Brie Sheridan has had her heart broken way too many times. Rhett Price is usually the culprit, but, this time, he might be the solution.
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Brooke 'Brie' Sheridan wouldn't necessa...
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BRIE
Under normal circumstances, I would've stayed behind at the rink following the game. Unfortunately—and because I can never catch a break, not even from the unrelenting month of December in Vermont—my current circumstances are both not normal and less than ideal.
My initial plan was to wait for Rhett at the rink, as I always do, and now, more than ever, I want to be there for him. No one on the team played perfectly and the opposing team was far better, far more organized and focused, so no one should be surprised that we lost. The thing about not being used to losing is that you'll inevitably feel unmoored whenever it happens and, no matter how good of a person you attempt to be, there's always some resentment buried deep within you.
Rhett Price doesn't lose. He believes that wholeheartedly and has said it straight to my face countless times, some of them more serious than others, and I can't begin to imagine how devastated he must be feeling.
He was one of the players who performed the best, in my completely unbiased opinion (not that I know that much about the particularities of ice hockey, of course), and I know how easy it is for him to fall into self-deprecation territory, complete with blaming himself for things that weren't his fault. It's one thing when he can't tell whether he had any say or responsibility regarding a negative outcome, but it's completely different when he knows he was far from being the true culprit. Even from the stands, I could tell something was wrong.
So, when Professor Ramos emails me to summon me to her office right away, I find myself at a crossroad.
I'm wearing a varsity hoodie with Rhett's last name and number on it, as if people aren't already aware of the reason behind my presence at the rink, and it's been long enough for us to not be a novelty, so people don't care nearly as much. I want to think it's believable, especially now that it's real, but I don't want to take any risks and tarnish what he has been working so hard to build, especially after what happened between him and Magnolia.
I don't care whether people believe us or not when it comes to the relationship existing in a vacuum, but that's not the reality of our lives, and, at the end of the day, normal people aren't watching us as closely as my brain has me convinced they do. If they see me walk out after an embarrassing loss instead of staying to support Rhett, they might get the wrong idea, but I can't just ignore Professor Ramos, either.
I can easily pin all of this paranoia on Cole; even though his accusations came from a place of pettiness, jealousy, and general dislike of Rhett and my happiness, there was some truth to them.
At the time, the relationship was, theoretically, fake, and I can't blame him for knowing me well enough to be suspicious, but I covered all my bases. I adjusted my behavior. I adapted. I lucked out and my feelings were reciprocated, shooting me closer and closer to the epic love story I've always believed I'm destined for.
