All Chapters of Beneath The Ice : Claimed By My Stepbrother : Chapter 81 - Chapter 90

TheoThe restaurant was loud enough that nobody could hear themselves think, which was probably exactly why hockey players liked places like this. The food wasn’t anything special, the tables were too small, and the music blasted at a volume that made conversation feel like shouting. Half the televisions on the walls showed different games at the same time, creating a constant wall of noise and movement. It was perfect in its own chaotic way.Training had ended an hour earlier, and somehow nearly the entire Super Team had ended up here together. I sat near the middle of the long table, working my way through a burger while trying to follow three different conversations happening at once. Across from me, two defensemen argued heatedly about team rankings. At the far end, someone was trying to convince everyone that pineapple belonged on pizza, and that argument nearly turned physical. Beside me, Benito looked entirely too happy to be alive, which should have worried me because when Ben

Theo~The problem with Benito was that he never knew when to stop pushing. Most people would notice when they were making someone uncomfortable and back off right away. Benito noticed it and immediately decided to push even harder. That was exactly why agreeing to lunch with him after practice had been a huge mistake.Training had ended about an hour earlier. Most of the team had already scattered across campus, heading back to their rooms or grabbing quick rides. But Benito had somehow talked me into staying behind at the small diner near the arena. Now we sat across from each other in a worn booth near the window. I stirred a chocolate milkshake I had no real interest in drinking while he watched me with that familiar, dangerous grin, the kind that always meant trouble.I pointed my spoon at him. “Whatever you’re thinking right now, don’t.”His grin only grew wider. “Oh, it’s definitely about Noah then.”I nearly dropped the spoon into the glass. “Jesus Christ, Benito.”“What? I’m j

Noah~The strange thing about trying to move on was that nobody ever warned you how boring it felt. Movies made it look dramatic and full of big moments. Books made it sound deep and meaningful. In reality, it was mostly about staring at your phone and forcing yourself not to do anything stupid and who was I fucking kidding with the Shakespeare shit, I was a miserable fucker.That was exactly what I had been doing for the last four days.Four long days of staying strong. No stalking Theo’s streams. No checking his schedule. No driving past the places he used to go. No searching his name online. Nothing at all. I deserved some kind of medal for it. Instead, all I got was this weird empty feeling that followed me around everywhere I went.Practice ended around noon. Normally I would have pulled out my phone right there in the locker room and started checking hockey updates. This time I shoved it deep into my bag and walked out with the rest of the team toward the parking lot.“Well, loo

Theo~ Finally, we reached the game day we had all been training for. By the time we got to the third period, every single person in the arena was losing their mind. Including me. The score sat tied at three-three. Nobody had managed to break it for nearly fifteen minutes. Every shift felt heavier than the last. Every hit rattled through my body. Every time I jumped over the boards, it felt like somebody had turned gravity up another level. The crowd was not helping. They were loud as hell. Every near miss got a huge reaction. Every save got a reaction. Every check got a reaction. The entire building felt alive. I bent forward on the bench and sucked in a deep breath while Coach barked instructions that nobody was really listening to anymore. At this point, everybody knew what was at stake. Win this game and we advanced. Lose and we went home. Simple as that. Benito dropped onto the bench beside me. His hair was damp with sweat and his jersey looked like it had survived a small war

Noah~The problem was that I had absolutely no idea what the hell had just happened.One second Theo was standing in the living room staring at me like I had committed a crime. The next he was running upstairs after claiming he did not care. Which would have been believable if he had not looked ready to murder Ava thirty seconds earlier.I stood there for a long moment after his bedroom door slammed shut. Just staring at the stairs. Jeff walked into the room carrying a beer and immediately looked between me and the front door. “Where is Theodore?”I looked away. “Upstairs.”Jeff frowned. “Thought he was not coming back until tomorrow.”“So did I.”He nodded slowly. Then his eyes landed on me. Unfortunately. Parents always knew when something was wrong. Jeff had never been the most emotionally available man, but even he was not blind. “What happened?”“Nothing.”His eyebrow lifted. The exact same expression Nikolai used whenever he knew I was full of shit. “Right.”I rubbed my face. “I