Page 16 of Beautiful Collide

He’s being nice and trying to make me feel better about this mess. I appreciate it, but I can’t help my anger. It simmers within me, just below the surface.

You can’t afford to lose your cool, Wilde.

I feel like I’ve been suspended in time.

The weight of Molly’s lie bears down on me, heavier than the thick air in that closet we just escaped. I replay the past two hours in my head, searching for something I missed. A signal. A reason. Anything that explains why she didn’t back me up. But no matter how many times I try to make sense of it, the outcome doesn’t change.

She lied.

She lied, and there’s nothing I can do to undo the fallout.

This is not how I wanted to start my professional career. As the resident bad boy. Late, undisciplined, and prone to skirt chasing.

My reputation is fucked.

There’s no sweet-talking my way out of this. Not with Dane. Not with the team. And definitely not with Coach Robert. They’ve already written my story for me. The new guy who showed up late and caused a scene, probably thinking his talent is enough to carry him.

But that’s not me. Not really. Sure, I’m confident in my skills—I have to be—but I’ve spent years proving I’m more than just a kid with a quick stick. Now, with one mistake—one lie—all my hard work is slipping through my fingers.

It’s a hard pill to swallow.

It lodges in my throat, choking me with the bitter taste of frustration. I don’t just feel misunderstood. I feel betrayed.

I thought Molly and I had something.

I glance at the door Molly walked through, her silence still ringing louder than any accusation Dane threw at me. She left me to take the fall. And for what? To hide something? To protect herself? It’s not like we did anything wrong.

My jaw clenches as my mind spirals into questions I don’t have answers to.

“Rough first day, huh?”

The question startles me out of my reverie. It came from our center, Aiden Slate, which is almost as shocking as this whole debacle. The man has a reputation for being silent. One time, he managed to field questions at a press conference without a single word.

“Don’t worry about it.” Aiden wipes something off his laces, rubbing until his skates are shiny enough to reflect light. “Coach benched Wolfe three games for missing warm-ups last season. He starts now.”

I suit up as fast as I can, knowing there’s no chance in hell I’ll actually be allowed on the ice. “Three games?”

“Well, he missed warm-upsandcalled Coach ‘Gramps.’”

Coach barrels out of his office, where he dipped in to retrieve his clipboard, and stops just long enough to bark at me again.

“Enough of this. Don’t bother getting changed. You’re sitting this one out.” He pivots to the doorway, calling over his shoulder. “You better not make this a habit, or I might decide you’re more useful as a benchwarmer.”

4

Hudson

The air feelsheavy with anticipation.

This isn’t just another game.

It’smygame.

My first as a Redville Saint. My first shot at proving I belong here.

I’ve spent the past few days replaying every moment of that disastrous first game in my head.

The closet fiasco. The late arrival. Molly’s silence. Dane’s anger. Coach’s barely concealed irritation.

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