All Chapters of Wait for Me Past the Blue Line: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

After my mother’s funeral, I went back to the arena to finish my final handover.In three days, I would leave this city for good.I had already resigned from the arena. The new equipment assistant had arrived that morning, and I was supposed to finish the handover, work through Sebastian Ferraro’s final championship game, and leave for New Zealand the next night.The city was hosting the final round of the North American All-Star Invitational, and the entire building felt electric. Reporters crowded the entrances, fans filled the halls in Ferraro jerseys, and every television replayed highlights of Sebastian skating across the ice like the city belonged to him.He had become exactly what he promised me he would become.A hockey star. A Ferraro heir. A man the entire country knew by name.People said he had turned his back on the Ferraro crime family to stay in professional hockey. People also said this would be his final tournament before marrying Camilla Moretti and returning to the f

Sebastian looked barely capable of standing.Rainwater darkened the shoulders of his practice shirt, and his breathing sounded uneven, like he had pushed himself far beyond exhaustion.“You’re sick,” I said immediately.He ignored that completely.“Why did you leave?”The question sounded rougher the second time he asked it.Then he grabbed my wrist.His palm burned against my skin, and pain shot through me where his fingers pressed over the scar hidden beneath my sleeve.“Sebastian—”The medical room door swung open before I could finish.“Are you serious right now?”Camilla Moretti stepped inside wearing the team’s travel jacket. She was beautiful in the polished, effortless way cameras loved.“I told you not to drink limoncello again,” she scolded while moving toward him. “Your allergy medication barely works as it is.”My chest tightened unexpectedly.Limoncello had been my favorite drink when we were teenagers. Sebastian used to complain constantly about how much he hated the tast

Aunt Theresa would not let the subject go, so eventually I gave in and added Nico on social media just to end the conversation.“Nico is immigrating too,” she said before leaving. “Same city as you. At least you’ll have someone there, and I won’t have to worry every night.”After she shut the equipment room door, I sent Nico a short message telling him the truth. I was leaving for New Zealand after the championship game, and I probably would not come back. He replied almost immediately.“Your aunt already told me. We’ll talk once you get there.”I did not answer.The sharpening machine slowed to a stop, and the room fell quiet. I sat alone with an unfinished pair of skates in my hands while Nico’s words kept circling in my head. I could not stop imagining the accident he had described, the truck crashing into the driver’s side, the metal folding inward, and firefighters spending forty minutes cutting Sebastian out of twisted steel.Sebastian had spent two months in the hospital. He had

The call came from Sebastian’s father.Someone was causing trouble in the old district, and the Ferraro family wanted him to show his face. On Ferraro territory, that was usually enough.Sebastian parked at the mouth of the alley and went in alone.He expected a drunk, a dealer, maybe some idiot trying to impress the wrong people. Instead, he turned the corner and saw a gray van with its side door open. A man was trying to shove a teenage girl inside while she clawed at the frame, her shirt torn and one shoe missing near the gutter.Sebastian crossed the alley without a word.He hit the man once, hard enough to drop him, then dragged him off the girl and slammed him into a pile of broken bricks. The girl scrambled away and curled against the wall, shaking.The man groaned and tried to crawl for his phone.Sebastian stepped on his wrist.The scream filled the alley.“You were dragging a girl into a van on Ferraro ground,” Sebastian said. “Give me a reason not to break the other hand.”“

Sebastian stared at the screen without moving while the report repeated itself beneath the scrolling emergency banner.“Nico,” he said at last, his voice rough.“I’m here.”“She got on that plane.”Nico exhaled quietly on the other end of the line. “They haven’t confirmed anything yet. The report only says they lost contact with the aircraft. Search crews are still out there.”“No survivors confirmed,” Sebastian repeated.“No casualties confirmed either.”Sebastian lowered one hand from the steering wheel and pressed it against his mouth as his breathing started to lose rhythm.“I didn’t even talk to her,” he said. “I spent thirteen years wanting answers, and when I finally had the chance, I still let her walk away.”Neither of them spoke for several seconds.Then Sebastian started the car again.“I’m going to the airport,” he said.Sebastian drove toward the Ferraro airfield with the news still playing silently across the dashboard screen while rain began streaking across the windshie