Page 69 of On Thin Ice

RainbowSlapsh0t: Bro, just come out already. It’s 2025. No one cares.

Heat surged under my skin, so intense it felt like it might boil me alive from the inside out. The metallic taste of fear flooded my mouth as my stomach flipped violently. The words blurred, black dots skittering across my vision, but it didn’t matter. I couldn’t unsee it. Couldn’tunknowit. The comments were permanently burned into my retinas.

I felt Bell shift beside me, felt him watching me, but I couldn’t look at him. If I did, I would shatter right here in Dante’s fucking office.

For a moment, everything went silent—the only sound was the thundering of my pulse in my ears—then I shoved my chair back with a violent scrape, the legs catching on the carpet. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Dante stiffen, her head tilting just slightly as Bell reached for me, his hand brushing my arm.

“Ethan,” he said, voice low, careful, his fingers trembling slightly as they hovered over my arm.

I spun away from him so hard that I nearly stumbled. “Don’t touch me,” I snapped. “Not here.”

Bell scrambled to his feet, his face draining of color and his mouth forming a shocked ‘O’ before it pressed into a tight line. “Wait, please.”

“Don’t.” The word ripped from my throat, rough and broken.

Please don’t touch me, I begged silently.

Not where they could see. Not where they would guess.

A harsh, broken sound tore free from somewhere deep in my chest. I shoved the door open hard enough that it banged against the wall, the vibration rattling the framed team photo nearby.

As I stumbled into the hallway, I caught a glimpse of a startled intern flattening himself against the opposite wall, coffee sloshing over the rim of his cup. I pushed past him, head down, legs moving faster with each step, like I could outrun the anger and paranoia clawing up my spine.

CHAPTER16

I shifted restlessly on the couch, the TV flickering in the dark living room. I wasn’t even watching it, just letting the noise fill the vacant space in my head. My foot tapped an uneven rhythm against the coffee table leg, making the abandoned water glass there ripple and catch the light from the screen.

Every so often, my eyes moved to the door, waiting for it to open. Waiting for him to come home.

Midnight came and went.

Fuck him, I told myself.He can stay out all night for all I care.

I wasn’t his boyfriend. I wasn’t even really his friend. Just the teammate he fucked when the lights went out at night.

As the neighborhood grew increasingly quiet, every sound from the street made me flinch. Every car door slamming made my heart jump into my throat.

You’re pathetic.

The TV droned on, filling the room with a low, meaningless hum. I couldn’t even remember what I’d put on. I just needed the noise to keep me from thinking.

It didn’t work.

Every few minutes, I picked up my phone and checked it. Nothing—no text, no call.

I thumbed over to TikTok and swiped mindlessly, not seeing a thing.

Eventually, I tossed my phone onto the table and scrubbed my hands over my face. Flopped down onto my back and draped my arm over my eyes.

Where the fuck was he?

When the door finally clicked open, I pushed up onto my elbows and forced a smile onto my face. But the second Ethan stepped inside, that smile dropped.

He looked wrecked. His shoulders were tight—well, tighter than usual—and even from twenty feet away, I could smell the reek of alcohol wafting off him.

I stayed where I was, simply watching him. I didn’t know what to say. Honestly, I wasn’t sure if I was even allowed to say anything at all.

I might be young, but I wasn’t stupid. I knew what was happening.

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