揢p.?Something in his tone gets me to my feet. He wraps an arm around me like he抯 going to carry me out.
揑 can walk,?I insist. I don抰 bother fighting him on leaving. I抦 tired anyway.
He motions for me to go ahead of him, and I lead us through the party and out the front door.
揥hat time is it??I ask as he opens the passenger side door for me. The parking lot is dark and quiet.
揧ou have about four hours until our morning workout.?
Damn. Where did the day go? I groan as I heave myself up into the truck.
He shuts me in and jogs around the front. I close my eyes on the short drive back to campus. A week of shitty sleep and an entire day of drinking has caught up with me.
Liam wakes me when we抮e back at the dorm. My head swims with the alcohol and fragmented memories of Daisy. Her smile, her laugh, the blush she gets high on her cheeks when she抯 embarrassed or turned on. Fuck, I miss her.
I stumble into my buddy as we walk through the front door of the dorm. 揟his is all your fault.?
Liam grunts and steadies me. 揌ow do you figure??
I let my full weight lean against him, and he shuffles us up the stairs.
揝he wanted you. You two make sense. Me and her厰 I shake my head side to side. 揑 don抰 know what the hell I was thinking. Daisy is so?well, you know. And I抦， well厰
揇runk??
揧eah, that too.?Damn, am I tired.
He lets me ramble more nonsense as he helps me into our room. He grabs a water and thrusts it at me. 揇rink this.?
揧ou抮e fucking bossy tonight.?
揑抦 tired, and we have a quiz in the morning.?
揊uck that. I抦 not going.?
He growls and musses his perfect hair. 揧ou know what was really great about you the past couple of months??
My brain works slowly. I can think of a lot of really great things from the past two months, but none of them are me.
揧ou actually applied yourself.?
揑 was keeping her from you.?Saying the words out loud are like a punch to the gut.
揘o.?A muscle in his jaw ticks. 揗aybe that抯 how it started, but you were different.?
I don抰 know anymore. Not even sure it matters since either way, she抯 not here.
He keeps going. 揝he made you want to be better. You抳e been skirting by, drinking too much, barely studying.?
揥e抮e not all dean抯 list material.?
揊uck that. You抮e smarter than me. Always have been, but after Mark died, you stopped giving a shit about everything but partying and hockey.?
I narrow my gaze at him in warning. 揘o, I just let go of the bullshit, like perfect grades. As long as I keep my GPA high enough to play hockey, that抯 all that matters. And I always do, Captain.?
揧eah, yeah, I know. Nothing matters because if it did, you might have to risk caring about something else and it not working out. Failing, losing people梚t sucks.?
揧ou don抰 know what you抮e talking about.?
揊ine, but what I do know is that since you started hanging out with Daisy, you quit the constant partying, you went to class, and you found other things to fill your time without being wasted or on the ice. And you were fucking happy.?
Ignoring him, I uncap the water and chug all of it.
The asshole won抰 let it alone. 揧ou love her. Tell me I抦 wrong??
揕ove is bullshit. I wish I抎 never met her.?
Liam curses under his breath, pins me up against the wall with a forearm, brings his other hand up to my face, and smacks me. Hard.
The sting radiates down my cheek, and I work my jaw back and forth. I抦 stunned.
揥hat the fuck was that for??
揊or saying dumb shit that you don抰 mean.?He pushes off me. 揧ou love her, and tomorrow you抮e going to remember spewing nonsense and wish you抎 have done it yourself.?
揝o I should thank you??I rub my fingers over my cheek. 揇amn, that really hurt. Are you gonna punch me next??
The motherfucker grins. 揇on抰 tempt me. Go to bed, Thatch. Then wake up and use that big brain of yours to figure out how you抮e going to get her back because you抮e a miserable son of a bitch without her.?
I make it through Friday on Tums and energy drinks. I crash after my last class and wake up to voices on the other side of the wall in the common area.
Pulling a T-shirt over my head, I walk out of my room to find Liam and a guy I don抰 recognize. They抮e playing video games, two pizzas stacked in front of them on the coffee table.
揌ey,?I say as I linger in the doorway.
They both glance quickly from the TV screen to say hello and continue with the game.
揟his is Cole,?Liam says with another sideways glimpse in my direction, but this time his eyes widen a fraction.
It takes me a second to realize this is the guy Liam抯 been seeing. My brows lift, and my mouth makes an O.
I catch myself before Cole looks up and smiles.
揓ordan,?I introduce myself.
揑 know. I mean, I抳e heard a lot about you. It抯 nice to meet you.?He has a slight drawl that makes his words slow and smooth, friendly even.
揧eah, same.?
揥e have pizza.?Liam nods his head toward the boxes.
揘o thanks. I棓 I can抰 think of an excuse quick enough.
Liam grabs the bottom pizza and holds it out to me. 揅heese.?
I still don抰 move, and he shakes it. 揝oak up whatever alcohol is still in your system. Captain抯 orders.?
We have a home game tomorrow against our rival ASU. They抮e undefeated, and we would love nothing more than to destroy their perfect record.
Cole scoots closer to Liam, and they both look at me expectantly.
揂ll right.?I take a seat, and Liam passes me the box over Cole抯 head, grinning like a fool.
揌ow抯 the cheek??Cole asks, biting back a smile.
I bring a hand up to rub my face. 揊ine. No thanks to this fucker.?
We laugh, and the sound dregs up emotions I抳e tried to keep at bay.
揘o offense, but it sounds like you deserved it.?
I flip him off, and Cole just laughs at me.
That抯 how I find myself spending a Friday night hanging with Liam and Cole. We play video games and eat pizza.
I learn that Cole is from Texas, majoring in exercise science, and totally gone for Liam. He doesn抰 say the latter, but he gets this look on his face梡ure adoration梐nytime the two of them are talking. I like him, and I like how happy Liam looks.
Eventually, they go to Liam抯 room, and I shut myself back in mine. Over the last week, I抳e perfected my playlist of sappy songs that say all the things I feel and can抰 say to Daisy. Staring up at the ceiling in the dark, listening to other people抯 confessions of the heart, I compose a thousand texts that I won抰 allow myself to send （twenty unanswered texts is a line even my pathetic ass won抰 cross）。
I vacillate between frustration and self-loathing. That抯 to say nothing of the sadness that lingers like a second skin.
I miss her.
Fuck, do I miss her.
Liam lifts a fist as I pass him in the line down the tunnel for the final period of the game.
I tap it, and he falls in beside me. He has a pep in his step as we make our way to the ice. The crowd is on their feet, and the nearly packed arena is electric.
I don抰 dare look at the student section for Daisy. I know she isn抰 here. I can feel it梩he distance between us.
I let it fuel me for the next twenty minutes of play. Hockey is the perfect distraction. I dig deep, tapping into the anger and frustration, even the sadness. Aggressive on the verge of reckless. Only Liam understands the real reason. The rest of the team eggs me on, mistaking my hustle for my determination to beat ASU.
And we do.