Page 76 of Cold Front
I squeezed his hands. “That doesn’t mean you’re not trying hard enough.”
He finally met my eyes, something raw and vulnerable in his gaze. “Last semester was a disaster. I flunked Stats, Marketing Principles, and barely scraped by in Accounting. If it weren’t for Dr. Matthews—my therapist—I wouldn’t even be here. She pulled strings, made calls, got me this apartment, and gave me a shot at salvaging my GPA while on academic probation.”
My chest ached. “Niall…”
He swallowed, rubbing a hand over his chest. “After my parents died, I threw myself into hockey. It was the only thing that made sense. The only thing I could control. But last year…” He shook his head. “I burned out. It hit me all at once, and I didn’t know how to handle it. I got injured, I was exhausted, and suddenly, I couldn’t keep everything together anymore. My grades tanked, and it was like…everything I ignored for years finally caught up with me.”
His voice was steady, but I could see the cracks underneath, the weight of everything he probably never let himself say out loud. My throat tightened.
I cupped his face, thumbs brushing against the sharp edges of his jaw. “You don’t have to do this alone anymore, you know.”
He let out a breath, closing his eyes for a second before looking at me again. “I know.”
And I felt like he actually believed it. But I also knew belief didn’t erase years of habit.
I ran my fingers through his hair, soft and a little damp from the shower he must have taken after practice. “You always think you have to carry everything yourself.”
His lips parted like he wanted to argue, but he didn’t. He just exhaled, dropping his forehead to mine. “It’s not like people haven’t tried to help. I just…” His hands curled into the fabric of my hoodie like he needed something to hold on to. “I didn’t know how to let them.”
God, I wanted to take his pain and carry it for him. But that wasn’t how this worked.
“Well,” I murmured, running my fingers along the nape of his neck, “you’re gonna have to get used to it. Because I’m here. And I’m not going anywhere.”
He huffed a quiet laugh, but when he lifted his head, there was something so open in his expression that it made my chest ache all over again. “You’re really something else, you know that?”
“Obviously.” I grinned, but my voice was softer than usual because he was looking at me like I was something steady, something real. And maybe that wasn’t something he’d had in a long time.
A beat of silence passed between us, and then he exhaled again, slower this time. “I hated feeling like I was failing.”
“You weren’t failing, Niall.”
He gave me a look, likeseriously?
I sighed, pulling back just enough to meet his gaze fully. “Okay, maybe your grades were. But that wasn’t because you weren’t capable. You were dealing with so much, and you never let yourself breathe.”
His throat bobbed. “Yeah.”
“I know what it’s like to pretend you’re fine just so no one worries.” My voice was quieter now. “To tell yourself you’ve got it handled even when it’s all crumbling.”
Niall’s fingers brushed against my side, just barely. “Yeah?”
I nodded. “But you don’t have to do that with me.”
A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips. “I have a handle on Marketing Principles now. Getting that A in our group project with you and Asher was a good thing. Maybe I can turn things around.”
I grinned. “Youwillturn things around. And guess what?”
He raised a brow. “What?”
“I took Stats. And I’m officially offering my services as your personal tutor.”
His expression softened. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. But first—” I poked his chest. “I’m feeding my boyfriend.”
His grip on my waist tightened, his lips curling into something warm and adoring. “Boyfriend, huh?”
I blinked, heat creeping up my neck. “I mean—unless you changed your?—”
