Page 28 of Off The Ice

My phone buzzed, and when I saw whose name was flashing on the screen, my heart raced.

Mom.

I didn’t have it in me to answer. I’d have to tell her about the breakup, and I wasn’t in the right state of mind yet to hear her lecture me about how stupid I’d been to stay with the guy for so long when clearly he didn’t want to marry me if it had taken six years of him trying to make his mind up.

I couldn’t bear to sink any lower than I already was. Never mind what she’d say about me living with some hockey player I didn’t know. For years, she’d begged me to move back home with her, but the time I had spent there had been enough to last a lifetime. There wasn’t anything that could make me go back. Not when I finally knew what it was to have peace of mind away from her.

There it was. The pang of guilt that always followed when I rejected the call. Plus, the knot of anxiety because I knew ignoring her would be so much worse than just dealing with her.

I stared at my phone as if it were a bomb about to go off, and then it happened.

The texts started pouring in.

Selfish. Ungrateful. You’ll miss me when I’m gone.And a dozen other messages of similar sentiment, the wording getting more colorful with each message that came through.

I inhaled a shaky breath, hating the way my body still tensed in fear despite her being miles away from me.

I muted the message thread with her, knowing that they’d just keep coming for the rest of the night, and I went to make dinner.

Correction: Itriedto make dinner. But one wiggle of the doorknob told me that I’d messed up spectacularly.

“No, no, no, no, no, no.” I shook my head, willing it not to be true as I frantically twisted the handle back and forth to no avail.

“Are you kidding me!” I groaned, staring up at the ceiling helplessly.

“Uh,” A voice called from down the hall, alerting me to the fact that I was not alone. “Excuse me, but you can’t be here. This building is residents only.”

I looked over to see a middle-aged woman popping her head out of an apartment a few doors down.

“I’m staying here,” I told her, figuring it would be enough to satisfy her confusion and send her back on her way.

“Uh, huh.” She nodded skeptically. “Sure, you are.”

She didn’t believe me?I stared at her, dazed, wondering why she was staring me down as if I were some type of criminal. Surely, she’d heard of the concept of people having guests? Then I realized Iwasfrantically trying a doorknob that wasn’t working, looking more than slightly demented as I tried to get it to open without a key.

“Really,” I told her. “I’m staying here. This is Liam Brynn’s apartment,” I offered, hoping that providing some informationmight show her that I wasn’t some random person trying to break into an apartment.

“I don’t doubt that you know whose apartment it is.” She snickered. “They all do. But really, he’s just a nice young man who wants his privacy, and I think it’s despicable that you girls won’t leave him alone.”

She shook her head, her eyes showering me with buckets of disappointment, the likes of which could rival even my mother.

“What?” I said, my voice bordering on screech-like, “You think I’m trying to, what? Stalk Liam?”

“It’s not the first time, and it won’t be the last, unfortunately.” She shook her head sadly. “Now, you get out of here before I call security.”

I blanched, panicked by her words. Without the key, I didn’t have any other proof that I was actually staying there, and I was horrified at the prospect of being thrown out onto the streets, barred from entry to the place I’d be living for the next few weeks.

“No, honestly. I’m staying here. As his guest. I just locked myself out two minutes ago. That’s why it looks like—” I trailed off, staring down at my hands, which admittedly looked guilty as they still were latched onto the handle that would refuse to give way.

“Liam never lets women into his apartment,” she said adamantly, her eyes narrowed on me as if the more I said, the guiltier I looked. “No one except his sister, and you’re not her.”

“Right!” I said, latching onto her words, my demeanor desperate. “His sister! Maggie. She’s my friend! That’s how I know Liam. I’m friends with Maggie, so he’s letting me stay here because he has the room!” I scrambled to explain.

Knowing it might be the only proof I had, I picked up my phone and called her, thanking God when she picked up.

“Maggie!” I cried out manically, pressing the button to put her on speakerphone.

“Hi, Cass,” she said, her voice sounding a little scared. “You good?”

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