Chapter 7

Stephanie

I look for something to throw at him and come up empty. From the look on his face, he knows it. His grin widens. “This is all your fault,” I grind out.

He cocks his head to the side. “Is it, though? Or is it your fault for not being nice to me to begin with and not giving me a chance?” I am literally incapable of words. I glare at him, because that’s all I can manage at the moment. “What do you think? Want to come to a game?”

“I’d rather jab a fork in my eye,” I return.

He grimaces. “Ew. That’s...yeah...Anyway, I told my family about you. They know to expect you. Your seat will be with them.” I literally can’t form a word. He takes a step back. “I gotta run, or I’m going to be late. But it was good seeing you, Teach. As always. You look gorgeous today.” He takes a few more steps backwards. Right before he turns the corner, he stops. “Oh, and they think I’m going to marry you,” he adds.

I’m absolutely thunderstruck. “Who?”

“My family,” he says nonchalantly, like it’s no big deal.

“What? How can...Why?” I finally settle on.

He shrugs. “Because that’s what I told them.” He winks at me and disappears around the corner. I close my eyes and try to take a deep breath. “Oh, and one more thing.” I whirl around at the sound of his voice. “I think we should have a special sign between us when I do something amazing on the ice like score.”

I shake my head. “No.”

“Maybe like I make an S for Stephanie.” He does something with his fingers, and I just shake my head because I can’t even with him. “Or maybe like a sign or something.” I turn back to Chloe. “I’ve got it!” He startles me. “I’ll point to my ring finger.” He nods. “Yep. That’s what I’ll do.” He disappears for the second time; I’m hoping he stays gone this time.

“All right,” Chloe says in a voice that makes me want to grind my teeth. “So, let’s get you a ticket to the next—”

“No. No, no, no. Absolutely, freaking not,” I tell her, spinning around.

Her eyes widen. “Well, that wasn’t dramatic,” she says under her breath.

And with that, I’m done. “I saw what you did to Brielle and Aiden. I’m not going down that path.”

“You’re overreacting. Besides, it won’t be like that.”

I roll my eyes. “Sure, it won’t.”

“Look, you called and asked for my help. I’m trying to help, but you’re being difficult.”

I rub my forehead, hoping it will keep me from bursting out into hysterical laughter. Because...right. It’s me. “I need to get back to my class.”

“Just go to a game, Stephanie,” she says, using my first name for the first time. “It’s just a game. We’ll get pictures and go from there.”

Absolutely worn out, I sigh. “Fine. When?”

She taps on her phone, swiping on something. “Tuesday night.”

I don’t let myself think. “Fine.”

“I’ll make sure a ticket is at the front office.”

“I can get my own ticket,” I tell her tersely.

She gives me an exasperated look. “Oh. My bad. I forgot that you know where Sebastian’s family sits and will know what seat to get and what to do if one is not available near them.”

I bite my tongue so I don’t respond to her flippant attitude. I take a deep breath. Even though the words nearly kill me, I ask, “Will you please get me a ticket then?”

She smiles brightly. “Sure, Stephanie. I would be happy to get a ticket for you. Anything else I can do for you?”

Suddenly, I feel exhausted. “Thank you.”

She nods and works on her phone. A few minutes later, she looks up. “You’re good to go. Your ticket will be at the box office Tuesday night.”

I nod. “Thanks.” Without another word, I walk towards my classroom. I step into my classroom and glance at the clock. Ten minutes. That’s all I have to endure until this terrible day is done. I don’t even bother teaching because my class is way too keyed up at having had Sebastian Hart visit our class. I let it go; I”m not really in the mood to teach anyway. “Be ready for a quiz on your reading on Monday,” I call out as my students pack up and head out.

I sit at my desk a moment later and wonder if it’s even worth working when my mind is such a hot mess. I decide to just pack up and head home. I need to clear my head anyway. On my way out the door, I text Brielle, so she knows I’m leaving. I’m almost to the front door of the school when I hear her voice behind me. “Stephanie.”

I turn and wait for her to catch up. “Were you going to try and navigate that crowd by yourself?” she asks with wide eyes.

I glance out and grimace. “It’s fine. I just need to get to my car.”

Brielle nods. “Okay. Let’s do it.”

We open the front door and begin the walk to the parking lot. It only takes me a few seconds to realize this was a bad idea, a really bad idea. We get surrounded on all sides. We try to push forward through the crowd but don’t make any traction. I grab Brielle’s hand, and we push through the crowd, ignoring people shouting at us. I feel like it’s going to be okay, when suddenly, Brielle is shoved into me. Hard. We both stumble but manage to keep moving. Using all my strength, I force our way through the crowd.

Somehow, we make it to my car. I don’t even bother looking for Brielle’s car. “Get in,” I shout. I climb into the front seat and slam my door behind me, locking it. She does the same. I throw my bag at her and start the car and pull out a second later. “Hang on,” I tell her. I make my way through the parking lot as fast as I dare.

