Truce to turmoil

DOMINIC’S POV

I walked to his office, him leading the way in front of me. Thanks to that idiot, I was going to face this-maybe I should have listened to Enzo and just left that jerk alone.

As we reached his office, the walls were lined with medals and trophies from past hockey players. The room was painted in a warm gray hue that enveloped everything. I took a seat in front of his desk, taking a deep breath, and felt his annoyance ease a bit.

"What were you thinking back there?" he asked.

"I didn't start it Coach, he provoked me first," I retorted, my anger welling for a second before cooling off.

The coach looked at me with a straight, solemn expression-the one he wore whenever he wasn't joking.

"I lost my cool, and I shouldn't have. It was a mistake," I mumbled.

He cleared his throat to get ready for a talk.

“Walter, this is your third fight with someone on this team. You need to realize that as the leader of this team, there are certain things you need to overlook.”

“Sorry, Coach,” I muttered.

“You better be. Because if you get into another fight this semester, I’ll have to strip you of the captaincy, and I don’t want to do that since you are one of the best we have seen in a while. Do better, Walter.”

“Everyone get frustrated when things don’t go their way, but that anger is going to end up running you instead of you running it. You need to take that energy and put it into your game, not use it as a way to get sidetracked. We cannot afford to have any distractions, especially with a season to focus on.”

Without saying anything, I nodded in agreement.

“We have a deal? No more fighting?”

I sighed. “Yeah.”

“Good. That’ll be all.” He leaned back in his chair.

I stood up and walked out of the office, releasing a deep breath as my hand ran over my hair. I walked with no destination, my legs taking me wherever they pleased.

ABIGAIL’S POV

I was sitting at the campus health clinic, lost in my thoughts as the waiting area steadily filled. Was everyone at school sick, or was it just a strange coincidence?

My mind wandered to my dad. It had been a while since I'd heard from him, and a familiar sadness tugged at my chest. Had he forgotten about me? Moved on with his life? Did he have a new wife?

He'd raised me alone since my mom abandoned us when I was five. I still remember the day she came back when I was ten. She stayed for a year, promising she was different. Then one day, she left again, saying she was going to the toy shop to get me something. She never came back. No one knew why she left, not even now.

I rubbed my hands over my jeans, trying to shake off the ache of those memories.

"Hey, I'll be back in a second," Adeline said, standing up. I nodded, watching as Daphne's friend quickly followed her lead.

"Hey, uhh, what's your name again?" I asked.

"Julie," she replied quickly. "You're Abigail, right?" I nodded.

Where are you all going?" I asked, my voice stuttering a little. Hospitals freaked me out at the best of times, but left sitting alone? Not nice.

"We just need some air," Adeline said softly.

"Okay… just don't be too long," I mumbled.

They nodded before walking out and leaving me in the dim sterile clinic with my thoughts.

I dropped my hands and looked up just as Dominic walked through the door.

Oh, crap. I'd completely forgotten about him.

He looked preoccupied-not that I was concerned, but somehow I felt that I had to know why. My eyes slipped to the empty seats beside me, those abandoned by Adeline and Julie. He would not be bold enough to sit anywhere near me. Just for all I cared, he could keep walking.

But of course my eyes betrayed me, and I watched him as he walked down the hallway, bottled water in one hand, his brown bag slung over his shoulder. He looked worn out. There was a game today at the arena, so that didn't surprise me.

The instant he was noticed, people gravitated toward him, whispering, murmuring to one another. A couple of people threw unnecessary greetings his way.

He was, hands down, the People's Champ.

I watched as a group of girls clamored for Dominic's attention, their giggles ringing through the hallway. He didn’t pay them much mind at first, he looked a bit distracted and, of course, exhausted.

I couldn't help but chuckle at his reaction. It was amusing to see how they fawned over him. He seemed to know exactly how to handle all the attention, effortlessly engaging in casual banter and laughing along. If I didn’t already know his true nature, I might have believed he was genuinely interested in them.

It was funny how his presence could brighten up a gloomy clinic, everyone seemed thrilled he was there. What was it about him that made everyone fall at his feet? What hidden qualities did he possess that captivated everyone so much?

What was he was doing here in the clinic? Was he sick? I tried to brush it off but a part of my brain wanted to know why he was here.

I forcibly dragged my eyes off him, not wanting to be part of what was happening and looked away to check the time.

I checked the time on my phone when suddenly someone shouted, "Number nineteen!"

I raised my head and saw Dominic head in my direction and, directly to me. Swiftly, I looked down, setting my sight on my phone, hoping he would just pass by.

Then, to my absolute dismay and horror, he plopped himself down on the empty chair next to me.

Great, all I needed was to go back and forth with him now. Our interactions always left me exhausted.

