Page 103 of Face Off
“Cheers, Soph,” I mutter, ducking my head, but there’s no venom in her voice. Just her usual bite.
Chloe squeezes my hand once before slipping away to help Mia unpack more food in the kitchen. I hover near the sofa, trying not to limp too obviously.
Lila spots me before anyone else does. She wriggles free from Maya’s lap and barrels straight at me. “Ollie!” she squeals, climbing straight onto me before I can brace. “You’re here!”
Her little arms wrap tight around my neck, and I can’t help the laugh that bursts out of me. I shift her carefully onto my lap.
“You’re supposed to be in bed,” I tease.
She shakes her head, curls bouncing. “Nope. Uncle Murphy said I can stay up cos it’s a party.”
Murphy groans from across the room. “Traitor.”
“Part of the family now,” Lila announces loudly, patting my chest with both hands. “You’re ours.”
The room stills for half a second, then erupts in laughter. Even Sophie cracks a smile, muttering, “Guess that settles it.”
My face burns, but the warmth that spreads through my chest is something else entirely. Belonging. It sneaks up on me, sharp and fierce.
The night goes on in a blur of noise and food. Jacko shoves biscuits into everyone’s hands. Dylan tries to start a drinking game, only for Mia to swat him down with a glare sharp enough to kill. Murphy hovers close to Sophie, and for once he isn’t circling me with barbed comments. He even raises his glass halfway through and says, “Here’s to sticking it out. To graft. To… family, I guess.”
It’s awkward, stilted, but it’s something.
Sophie snorts. “Christ, Murph, don’t go soft on us. If anyone starts singing kumbaya, I’m leaving.”
The room laughs again, tension dissolving, and for a while it feels almost normal. Like we’re what we used to be — a unit. Once Murphy stops trying to make speeches he saunters over to Chloe and I. It’s unassuming and awkward as we both stiffen our shoulders. Murphy tops up our glasses and then does something I never expected. He apologises. “Look, I know I’ve been a dick. I know I took it too far but I am sorry. I can see you two have a… thing, now. And I respect that. So anyway, I just wanted to say I’m sorry, and you’ll hear nothing more from me.” Chloe’s mouth opens and shuts, no words forming. I glance down at Murphy’s outstretched hand and debate not taking it, but something in me tells me it’s time. I grasp his hand and give him a brief nod.
As apologies go, it’s not huge. But it feels that way.
As the chaos dies down and Chloe and I finally slip out, the night air is cool against my overheated skin. We walk in silence to my flat, her arm hooked through mine. My hip groans with every step, but I keep moving.
Inside, I collapse onto the sofa, stretching my leg out with a moan. Chloe drops beside me, tucking her feet up, her gaze steady on mine.
“You were quiet tonight,” she says softly.
“Just tired.”
She doesn’t buy it, of course. She never does.
I scrub a hand over my face. “Coach said my contract’s not in danger. That if I keep fighting, I’ll be fine. But,”
“But you don’t believe him?” she finishes.
I shake my head. “Not fully. Not yet. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. Either with the team, or with your dad.”
Her face softens, and she reaches for my hand, threading her fingers through mine. “He doesn’t get to decide this for us. Not anymore.”
I squeeze back, hard. “The team doesn’t know, Chloe. About him. About you being…”
“I know,” she interrupts gently. “And they don’t need to. Not yet. Not ever, if I can help it. This is about you and them. About hockey. Not him.”
Her words should soothe me, but the unease still curls deep in my gut. I’ve spent weeks clawing my way back into this team, into this family. If the truth about Chloe’s dad explodes, it could all burn again.
I lean into her touch anyway, pressing my forehead to hers. “I just want to play. I just want to belong.”
“You do,” she whispers. “More than you realise.”
And in that moment, with her hand tight in mine and her eyes steady, I almost believe her.
