All Chapters of Beneath The Ice : Claimed By My Stepbrother : Chapter 111 - Chapter 120

Joe~ I stayed focused on Theo and Benito at their table. Something had changed. Theo no longer turned away every time Noah walked by. He did not avoid him like before. But he also did not talk to him. They stayed in this weird space between fighting and fixing things. I could see it clear as day. I ate my food slow and kept an eye on them. Theo poked at his lunch without eating much. His eyes moved to Noah’s table now and then but he stayed in his seat. Noah sat with Nikolai a few tables over. He looked a bit better but still careful. No words passed between them. No big fight either. They were stuck in the middle and that middle ground felt dangerous. One small push could bring them back together or break things for good. I finished my drink and thought about it. This was my chance. I had waited for weeks after the big blow up between them. Theo used to be my close friend before Noah came in and changed everything. Now with them stuck like this I saw a way to make sure they neve

Theo~I got home after school and the house felt unusually quiet. Jeff was not home yet and Noah's car was not in the driveway. For some reason the silence bothered me more than it should have. I threw my bag onto the couch and went to the kitchen to make coffee. Melody's words would not leave me alone. They kept repeating in my head the whole way home. "Sometimes we're so busy protecting ourselves that we don't notice we're hurting everybody else too." I told myself she was wrong. Then I immediately realized she was not. I stood there with the coffee mug in my hand and stared at the counter. The words hit hard because they made sense. I had spent months protecting myself with anger. It felt safe. It felt right after everything that happened. But now I saw how it hurt other people too. It hurt Noah. It hurt Benito. And it hurt me. I tried to distract myself. I turned on a hockey game in the living room and sat on the couch. The players moved across the ice but I did not really pay

Theo~I arrived at school the next morning with heavy eyes and a foggy mind, the kind of exhaustion that came from barely sleeping more than a couple of hours. Melody’s words from the day before kept replaying in my head like an unwelcome loop, mixing with fragments of that charged conversation in the storage room. Every time I tried to push the memories away, they resurfaced stronger, pulling at the edges of my thoughts. I told myself firmly that today would be straightforward, nothing more complicated than putting one foot in front of the other. I would attend my classes, push through hockey practice, and head straight home afterward. No overthinking, no lingering on Noah, and absolutely no unnecessary drama that could unravel the fragile calm I was trying to rebuild.The campus buzzed with its usual morning energy as I made my way toward the English building, students hurrying between lectures with coffee cups in hand and backpacks slung over shoulders. I stopped at the familiar

Theo~Practice had already started and I was irritated before I even stepped on the ice. Benito’s question from yesterday would not leave my head. “Would you even notice if someone was?” It kept repeating, no matter how many times I tried to push it away. I told myself he was just joking around like always. Then I remembered the look on his face when he said it. He had not been joking. That made everything feel heavier.Coach noticed me miss an easy pass during drills. “Where’s your head today, Theo?”“Nowhere,” I muttered, skating back into position.Coach did not look convinced, but he let it go. Practice continued and I played well enough. My body knew what to do even when my mind wandered. I just could not shake the distraction completely.When practice finally ended, I showered quickly and started pulling on my hoodie in the locker room. Benito walked over without saying anything. He reached up and brushed a tiny piece of tape out of my hair. The casual touch made me jump.“What

Theo~ “…Benito.” Benito looked at me as I rubbed the back of my neck. “…Are you flirting with me?” For a few seconds, he just looked at me. No grin. No joke. No sarcastic comeback. I immediately regretted asking. I scratched the back of my neck harder. “You know what? Forget it. I do not know why I said that.” Benito finally spoke. “What if I am?” I blinked. “…What?” Benito shrugged. “I am asking.” I laughed awkwardly. “I honestly cannot tell if you are messing with me.” Benito did not answer. Instead he started walking toward campus. I followed, my head spinning. The silence between us felt heavier than usual. I kept stealing glances at him, trying to read his face, but he looked calm as always. My stomach twisted the whole way. I had no idea what I had just opened. Part of me wished I could take the question back and go back to our easy jokes from before. I spent the entire morning classes distracted. I kept replaying the conversation in my head over and over. Every time Ben