Page 36 of Break The Ice

The team is behind us, and I can almost feel their eyes bugging out of their sockets. We’ve made it a point of keeping our living situation and anything else off the ice and out of the stadium.

He stays tense in my arms, breathing hard, not saying a word, but I can feel the pain pouring off him. The problem with us is we live and breathe the ice. Our entire being is devoted to this game. Who are we without it? I don’t need bonds to understand how he’s feeling. His pain is mine. It’s the teams.

I don’t know that anyone else would understand just how much this would hurt him but us.

He trembles in my arms, and I find myself doing something I’d sworn I would never do again. Protecting someone, shielding them. Caring far too fucking much.

“Raider’s being benched for the rest of the season.” Coach says the words like he’s announcing someone’s death.

In a way, he is.

The instant uproar from the team makes me feel a bit better.

“What the fuck? Why would you bench him? He’s our best defense?” Yasiv snarls. The tall forward takes an aggressive step towards the coach.

The support staff line up behind our coach, a show of support. I can tell they don’t agree either, but we follow the coach. That’s the hierarchy of the game.

But the team follows the captain.

Ramirez stands up, glaring at the coach. “You’re going to nuke our season? Because Typhor Raines told you to?”

I jolt and try to cover my surprise. Well, I hadn’t been aware the team had heard the rumours. I guess the arguments hadn’t been as behind closed doors as the staff would like.

“No, I’m saving our team.”

“You sold us out. You sold out the team,” Ramirez says coldly back.

I’m still learning about Ramirez, but the way he isn’t backing down and is protecting Raider makes me glad I came here. He’s an excellent captain.

Coach Smith glares around at all of us. “You’re hockey players. We play to win. I made the best decision for the team. Get out there on the ice and win this game.”

Everyone stands there for long, pregnant moments before they reluctantly move.

“That means you, too, Turner!” Coach Smith roars.

I turn, growling, my eyes narrowed.

“Wren, go,” Raider says faintly. The air is sour around him, and I hate this. I needto fix it.

I do not take my eyes off the coach. He takes a step back before he can help himself. I reluctantly let go of Raider, grab my stick, and walk out on my skates, ignoring the coach like he isn’t even there.

“Raines, on the bench.”

I stop and turn back. Fury blazing through me. “Excuse me?”

The coach flushes and looks down. “He needs to sit on the bench. Every game.”

“He can stay in the locker room!”

“I’M THE COACH, TURNER!”

Raider kicks off his skates, pulls off his jumper, and hurls it into the locker. He rips off the pads and then stalks out, dressed only in the undershirt and shorts he wears under his gear. I fall into step with him as we walk into the stands and into our team bench. The crowd is roaring, the green-coloured jumpers look like an ocean.

I never get used to seeing it, but today, I can’t even focus on it.

Raider goes up to the bench and sits down, folding his arms and looking pissed off. I hesitate a moment, but what can I do right now? I step onto the ice, regret and rage making my blood thump hard.

I lift my stick up as I skate around the ice. The crowd roars, but I can see the attention isn’t on us or the ice.

---