Chapter 13: Stay Away, Ethan
Haper’s POV
The smile on my face faded the second I saw Ethan.
He was standing directly in my path, his hockey bag hanging lazily over one shoulder as though he hadn’t a care in the world. It was almost insulting how normal he looked. Like yesterday hadn’t happened. Like he hadn’t ripped my heart out in front of half the team.
For a brief second, neither of us spoke. Then he smiled. Not the mocking smile from the locker room. The old one. The one I’d spent two years falling in love with.
"Hey, baby."
The word hit me like a punch to the chest. I hated that it still affected me. My body reacted before my mind could. For the smallest moment, it felt familiar. Safe. Then the memory of him kissing Chloe slammed into me, followed by his voice telling me my mother was baggage and that I was nothing but a burden.
The warmth disappeared. I tightened my grip on my camera.
"Ethan."
He looked me up and down slowly before grinning. "You look good."
I didn’t answer.
"I’ve missed you."
I almost laughed. Missed me? Two days ago he’d called me desperate. Now he missed me?
He stepped closer. "I’ve been trying to find you."
"I’ve been busy."
"I noticed." His eyes drifted to the media pass hanging around my neck. The grin faltered, only for a fraction of a second, then returned. "So..." He reached toward the lanyard.
I instinctively stepped back before he could touch it. His hand hung awkwardly in the air for a moment before dropping to his side.
"Justin gave you one." It wasn’t a question.
I nodded.
He chuckled softly. "I was going to give yours back."
I stared at him. "What?"
"It was a joke, Harper."
The words were so casual I genuinely wondered if I’d imagined the last forty-eight hours.
"You threw it into a trash can and you revoked my access."
"I know."
"You humiliated me."
His shoulders lifted in a careless shrug. "You took it way too seriously."
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. "My graduation depends on that documentary."
"And I was always going to help you."
My eyebrows pulled together. "You never said that."
"I didn’t have to." He smiled again. "I knew you’d come back."
Something inside me went cold. "I wasn’t coming back."
"No?" He tilted his head. "Then why are we talking?"
"Because you stepped in front of me."
He laughed. God, that laugh. I used to think it was charming. Now it made my skin crawl.
"You’ve always been dramatic."
I stared at him. "I cried because you told me my mother was baggage."
He sighed as though I were exhausting him. "You’re still on that?"
The words landed harder than I expected.
"You’ve been replaying every sentence I said, haven’t you?"
He smiled sympathetically. "That’s unhealthy."
My chest tightened. "I didn’t imagine it."
"I never said you did."
"You hurt me."
"I made one bad joke."
I couldn’t breathe for a second. A joke. He was calling it a joke.
"You cried over a joke."
He reached out again. This time his fingers brushed my arm. I immediately stepped away. His smile vanished. Just like that. His eyes darkened.
"You’ve been avoiding me."
The accusation in his voice caught me off guard. "You broke up with me."
"I was angry."
"You cheated on me."
"I kissed someone."
I stared. He actually corrected me. As if that somehow made it better.
"It meant nothing."
"It meant everything Ethan."
He rubbed a hand over his face. "Harper, do you know how exhausting you can be?"
I felt my stomach knot. There it was. That familiar feeling. The one that always made me wonder if maybe I really was the problem.
"I came here to apologize."
"No."
"You won’t even let me finish."
"No."
His jaw tightened. "You used to listen to me."
"I also used to trust you."
For a brief moment, something dangerous flashed across his face. It disappeared almost immediately.
"So this is about Justin?"
I didn’t answer.
"I knew it." His laugh was bitter this time. "I leave you alone for five minutes and suddenly you’re dating my teammate."
"We’re not discussing my personal life."
"Our personal life."
"There isn’t an ’our’ anymore."
He smiled. A slow, patient smile. The kind that made me nervous.
"You’re confused."
"No."
"You’ve always been emotional."
"I said no."
"I understand."
"No, you don’t."
"I do."
He took another step. I took another one back. Again. He noticed. Of course he noticed. His eyes dropped briefly to the space between us, then back to my face.
"Why are you backing away from me?"
"I just..."
"What?"
I couldn’t answer. Because I didn’t know. I just knew I didn’t want him close.
His expression hardened. "So that’s how it’s going to be." He paused. "You really think Justin Hayes wants you?"
The question caught me off guard. "What?"
He laughed softly. "Come on, Harper." I hated that laugh now. "He feels sorry for you." My throat tightened. "That’s all this is."
"No."
"He saw a crying girl, so he wanted to play hero."
"Stop."
"You honestly think a guy like Justin chooses girls like you?"
My eyes burned. I hated myself for it. Because a tiny voice in the back of my head whispered, what if he’s right?
Ethan saw it. He always saw it.
He smiled. "There you are." The words came quietly. "I knew you were still in there." I couldn’t move. "You always doubt yourself."
He stepped closer again. "So let me save you some embarrassment." His voice dropped, softened. "Before he gets bored..." He leaned in just enough that only I could hear him. "...come back."
I stared at him. Frozen.
He smiled. "You always do anyways."
The words sent a chill through me. Not because they were loud. Because they were true. For two years, I always had.
A voice suddenly echoed down the hallway. "Ethan?"
We both turned. One of the defensemen was walking toward us carrying his skates. The change in Ethan was instant, like someone had flipped a switch. His smile returned. Easy. Friendly. Relaxed.
"Hey, man."
The player slowed when he noticed me. "Everything okay?"
Ethan chuckled. "Yeah." He gestured toward me. "Harper and I were just catching up."
The teammate looked at me instead. I couldn’t speak. Couldn’t even force a smile. My fingers had tightened so hard around my camera strap they hurt. His eyes flicked between us. Something in his expression changed. He knew. Maybe not what had been said. But he knew enough.
Ethan clapped him lightly on the shoulder. "I’ll catch you inside." Then he looked back at me. His smile never slipped. "I’ll see you later, baby."
He walked away. As though nothing had happened. As though he hadn’t just pulled every old wound wide open.
I stood there for several seconds, unable to breathe properly. Then, without looking back, I hurried toward the arena. The camera hanging around my neck suddenly felt twice as heavy. And for reasons I couldn’t explain, my hands wouldn’t stop shaking.
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