Page 83 of Perfectly Faked

But today when I arrive home, there’s a heaviness I can’t shake when I see she’s not there. Hockey practice was brutal, and my head just wasn’t in it. Rourke seemed to notice and took full advantage, and Coach pushed me harder than usual. By the end, I was drained, both mentally and physically. I head to my bedroom, pulling out my phone to check if there’s a message from her.

Victoria

Wish me luck! I’m meeting Peter tonight to talk about what’s next since things have been going so well. Also, I might have found a new apartment to move into. Want to check it out with me later?

I don’t have the heart to tell her she might not need a new apartment, at least not if she’s moving to Seattle. All I know is that I don’t want her to stay because of me. She already sacrificed her own happiness to let me go once before, and it’s my turn to do the same for her.

I collapse onto the bed, pulling out the box I swore I wouldn’t open. Inside are two mismatched skates—one from my first pair of hockey skates, the other from her first pair of figure skates. They’re tied together with a ring I saved up for years ago, a simple diamond set in a gold band, back when I still believed that two stubbornly ambitious people could make this work.

I run my thumb over the ring as the memories come crashing back. She had tossed those skates one weekend when we were visiting her parents, back when she was at a low point in her career. I fished the skates out of the trash when she wasn’t looking, thinking that she shouldn’t give them up just because she was struggling.

I’d planned to give her the skates after her first big win, to remind her that some dreams are worth holding on to, no matterthe cost, and then I’d propose. But that moment never came. Two weeks later, she broke up with me without an explanation, and I shoved the box to the back of my closet, vowing to forget all about the plans I’d had for us.

But even though I couldn’t look at it, the box moved with me to every team, every new place. I couldn’t bring myself to let it go even though I vowed never to let myself get hurt this way again. And I learned a lesson that still haunts me now:People love you, then they leave you.

The front door slams, jarring me out of my thoughts.

“Leo!” Tate’s voice calls.

I barely have time to shut the box before his head pops into the room. “What are you doing?” he asks, his eyes landing on the box in my lap.

“Nothing,” I say, a little too quickly.

“Are those skates?” He steps inside my bedroom, studying the box.

“They’re Victoria’s,” I mutter.

“What’s Victoria’s?” Brax joins us, sinking onto the bed beside me.

“Nothing,” I snap, clutching the box against my chest. “Just old skates.”

Brax reaches for the lid. “What else is in there?”

I smack his hand away. “Leave it alone.”

Footsteps pound up the steps, and I already know what’s coming before Brendan, our conditioning coach for the Crushers, appears in my doorway with Lucian right behind him.

I didn’t stay for Brendan’s weight training session today, which means I’m about to get a lecture.Fantastic.Just what I need—a motivational speech when all I really want is to be left alone.

Brendan crosses his arms, studying me. “You missed weight training today, and you look miserable. What’s going on?”

“Nothing,” I say. “This is just my normal face.”

Tate smirks. “You mean your resting grump face?”

“For the last time, I’mnotgrumpy.”

“Liar,” Brax shoots back. “You’ve actually looked happy ever since you and Victoria announced you were dating... until now. And I think it has something to do with that box.”

“Guys,seriously?” I roll my eyes. “Can’t a man ponder the meaning of life without sharing it with the world?”

“Only Tate does that because he’sTate,” Lucian says, smacking his teammate on the back.

“Hey, I resent that!” Tate shoots back, crossing his arms.

Brendan sits on the other side of me. “Spill it. Whatever’s eating you will come out eventually, so you might as well tell us now.”

“Like you don’t have secrets?” I ask Brendan. “You’re pretty tight-lipped about things, especially your friend Scarlett, who we all know isnotjust a friend.”

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