Page 44 of Ice-Cold Obsession

We lost.

I skate off the ice, relieved, but hating every second of it.

The team is quiet in the locker room. No one’s yelling or saying anything. They’re just staring at the floor, their faces blank.

Zyair’s shoulders are slumped, and he’s staring at his hands like he can’t believe what just happened. Taj is shaking his head, his jaw tight. Cory is leaning back against his locker with his eyes closed.

I hate seeing them like this and knowing that I’m responsible. They trusted me, and I had to stab them in the back.

After I shower and change, I head out to the hallway. Scarlett’s waiting for me and leaning against the wall, her expression unreadable.

“What happened out there?” she asks.

“Bad day.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. That happens sometimes.”

She studies me, her eyes narrowing slightly. “You didn’t seem like yourself.”

“I wasn’t feeling it today.”

My phone buzzes in my pocket. I pull it out and glance at the screen.

Alley. Now.

Scarlett bumps into me, and the phone slips from my hand. She bends down and picks it up before I can stop her.

“Hey—” I reach for it, but she’s already looking at the screen.

I snatch it back from her, my heart pounding. Did she see something? Did she read the text?

“I need to go,” I say.

“Now? After the game? Where?”

“To handle something.”

“Gabriel, I’m your girlfriend. You can tell me.”

“It’s just a friend who urgently needs some meds.”

“What? Who?”

“I don’t have time.” I turn and head for the door.

“Gabriel!”

I don’t look back. I just keep moving, my mind racing. How am I going to explain this later? What do I even say?

I’m exhausted. They’re always expecting me to come whenever they want. And they don’t want to just send me everything in a text because they don’t want any proof lying around. I’m sick and tired of pretending I’m okay when I’m not.

But it’s not like I can do anything about it.

Chapter 26

SCARLETT