On thin Ice

Chapter 2

🤍Livia🤍

The silence has taken over the dinner table where Jack and I enjoy our pizza later that night, our gaze meets, and I raise my brows.

"What are you staring at, sissy?" The fact that he won't tell me about the incident at today's practice makes me even more irritated, and I glare at him.

"How come none of your teammates actually knows about me? I mean, until today." He drops his pizza on his plate, and a sigh leaves his lips.

"I am 18, Jack. I can take care of myself, you know. You dont have to hide me." He has an emotionless face, and I look down at my half-eaten pizza. Jack has always been protective of me. Since we were young many questions about our father, have been going around our schools and friend groups. That is one of the reasons Jack tried to keep me out of it when our parents decided to move out three years ago officially.

"They are hockey players, Liv. All they want to know about is the famous Jason Maes family. I dont want you to go through that pain, okay?" He grabs my hand, and I meet his gaze again.

"What happened at practice today, Jack?" He tries to look away, avoiding eye contact with me.

"Jack, if Dad finds out- ",

"He won't; I spoke to the coach. Everything is fine now." I sigh and nod slowly.

"Why did you end up like that? Did they hurt you? Did they say anything? Was it about me?" I never thought it could be about me, but when I think about it. Liam told me they found out about me during practice.

"Did they mention anything about me? Oh my god, they did." Jack takes a sip of his Coke before standing up from the table, grabbing his plate.

"End of conversation, Livia." A frown takes place on my face; so this is how it will be now?

"Dont leave me here like this. I deserve to know if it is about me." He doesn't answer me but dishes his plate and puts it in the washing machine.

"Fine, then I will ask Noah." He turns around, staring at me with anger in his eyes.

"You want to know about they were talking about?" He asks, and I notice how he clenches his fists, staring out the window behind me. I'm not scared of my brother; I know he would never put his hands on me. But his behaviour now means something happened, and he didn't like it.

"Yes." The words come out as a whisper, and Jack walks closer to me.

"They talked about how much they wanted to hook up with you. That is what happened. Now you know what my amazing teammates do to deserve a fucking punch in the face." I sit frozen in my chair, staring at my brother in shock. I am not shocked they were talking about other girls like that; it's the golden four. But about me?

"Did Liam say that?" Jack's face switches from anger to confusion, but it doesn't take him long to find a way back to anger by my question.

"Did Liam say it? Did Liam fucking say it? Do you know him? Dont tell me you have a thing for him, Livia." I look down at my plate, biting my lower lip. I dont have a thing for him; I dont even know him. And the last thing I will do is go and fall for Boston University's biggest player like that. But a small part of me gets hurt thinking about Liam talking about me like that. More than the other boys.

"Livia, dont tell me you have a thing for him," Jack repeats, this time with a lot more anger in his voice, and I flinch at the sudden rage.

"I dont," the words come out like a whisper once again, and he takes a deep breath.

"I told the guys something... Something you won't like." This time, he looks at me. I can see how he is nervous about telling me something.

"What did you do, Jack?" Right now, I dont care if he tells me he punched someone or threw a puck in someone's ass. Nothing he can say can change this situation. He is treating me like a child when I'm eighteen. Im just as grown as he is.