Edge Of The Ice (On Going And Own Book)

Unraveling Threads. 21

After dinner, Alex retreated to his room, the muffled sounds of his family's voices barely reaching him through the door. He threw his bag in the corner and collapsed onto his bed, staring up at the ceiling. His room was dim, the soft glow of his desk lamp casting shadows across the walls, but even in the quiet, his thoughts wouldn't settle.

The regional tournament and Cass's championship kept crashing together in his head. How were they supposed to choose? It wasn't fair, not after everything they'd been through, not after all the nights spent at the rink, pushing each other, learning from each other.

His phone buzzed on the bed next to him, snapping him out of his thoughts. He grabbed it and saw a new text from Cass:

Cass: I keep thinking about it. I don't want us to have to choose.

Alex stared at the message for a long moment before replying:

Alex: I don't either. But what are we supposed to do?

The three dots appeared almost immediately, Cass typing back fast.

Cass: There's gotta be another way. Maybe the schedules will change, or we'll figure out how to make both work. We've got to try, right?

Alex wanted to believe that, wanted to hold onto the hope that somehow everything would fall into place. But the reality was staring him down, and he couldn't ignore it.

Alex: Yeah, I hope so. I just... don't know what that looks like right now.

He tossed his phone onto the bed, pushing himself up to sit at the edge of the mattress. The air in the room felt heavy, pressing down on him. Normally, when things got tough, the rink was his escape. But this time, even the ice felt like it was slipping out of his control.

As he sat there, his door creaked open slightly. Noah poked his head in, his eyes wide with curiosity. "Hey, can I come in?"

Alex sighed but nodded. "Sure."

Noah, all twelve years of energy and boundless enthusiasm, bounded into the room and plopped down on the bed next to Alex. He swung his legs, looking up at his older brother with the kind of innocent admiration that Alex sometimes forgot was there.

"What's wrong?" Noah asked, his voice softening as he picked up on Alex's mood.

Alex hesitated. Noah wouldn't really get it, but he couldn't brush him off either. "Just... stuff with hockey and school. It's a lot."

Noah frowned, his small brow furrowed in concern. "But you love hockey. Why's it bad now?"

Alex smiled a little at that, appreciating how simple it all seemed through his brother's eyes. "It's not bad, it's just complicated. Sometimes when you love something, it comes with tough choices."

Noah looked up at him, his young mind clearly processing the weight of that statement. "Well, whatever it is, you'll figure it out. You always do. You're like, the best at everything."

Alex couldn't help but laugh at that, shaking his head. "I wish. But thanks."

Noah grinned, clearly pleased with himself. "You're welcome. Anyway, I'm gonna beat you at Mario Kart tomorrow, just saying."

Alex rolled his eyes. "In your dreams, kid."

With that, Noah hopped off the bed and bounded out of the room, leaving Alex alone again. But this time, the quiet didn't feel quite as suffocating. Noah's simple confidence in him, misplaced or not, made him feel just a little lighter.

He leaned back against the wall, picking up his phone again. His fingers hovered over the screen for a second before he typed out a new message to Cass:

Alex: No matter what happens, we'll figure it out. We're not alone in this.

He hit send and stared at the message, hoping it was true. He didn't know what the answer was yet, but if there was one thing he did know, it was that they weren't going to let this pull them apart. Not now, not after everything.

His phone buzzed almost immediately with Cass's reply:

Cass: We've got this. Together.

Alex exhaled slowly, feeling the tension ease just a little. Maybe they didn't have all the answers right now, but they'd face whatever came next together. That much, at least, he could count on.