I’m lacing up my skates when I notice Jax and Zephyr across the locker room, dead silent.
It’s not the usual pre-game silence where everyone’s focused and locked in. This looks different. Like they’re carrying something they don’t want to talk about.
I grab my helmet and walk over. I drop onto the bench next to them.
“What the hell kept you fuckers up all night?” I ask.
Jax glares at me and doesn’t answer.
Zephyr keeps taping his stick like I didn’t say anything.
Something’s off.
I lean back and grin. “Don’t tell me it was Tiger.”
They both freeze for half a second, then go back to gearing up.
My grin drops. “You’re shitting me. What happened?”
Zephyr shakes his head. Jax pulls his jersey over his pads without looking at me.
I stand up and pull out my phone. “I was texting her last night.”
“What?” Jax actually laughs. “No, you weren’t.”
I pull up my messages with Madison and hold the screen out. “See? All night.”
Zephyr leans in, reads the texts, then he chuckles. “That’s not Tiger.”
“Look,” I demand.
Zephyr laughs. “Tiger stayed the night at our place.”
Something sharp twists in my chest. My jaw locks before I can stop it.
“No fucking way,” I say. “She was with Madison.”
Jax shakes his head. “No. She stayed in the guest bedroom.”
I close my mouth, shoving the phone back in my pocket.
The tightness in my chest spreads down my arms into my hands. I yank my skate lace tighter than it needs to be. The pressure bites into my ankle.
“The fuck?” I scoff. “Why didn’t you call me?”
“Why the fuck would we call you?” Zephyr asks flatly.
“Maybe because my house is safer.”
They both shake their heads.
“Fuck heads,” I mutter. “I’m part of this.”
“Barely,” Jax says.
I finish lacing my skates and stand tall. “She likes me more than you two combined.”
They scoff, almost laughing.
