Page 111 of Rival Darling

“You’ve got this, don’t you?” my brother asked as we went to join the rest of the team for our pregame pep talk.

“I’m fine.”

“You’re not acting fine.”

“Well, I am.” I glanced up at the crowd. It was stupid to think Violet might come after everything that had happened. But a part of me still stupidly hoped she showed. She hadn’t texted me back all week, and she’d dodged all of my calls. I considered showing up at her doorstep and begging her to reconsider, but I knew it was my over eagerness that had scared her away in the first place. I had no idea how to win her back. Maybe there was no way. All I did know was that standing here on the ice didn’t give me the same rush as usual because I knew it was part of the reason we weren’t together.

“You know she’s not coming,” Grayson said.

“I know.”

“And even if she were here, you’re not together anymore.”

“I know.”

“This is the most important game of the season. No one will stop us from winning the division if we beat Sunshine Prep. Not to mention, there could be scouts watching. And do I have to remind you that this is the Saints we’re playing. We can’t let them win.”

“I know.”

Grayson fell quiet as Coach Ray called for everyone’s attention, but I could see my brother’s focus wasn’t on Ray’s words. He continued to shoot me worried looks, and I knew I hadn’t done much to convince him I was okay. I’d never gone into a game with such a lack of focus before, and I needed to get my head in the right space fast because the first face-off was just a few minutes away.

Once Coach Ray had said his piece, we returned to the ice for the game. The division of red and gold in the stands couldn’t have been more obvious as I scanned the crowd. The rivalry between our teams was clear for all to see, and Grayson’s words rang in my ears. I knew how important this game was to everyone around me.

But as the first period got underway, I was still struggling to focus, and I was playing even worse than I had been in the warm-up. I fumbled the puck, my passes were off, and I ended up on my ass more times in the first few minutes than I usually did in entire games. It was a good thing the rest of my team was on point, because, right now, I was letting everyone down. Still, despite the urgent issue of my embarrassingly bad performance, I still found myself regularly glancing at the spectators, hoping to see a flash of red hair.

Parker scored a goal within the first ten minutes, and Matt added another before the first break. In the second period, the Saints improved significantly. My teammates were getting tired, probably from carrying me the entire first period, and Sunshine Prep scored two goals of their own, leaving the game tied. My shocking performance was summed up in the dying seconds of the period when I accidently passed the puck directly to Jeremy, giving him a free chance at a goal. He easily fired a shot past our goalie, putting Sunshine Prep ahead by one. As the siren blared around me and Saints players and fans celebrated, I could almost hear the collective groan of my teammates. We were losing, with one period to go, and it was all because of me.

My shoulders were hunched, and my head hung low as we skated from the ice at the end of the period, disappointment weighing heavily on me. This was the worst I’d played in a long time. I was letting myself down, my team down, and my school down. And I was already bracing myself for the grueling run that I would put myself through as punishment when the game was over.

“What the hell is going on out there?” Coach Ray demanded, falling into step beside me as I made my way to the locker room. There was a mix of concern, frustration, and disbelief in his hard eyes as he waited for my response.

I couldn’t give him a good answer, so I shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“You’ve been having the best season of your life until today. What’s changed?”

Everything had changed. But this wasn’t exactly the right time to delve into my relationship troubles, and Coach Ray was not the right person to do it with, so I remained silent.

“Look, Reed.” He put a firm hand on my shoulder and gripped it tightly. “I know you have a history with this team and their captain. But you can’t let it distract you. We need you at your best out there.”

“I know,” I grumbled. “I’ll try.” I was already trying as hard as I could. I just didn’t seem capable of my best today. But I had no choice other than to keep going.

“You’re our captain,” he finished. “Don’t let us down.”

As we returned to the ice for the third period, I wasn’t feeling any different. The “do better” lecture I’d received hadn’t sparked a fire in me like I was sure Coach was hoping, and even his dramatic team-rallying cry in the locker room hadn’t psyched me up. I took a few deep breaths and tried to calm my pounding heart and relax my chest as I skated to center ice. My team needed me to sort myself out. All I had to do was hold it together for twenty minutes. I could fall apart again after the game.

I repeated that mantra over and over in my head, and just when I started to think it might be working, one of the Saints players knocked his shoulder into mine.

“Watch it,” I growled. Of course, it was Hoffman.

“You’ve been terrible today,” he said with a smirk.

“You’re only up by one goal.”

“Yeah, because of you.” He laughed. “Thanks for passing me the puck by the way. Easiest goal I’ve ever scored. I’m surprised your teammates didn’t leave you in the locker room for the third period.”

“You wish.”

“What’s up with you today, anyway,” he continued. “I hope there’s not something wrong with you and Violet?” He lifted his head to glance around at the cheering crowd. “I haven’t seen her up in the stands. Is there trouble in paradise?”

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