Icing The Heart의 모든 챕터: 챕터 1 - 챕터 5

My back slammed into the boards so hard the whole rink seemed to crack open.For one blind second, all I heard was the thunder of my own body hitting glass, the sharp scrape of skates and the distant shout of someone calling my name. My helmet flew off, skidding across the ice like a useless piece of plastic while pain burst through my shoulder and down my ribs.Three cracked ribs last month. Concussion before that. If Jaxon Kane wanted me gone, he would have to kill me.I tasted blood and it was enough to make my tongue run over the inside of my lip and confirm that, yes, the great captain of the New York Titans had hit me hard enough to split skin during practice.Practice.Not a playoff game. Not a championship final. Not some desperate last-minute defensive move with the season on the line. Practice.The whistle had not blown before I pushed myself up.“Callahan,” Coach barked from somewhere near the bench.I ignored him.The ice tilted for half a second but I locked my knees and

By six in the morning, I had cleaned my apartment twice and hated myself for the third time before sunrise.The kitchen counters were spotless. The living room rug had been vacuumed so aggressively it probably needed therapy. I had rearranged the throw pillows, wiped down the windows, scrubbed the bathroom sink and reorganized a bookshelf no one cared about except me.Control.That was what cleaning gave me. Control.When my apartment was clean, I could pretend my life was not one bad headline away from collapse. When my skates were sharpened, my gear packed, my meals planned and my phone face down, I could pretend I was not constantly waiting for the next hit.People thought I survived on stubbornness. They were wrong.I survived by keeping distance.Distance from teammates who smiled too easily. Distance from coaches who called cruelty “toughening up.” Distance from reporters who wanted tears and men who wanted gratitude for doing the bare minimum.And especially distance from Jaxon

The news alert came while I was brushing my teeth.TITANS CAPTAIN JAXON KANE AND FEMALE PLAYER RORY CALLAHAN: LOVE MATCH OR PR STUNT? INSIDE SOURCES SUGGEST RELATIONSHIP MAY BE FABRICATED.I stared at the screen so long toothpaste slid down my chin.For one strange second, I did not move. I just stood there in my bathroom, barefoot, hair a mess, one hand gripping my toothbrush while the headline carved itself into my brain.Inside sources.Of course.There was always a source. Always someone smiling in the locker room, clapping you on the shoulder, pretending not to carry a knife. Someone had leaked the fake relationship. Someone had spoken to the press. Someone wanted this lie to collapse before it had finished serving its purpose.The only question was who.And because my life had recently become a punishment written by a committee of men in expensive suits, my first thought was not even panic.It was exhaustion...I rinsed my mouth, wiped my chin, and walked into the living room.J