It’s only when we’re out on the main road that I finally look over at her. “Are you okay?” my voice is hoarse. She nods, but she looks shaken. “Brielle?”

“I’m fine.” She winces and turns her arm over.

“What’s wrong?” I ask.

“My glucose reader got knocked, and I’m no longer getting a number.” She sighs. “I’ll get a new one when I get home.”

Silence settles in the car, and I’m filled with guilt. “I’m sorry, Bri. I should have waited for somebody to walk us out.”

“This is not your fault, Stephanie,” she says, but her words don’t make me feel any less guilty. “I’m serious, Steph. It’s not your fault. None of this.” She sounds almost angry, and that’s not her at all. “Those people are ridiculous. This is absolutely out of control. I’m going to talk to Aiden; something needs to be done.” She shakes her head. Before I can say anything, her phone rings. “Hey, Handsome.” I stay quiet while she talks to Aiden. “Yeah. It got knocked out; that’s why you’re not getting any numbers.” I can tell she glances at me, but I don’t respond. “Aiden, the whole thing is out of control.” She goes on to explain what just happened, and even I cringe upon hearing it. I know Aiden is not going to be happy; he’s a little protective of Brielle. Okay, he’s a lot protective of her. Brielle turns to me. “I don’t know. Let me ask.” She gives me an apologetic look. “Do you mind taking me back for my car so I can drive to Aiden; he...” She pauses. “I’m sure they won’t still be there, Aiden,” she says.

I’m already turning. “I’ll take you to him.”

She’s still on the phone. “No, I...okay. Okay. She’s bringing me to you. I’ll be there in about an hour. Yeah...okay. Love you too.” She hangs up and looks over at me. “I’m sorry. I know this is not how you wanted to spend your Friday night. You can take me back to my car.”

“It’s fine, Bri,” I glance at my friend quickly. ”You’d do the same for me, right?” She nods. “It’s fine.” We’re both quiet as we begin the commute into the city. I turn on the radio and try to relax. She’s right; this is not at all how I wanted to spend my Friday night. But seeing as it’s my fault that she got hurt in the first place, it’s only right that I do this. “They don’t have a game tonight, right?”

“No, they had meetings or something today; so their practice is tonight.”

“That’s good. At least we don’t have to deal with the crowds tonight,” I say, trying to be upbeat.

“Yeah, no more crowds today,” she says with a shudder.

“I’m so sorry, Brielle.”

“Stop apologizing, Steph. It’s not your fault.”

Though I feel like it is, I don’t say anything else. We’re both quiet as we make the trip to their practice arena. Brielle’s ID pass that Aiden got her gets us past security and into the parking lot where I pull up to the curb to let Brielle off. She waves me on. “I’ll just walk with you.”

“I was just going to stay in the car,” I tell her.

She faces me. “No, you’re not. Aiden will want to see that you’re okay too.”

“It’s cute that you think he sees anybody but you.”

She shakes her head. “Come on. Park and we can go in.” I’m too tired to argue, so I park in one of the closest spots. I climb out of the car. “Bri!” I walk over to her and stare at the scratch across her cheek. “Did that happen when you got pushed?”

She puts her hand on it and scowls. “Yeah. Those idiots.” I open my mouth to apologize. “Don’t say it, Steph. You look just as bad, you know.”

“Thanks, Bestie.” I follow Brielle into the building, not particularly looking forward to what’s coming. Aiden is going to lose his mind when he sees Brielle.

It takes us a few minutes to make it through the large building and into the arena. When we get inside, I shiver and wish I would have left my jacket on. I took it off because I got warm in the car. Now, I’m just wearing a short-sleeved blouse—not one of my brightest moments. Iforget how cold they keep it in here because of the ice. We walk down the steps towards the ice where you can’t hear much over the shouting and the scraping of skates against the ice. Aiden sees us coming and immediately changes direction. He comes to a stop, his eyes locked on Brielle. I watch as his eyes scan over her face, and his scowl deepens. Before he says anything, Sebastian skates over to us and stops next to Aiden.

He takes in Brielle’s face and then turns to me. “What happened to you two?”

I laugh. I can’t help it. “What happened? What happened, Sebastian, is that we had a run-in with all those idiots at my school that you sent there!”

Aiden and Brielle move away from us, and I’m left with Sebastian. Weariness overtakes me. “Just go back to your practice.” I go to turn away, when a hand on my forearm stops me.

“Stephanie.” Sebastian’s tone is serious. “Did they do this to you?”

I see him looking at my arm, and I rotate it so I can see what he’s looking at. There’s already a bruise forming on my arm. “What about ‘we had a run-in with the idiots at our school’ didn’t you understand, Sebastian?” I try to pull my arm out of his grasp, but he doesn’t let me.

“What happened?” he asks again. I glance up at his face because he doesn’t sound how he usually sounds. In fact, there’s not an ounce of a smile on his face right now. He looks hard. And mad. And that’s not a look I’ve ever seen on him before.