper POVBy Thursday morning, I had convinced myself I was being dramatic.The comments Logan overheard in the student union?They were just comments.The picture online?It was just a picture.People on campus had opinions about everything. Football. Hockey. Greek life. Professors. Parking. The weather.Give college students a phone and ten spare minutes, and suddenly everyone became an expert on everyone else’s life.I wasn’t going to let a bunch of strangers ruin my week.That was the speech I gave myself while walking across campus with an iced coffee in one hand and a backpack that felt like it weighed as much as a small car hanging off my shoulder.Unfortunately…Life has a funny way of laughing at the speeches we give ourselves.By the time I reached the business building for my marketing class, the hallway was packed.Students leaned against lockers scrolling through their phones. Someone was trying to convince a classmate to switch presentation days. A professor hurried by

Logan POVI stood at center ice, my stick planted in front of me, my chest still rising and falling from the extra conditioning Coach had put us through.The arena felt completely different now that everyone else had gone.No laughter from Marco.No chirping from Corey.No sound of skates cutting across the ice.Just the low hum of the refrigeration system beneath the rink and the occasional drip of melting ice from somewhere high above the glass.Coach Daniels didn’t rush me.He simply waited.“Try again.”I stared at him.The scouts.The team.My teammates.The university.The answer had to be one of those.Didn’t it?“I…”The words caught in my throat.Coach rested both hands on the top of his stick.“You’re thinking too hard.”“I don’t know what you want me to say.”“I don’t want you to say anything.”He shrugged.“I want you to tell me the truth.”Silence settled between us again.Finally, I let out a slow breath.“…My father.”The words barely made it past my lips.Coach didn’t

Harper POVThere are certain sounds that become part of your life when you spend enough time around hockey.The sharp scrape of skate blades carving into fresh ice.The crack of a slap shot hitting the boards.Coach Daniels’ whistle.Marco complaining.Okay… maybe that last one wasn’t technically part of hockey, but it certainly felt like it.I smiled to myself as I climbed the stairs to the arena seating with a stack of charity formal flyers tucked under my arm. Alpha Chi had been given permission to leave them near the concession stand for tomorrow night’s game, and since my last class had ended early, I figured I’d swing by before heading back to the house.Practice was already underway.The second I stepped through the doors, the familiar chill of the rink wrapped around me, raising goosebumps across my arms.No matter how many times I came here, it always amazed me how different this place felt from the rest of campus.Outside, students hurried between classes with backpacks and

Harper POVThe lake hadn’t changed.The old wooden dock still stretched over the water with faded planks that had probably needed replacing years ago. Tall oak trees framed the shoreline, their branches swaying gently in the late afternoon breeze. The only sounds were the soft ripple of water against the dock and the occasional chirp of birds somewhere high above me.It was peaceful.Too peaceful.My heart, on the other hand, felt like it was trying to beat its way out of my chest.Logan’s truck sat beneath the biggest oak tree exactly where I remembered it from years ago.I shut off my car and just… sat there.My hands rested on the steering wheel while I stared through the windshield.I hadn’t been here since high school.Back then, Logan wasn’t someone I talked to.He was someone I quietly observed.The hockey captain everyone admired.The boy who carried too much responsibility even then.Whenever the Titans lost a big game or whenever I happened to see Richard Shaw storm out of t

Logan POVThe drive home took just under an hour.I’d made it hundreds of times over the years.Sometimes after a big win when my mom insisted on making enough food to feed the entire hockey team.Sometimes after a loss because she somehow always knew I’d show up without calling first.Sometimes because it was a holiday.Sometimes because I just… needed to remember there was a version of me that existed before everyone started measuring my life in goals, assists, and draft projections.Today?I wasn’t entirely sure why I was driving there.Maybe because Harper had planted the idea in my head before we left the lake.“Maybe it’s time to spend a little time with the parent who never needed convincing.”Those words had followed me all the way home, then all the way through an evening of lying awake staring at my bedroom ceiling.This morning I’d finally stopped fighting them.I turned onto the familiar tree-lined street where I’d learned to ride a bike, scraped my knees playing street ho