Chapter 16 Mad
Ava Reed
The rink was cold, but I barely noticed. I had my arms crossed, as my fingers grip my sides while I watched Liam push himself too damn hard. He was skating drills, repeating the same move over and over. A sharp pivot, then a slap shot. But every time he tried to make the turn at full speed, his knee gave out, sending him crashing onto the ice, hard.
The first fall made me wince. The second made me concerned. But the third, the third just pissed me off.
Not a single person moved. Not his teammates. Not my dad. No one. They just watched him like this was normal, like it was okay for him to keep getting up, pain radiating from his body, only to fall again.
I gritted my teeth and stormed toward the edge of the rink.
“Don’t,” my dad said, barely glancing at me as he stood with his arms crossed. “Let him be.”
“Let him be? He’s hurting himself.” I scoffed.
“He needs to push through it, plus he never listens to anyone.”
I clenched my jaw, barely restraining the scream that was already bubbling in my throat. It was the same old bullshit. ‘Push through the pain.’ ‘Suck it up.’ ‘Be a man.’ But I wasn’t built to sit back and watch someone self-destruct just because people expected it.
So I ignored my dad, as usual.
Stepping onto the ice, I made my way to Liam as he struggled to get up again. His breath came in heavy puffs, with his jaw clenched tight in frustration. His stick was laying abandoned a few feet away and his gloves were now soaking wet from slamming against the ice too many times.
“Liam,” I said firmly as I reached him. “That’s enough.”
He didn’t even look at me. “Get off the ice, Snowflakes.” He whispered darkly, barely even looking at me
“You need to take it easy.” I rolled my eyes at the nickname, not in the mood for his bullshit.
“No.” His voice was rough and stubborn.
He reached for his stick, preparing to try again. What is wrong with him?
“Liam, you’re going to…” I grabbed his arm.
“Don’t,” he snapped, jerking away from me. “I said I’ve got it.” He barked
His knee buckled the moment he tried to stand fully, and I instinctively reached for him.
That was a mistake. A big fucking mistake
Because the second my hands touched him, he shoved me back.
Not hard, but hard enough.
The rink was silent. Dead silent.
My heart slammed into my ribs, embarrassment and fury tangling together in my chest.
“Did you just push me?” My voice came out sharp, cutting through the thick air between us.
Liam’s face was unreadable, but his hands curled into fists at his sides.
“You need to learn how to stay out of my business.”
I let out a bitter laugh, shaking my head. The freaking guts of this fool
“You’re unbelievable. You’re acting like a stubborn, immature asshole, and for what? To prove some bullshit point that you can push past your limits? Well, congratulations, Liam. You’re failing.”
His nostrils flared.
“I don’t need that crap from you, Ava.”
“No,” I shot back. “You need a damn reality check.”
I could feel my dad’s eyes on me. The whole damn team was staring. But I didn’t care. My blood was boiling too hot for that.
“If you want to ruin yourself, go ahead,” I continued, voice sharp. “But don’t expect me to watch. I didn’t sign up to watch someone destroy themselves just because they’re too stubborn to listen to reason.”
Liam’s jaw clenched, his blue eyes burning into mine.
“Maybe I should just get another job,” I muttered. “Because clearly, you don’t actually want my help. Maybe when you fall a million times, your body will miraculously start working”
I turned on my heel and skated off the ice, head held high even as my stomach twisted. I refused to let him see how much his reaction hurt.
The moment I stepped back onto solid ground, I heard a loud clank! behind me. Liam had thrown his stick across the ice.
Good. Let him be mad.
Because I sure as hell was.