Rhys

The second period ended with the score still locked at zero, and the frustration was already starting to settle deep in my bones.

No matter how hard we pushed ourselves out there, we just couldn’t seem to break through the Bears’ defense.

Their positions kept changing every few minutes, making it almost impossible to predict where the openings would be, and Damian was everywhere at once — blocking passing lanes, forcing turnovers, and generally making it feel like we were skating uphill the entire time.

By the time we entered the third period, the game was still sitting at 0-0.

This felt like our last real chance to avoid heading into overtime, but every time we managed to get near their net, either our shots were sailing wide or their goalie swallowed them up without much trouble.

Everything about tonight felt off, like the universe was conspiring against us. The brutal back-to-back practices we’d been running all week, the strange distance that had grown between Kayden and me lately, and Damian’s constant presence on the ice like some kind of ghost I couldn’t shake no matter how hard I tried.

My head was spinning with all of it, but none of those things quite explained why I was falling apart out here on the ice, why my legs felt heavier than usual and my focus kept slipping at the worst possible moments. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"Rhys!" Kayden’s voice suddenly cut through the noise of the crowd and the scraping of skates as he flew past me in a blur of motion.

I sucked in a sharp breath, dug my skates hard into the ice, and pushed forward with everything I had to catch up to him.

He was already closing in fast on one of Southbridge’s defensemen, positioning himself perfectly to shut down the play.

Without thinking twice, I lowered my shoulder and delivered a solid hit that sent a deep, jarring thud echoing against the boards.

The impact rattled through my entire body, but Kayden was right there beside me in an instant, scooping up the loose puck and passing to Jaxson.

We worked together like we had done so many times in practice — our blades slicing across the ice in perfect sync, our sticks moving in that familiar coordinated dance as we completely shut down their momentum and prevented them from building any real threat.

When the whistle finally blew and the immediate danger was neutralized, we glided back toward the face-off circle, both of us breathing hard from the effort.

"That was some solid defense out there, Valder!" Miller shouted across the ice, raising his stick in approval. "You two really looked great together on that play."

I managed a quick, tired smile and gave him a nod, grateful for the encouragement even if it felt a little hollow in the moment.

Kayden pulled up right beside me and let out a long, exhausted sigh of relief.

"Good game so far," he muttered, his voice low enough that only I could hear it over the noise of the arena.

"Yeah... good game," I replied, forcing a small smile as I glanced up at the Jumbotron hanging above the ice.

The score was glaring back at me: 0-0.

"I really hope the penalty shootout ends up favoring us tonight."

"Me too," Kayden said quietly, his tone carrying the same mix of hope and uncertainty that I was feeling.

Before I could add anything else, I felt it. A heavy unmistakable stare was burning into the side of my face from across the ice. I turned my head just slightly and caught Damian watching me directly, his expression completely unreadable but the intensity in his eyes strong enough to make my chest tighten uncomfortably.

What the hell was going through his mind right now? I wondered, quickly looking away again. And why was he staring at me like that, like I still meant something to him after everything that had happened between us?

The final buzzer sounded loud, bringing me out of my thoughts. Since the scoreboard was at 0-0, it was time for the penalty shootout to decide the winner of Game 4.

During the short break, Coach Reddick gathered us quickly and assigned the three shooters who would represent us: Kayden, Miller, and me.

As I stood there at the bench waiting for it all to begin, my lungs were still burning from the third period and my heart was hammering hard against my ribs like a trapped bird desperate to break free.

My hands had started shaking noticeably, and the entire atmosphere in the arena suddenly felt suffocating, the noise of the crowd pressing in from all sides.

What if we lost tonight? What if all of this effort ended in disappointment because Damian and his team were simply better than us?

Then I felt a familiar, reassuring hand rest gently on my shoulder.

"We’re going to win this," Kayden whispered close beside me, his voice steady and calm in the middle of all the chaos.

I didn’t say anything in response. I just gave him a small nod, not trusting my voice enough to speak. I didn’t want him to know how scared I really was deep down — that I was afraid we would fail, that Damian might actually be the stronger, better hockey player than me.

"You’re breathing really hard, Rhys," Kayden pointed out as we started lining up for the shootout. "And you’re shaking pretty badly. If something is bothering you or if you need to talk about—"

"I’m fine," I cut him off before he could finish, my voice coming out sharper than I had intended. "We have a game to win right now. We can talk about this later."

"But—" he tried to argue, concern clear in his tone.

"Just drop it," I said, the words sounding harsher than I meant them to. The moment they left my mouth, I regretted it and let out a heavy sigh, turning to face him for a brief second. "Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap like that. Let’s just focus on the game for now, alright?"

Kayden gave me a confused and clearly hurt look, but he didn’t push any further. Instead, he simply turned away toward Miller without another word.

Shame burned in the pit of my stomach as I lowered my head. I shouldn’t have spoken to him that way, especially not tonight when tensions were already running so high. Not after the way Damian had spoken to me earlier and especially not when we’d been struggling in so many recent games.

"Oh, Rhys," I murmured to myself, rubbing my forehead in frustration.