Alle Kapitel von PUCKING MY ROOMMATE : Kapitel 121 – Kapitel 130

CHAPTER 121Alex’s ragged breathing slowly calmed down, the violent shudders racking his shoulders reducing to shallow, exhausted hitches. He FINALLY dragged his face away from the crook of Raphael’s neck, his eyes red-rimmed, swollen, and glassy.His gaze flicked past Raphael’s shoulder, catching Liam standing stiffly at the mouth of the hallway."Liam..." Alex choked out, his voice raspy and shredded. He wiped a trembling, wet hand across his face, taking a half-step back from Raphael. "I'm... I'm so fucking sorry. I know this is—I didn't mean to intrude like this. I can just take the couch. Just for a few days, if you don't mind. I won't be in the way, I swear."Liam stared at him. His jaw locked so tight his back teeth throbbed.I do mind, Liam thought, the bitter string of words firing off in his head before he could filter it. I mind like hell. This is my place. This is our space.Every self-preservation instinct in his chest screamed at him to throw up the walls, to put a hard

CHAPTER 123The cold morning air cut sharp against Raphael’s throat as he turned the key in the deadbolt. He pushed the heavy front door open with his elbow, balancing a warm brown paper bag from the bakery against his chest.He was completely running on fumes. His lower back was stiff from spending the entire night on the hardwood floor beside the couch, his mind still heavy with the raw weight of Alex’s panic, the wet sobs against his neck, and the sudden tragedy of a mother gone too soon. Raphael pulled off his gloves, kicking the front door shut behind him and setting his keys on the entryway table.He walked down the short hallway into the kitchen, expecting the apartment to still be asleep.Instead, he walked straight into a thick, suffocating wall of silence.Liam was standing near the edge of the marble island, his hands jammed deep into his sweatpants pockets, staring down at the floorboards. On the other side of the counter stood Alex, holding a mug of coffee with both hands

CHAPTER 125Liam stood frozen near center ice, his hands tightening around his stick until the composite grip creaked under his gloves.Marcus’s head whipped toward the tunnel. The second his eyes landed on the pair, a wide, wicked grin spread across his face."Yo, Raph!" Marcus yelled across the silent arena, his voice booming off the rafters. "You brought your boyfriend with you?"Raphael’s body went instantly rigid. His dark eyes flicked nervously across the ice, locking onto Liam for a split second before he swung around to glare at Marcus."Marcus, shut up with your loud mouth," Raphael barked back, his voice low and laced with a tight edge. "He’s not my boyfriend."Marcus didn't take a single step backward. He glided closer to the boards, leaning his elbows on the glass with an amused smirk. "Well then who is he? And why is he here at a Wolves practice?"Raphael completely ignored the question. He dropped his gear bag onto the bench floor and stepped out onto the ice, gliding st

CHAPTER 127The ice went dead the second Big Mike spoke. Nobody tossed a puck, nobody scraped their skates, nobody said a fucking word. The guys just stood there sweating in the cold air, waiting for Liam to say something and end the misery.Liam didn't say a thing. He just threw his stick down and skated off without looking at a single face.That was sign enough that practice was over.In the locker room, it was dead silent. Usually, the guys would be yelling, throwing stinky socks, snapping towels, or blasting music. Today? Nada. They weren't even the locker room with him. They'd rushed through their showers and stormed out like they were being chased. Great job, Cap, Liam thought, staring at his own bare feet on the rubber floor. Top-tier leadership. You just screamed at your own squad for twenty minutes like a psychotic asshole because you were stupidly and unnecessarily jealous.He shoved his gear into his bag so hard his knuckles burned, pulled his jacket on, and practically sp

CHAPTER 129I didn't know how I ended up here.I just sat in the truck with the heater blasting hot air onto my face until my throat felt like sandpaper, staring through the windshield until the exit ramp appeared. I turned the wheel, killed the engine, and stepped out into the freezing wind.And now I was sitting on a cold, jagged rock at the edge of the riverbank near the diner.The same damn spot. We were just here. A couple of days ago, Raphael was standing right next to me, shoving his cold hands into my jacket pockets, laughing his stupid, deep laugh while we tossed stones into the water. Everything had been warm then. Everything had been perfect. Everything had felt so damn safe.Now? Nothing. It was just cold, grey water and a chest so hollow it felt like somebody had taken an axe to my ribs.I reached down, my cold fingers scraping through the frozen mud until I pulled up a flat, smooth slate stone. I wound my arm back and whipped it across the water.Skip. Skip. Skip. Skip.