"What are you doing?" I asked, my tone firm, refusing to look at him while I stared straight ahead.

He didn't say anything right away but casually set a bottle of water beside my leg.

"Here, room temperature," he said.

Why are you giving me this?" I snapped, still not looking at him.

"You look like you could use it. You look dehydrated.” he replied, his gaze lingering on me while I kept mine fixed forward.

I couldn't deny the thirst that began to creep its way up my throat. The moment I saw the water, I knew just how thirsty I really was.

"I want us to bury the hatchet," he said.

On the outside, I stayed calm, but inside, I was stunned. Bury the hatchet? Was he actually serious?

“I feel like we got off on the wrong foot, and it’d be best if we just started over.”

Oh.

I glanced at him half-expecting to find another person sitting there. Was this really Dominic? It was too good to be true. As I looked into his eyes, I found myself lost in the depth of the green gaze. I was quick to look away so as not to get sucked in.

He leaned back, casually opening a small sachet of pills—probably painkillers—then popped one into his mouth and washed it down with the water he pulled from his bag.

As he tilted his head back to gulp the water, eyes on the ceiling, I couldn’t help but steal a few glances. The way he drank made him look... oddly attractive. I quickly looked away before he could notice.

I reached for the bottle, taking a sip that turned into several gulps. I hadn't realized just how thirsty I was until almost all the water was gone. It was refreshing, hitting every taste bud on my tongue and cooling my whole body as it went down.

"Тold you, you needed that," he said with a smirk. "Great. We have a treaty."

For now.

We sat in silence while I waited for Adeline and Julie to come back.

"So.. you did what today? Anything fun?" he asked.

"You don't care about what I did today, so stop pretending you do," I replied.

"Why is it so hard for you to just be happy sometimes?" he asked, a mix of curiosity and frustration in his voice.

"Why is it so hard for you to just not be a jerk sometimes?" I shot back.

"Well, I'm making amends, as you can see, and here you are trying to mess things up again."

I said nothing, I didn't want to give him the satisfaction of an argument. It was just too much energy to argue back and forth with him.

"I'm just trying to be nice, but you're-”

"Stop being nice," I interrupted. "I don't need your…'niceness'."

"There's something seriously wrong with you," he said, head thrown back in incredulity as he leaned back into the chair with a humourless laugh.

“Do you really think a bottle of water is going to fix everything? Do I look like a kid to you, or some sort of clown?" I asked.

“What do you want from me? You're the one who ran off after I told you I didn't do anything to your body." He responded.

Was this jerk seriously bringing that up again? I should have known better than to accept that water from him.

I kept my mouth shut, saying nothing.

"You're giving me the silent treatment? Really?" He ran his hands through his hair, something I'd come to realize he always did when he was annoyed or stressed out.

“What did I ever do to you?" he asked, his eyebrows furrowed as he stared at me, but I kept my expression neutral.

I remained silent.

"What the hell do you want from me?" His voice grew sharper, frustration and anger seeping through, forcing me to sit up and finally look at him.

"Nothing," I replied. "I want nothing from you.”

"But what I'd really love is if we both went back to the way things were before. I don't know you, you don't know me. Just leave me the hell alone."

He stared at me a moment before nodding.

"Fine. If that's what you want, I'll stay away."

“Good.” I said firmly.

For once, we were on the same page.

Just as the words left my mouth, Adeline and Julie returned. As they approached, I grabbed my bag, ready to leave, when Julie suddenly screamed.

“Dominic Walter, oh my god!” she practically squealed, her face lit up like a star-struck fan.

I stood up, my bag clutched in one hand, wanting nothing to do with their conversation.

I moved closer to Adeline. "So, any news on Daphne?

"Yeah," she said. "She's been asleep for about an hour. They're keeping her overnight, but she'll be discharged tomorrow."

"Oh, wow, was it that serious?" I asked, my brows knitting together.

"Looks like it. Anyway, let's go.” Adeline replied.

I looked back at Julie, who was practically hanging all over Dominic, flirting and bombarding him with questions.

"Julie? Are you staying here?" I interrupted, trying to pull her out of their little bubble.

"Uh, wait a second," she said, turning back to Dominic. "Here, this is my number." She tapped it into his phone, then added with a wink, "Call me." Dominic forced a smile onto his face, but I could tell his heart was far from in it.

A pang of guilt flashed through my body. Was I too hard on him?

No, I hadn't. It needed to be done. I couldn't be friends with a guy that talked trash about me behind my back. It was for my own good.

As we walked out of the clinic, a flicker of hope sparked within me. Maybe now I’d finally have some peace. Maybe I could go to class without having to notice him. Maybe we could go back to being complete strangers, like before.

Now, I found myself questioning whether I could dismiss him that easily.