Ice And Ink(B x B)

Chapter 13 : Cracks in the ice

  
    Sunday morning hit Rivermount like a hangover after the bears game high. The rink's echoes faded, replaced by the steady drop of melting snow off rooftops and the low hum of church bells across town. Jace Calder woke to Mara's giggling in the trailer's cramped living room, her cartoons blaring over the buzz of his phone. He groaned, rolling over on the lumpy couch ----- his bed since Mom started pulling doubles at the mill. The screen lit up  with notifications: teammates congrats, a scouts email(holy shit, a scout) And then Ty Mackay's latest grenade ----- " Calder and Tate, the love story continues . Check this,"  A link . Jace's guts clenched.

  
   He tapped it. Some sophomore's Twitter account had posted a grainy photo ---- Jace and Ezra outside the rink last night ---- helmets off , jace's grin bright as he leaned towards Ezra. Caption :  Wolves star and Tate's take blogger ------- more than rivals now ? " Comments pilled up : "knew Tate was soft for him, " " Calder's off his game , to busy swooning ," and worse . Jace's jaw tightened . Ty'd stirred the pot again, and now it was boiling over.

    He pulled himself up, the trailer's thin walls letting in the cold . Mara bounced over , her dark hair a mess . "You won big, Jacey!  Saw it on Tv at Mrs . L's!"
   She hugged his legs, and he forced a grin, ruffling her curls.

   " Yeah,kiddo . Big night. " His voice was gravel, eyes flicking back to the phone. The scouts email ----- "Impressed with your speed, Calder. Looking forward to the next game " ----- should've been everything, but Ty's bullshit soured it . He yanked on a hoodie, grabbed his keys , and called, " Mara, stay put. Back soon."

   Outside,the snow crunched under his boots as he climbed into his truck. He needed air, space ------ anything to shake the noise. The mill loomed gray against the sky as he drove past , it's smokestacks coughing into the cloud. His phone buzzed again ------ Liam, team captain, texting : "Ty's an idiot. Ignore it . You killed it last night."  Jace's grip eased on the wheel. Liam got it, always had his back, but the locker room wasn't Liam's to control . Ty's chirps were a match ; the team was the kindling.

   Across town, Ezra Tate woke to sunlight slicing through his blinds, his ankle throbbing under the brace. The bears game replayed in his head ----- Jace's hat trick, that grin outside the rink ----- but the twitter post Ty'd shoved in his face last night drowned it out . He'd skimmed the comments, each one a jab : "Tate's boy toy."
" Blogs just a love letter now." His stomach twisted. He'd spent years clawing out of hockey's shadow after the injury ---- two years back, a shattered ankle on a bad check, ending his season and his shot. Now Rivermount was dragging him back in, tying him to Jace like some cheap punchline.
 
     Downstairs,his mum was frying eggs, her nurse scrubs swapped for a faded Habs jersey . "You're up late," she said, sliding a plate over. "Game wore you out?"

  "Something like that," Ezra muttered, poking at the yolk. Her eyes lingered ----- He knew that look, the one that saw through his bullshit ----- but she let it drop, humming as she poured coffee. His phone stayed silent , no word from Jace, and he hated how much he checked it. The quiet felt loaded,like the calm before a storm.
 
    By noon,he biked to the library,hood up against the wind. The twitter post had spread ------ kiss at the coffee shop smirked as he passed, a junior defenseman shouted,  " Where's your boyfriend, Tate?" From a car window. He flipped them off, pedalling faster, but the sting burrowed deep. Inside , he sank into a corner chair, laptop open to Tate's Take. He typed : " Wolves 4, Bears 2 ---- Calder's hat trick he's more than flash. Team's sloppy, though . Ty Mackay's mouth outshines his stick work." Snarky, sharp, safe. He posted it, but it fell off , like he was dodging the real story ----- the one he couldn't write .