Face-Off With Fate: A Rink Romance | Book #1 of UM Hockey Series

thirty three

Scarlett Redd☾

He said he'd be back as of last night.

That never happened.

Chase and I stand in front of our classmates ready to present our project without him.

"Care to explain where Mr. Thompson is?" the professor asks the whole class.

I wouldn't want my family situation put on blast for everyone to know.

I walk up to her and explain that his father passed away the other day and he had to go back home to make the arrangements since that's all the family he has left.

She dismissed me and said as long as he could prove it, she'd believe the 'excuse'.

We finished our presentation as we were the last to present, and left class.

"You think Vin's coming back?"

"I don't see why not... Thomas isn't back either, I guess the funeral was longer than they expected. It's like half a day drive from Minnesota to Michigan..."

"Yeah, you're right."

Chase and I haven't been the same after everything. He also hurt me—in a different way, but we never recovered from it.

"Are you gonna go back to him Scar?" he asks which interrupts my train of thought. "I can handle it Scar. It's okay."

"I won't lie, I'm not sure. I'm not going to say yes, but I'm also not saying no. I just have to figure this out for myself..."

"I get it. I'm sorry about everything Scar. I'd like to be friends again if you'd let me. I said some really shitty things to you, and you didn't deserve it. I was just so jealous," he admits.

"It was really shitty, but I don't wanna throw away years of friendship with you, Chase. Just give it time. Maybe over the break, we can all hang out, like old times? As friends!"

"As friends, yes. I won't make you regret this!" Chase says as he parts to walk to another building.

"Scar! Over here!" Kaia shouts as she exits the science building. "Holy, that calculus final was insane. I think I might have passed," she sighs.

"Wanna get an Uber back? It's really cold out!" Kaia asks.

"Yeah, I think I'm gonna go skate when we get back."

I haven't gone back to skate since the Dante situation. I came close a few times, but I was scared I'd bump into him or the other guys after everything went down.

"You're not gonna start packing? We leave tomorrow Scar!" Kaia groans.

"Yeah um, about that... I'm gonna be coming home probably by the 20th or so. I could use a few weeks to myself here," I state.

She didn't seem as surprised as I expected her to be and took that as a sign of relief.

Our Uber ride takes five minutes but costs eight dollars! What a waste!

"Stella's still doing her theory exam, and Brooke's at the studio working on one of her final projects of the term, so if you need anyone, give me a call," as Kaia hung up her coat and headed to her room to start packing.

"Did you hear from Thomas by chance?"

"Not yet. He must be driving. He told me that Vin hasn't slept in like five days or something so don't worry about him," she suggests.

I grab my skates that are near the door and head back out. When I exit the building, a car catches my attention.

"Scar! Hold on!" Vincent shouts as he pulls over. "Get in, where are you heading?"