Chapter 86: The Ice Wall

NORA’S POV

My boots pounded up the wooden back staircase of Sugar & Spice two steps at a time. My hands were shaking so hard that white flour from my apron dusted the banister with every step.

I threw open my bedroom door, my breath coming in ragged, burning gasps that tore from my lungs.

I unlocked my phone and hit Knox’s contact.

Ring.

Ring.

Ring.

Ring.

Click.

"It’s Sheridan. If this isn’t Coach or an emergency, you’re wasting both our time. Make it quick."

The low, arrogant rumble of his voice on the recording felt like a sharp knife to my chest.

Beep.

"Knox, please call me back." My voice shook with panic. "Mom just told me you were in Oakhaven yesterday. I don’t know what you see or heard, but it wasn’t what it looked like on the dock, Knox! I pushed him away! Please don’t shut me out. I’m getting on the next bus back to Briar right now. Please call me."

I ended the call, my vision blurring with hot, stinging tears.

I typed out three frantic text messages:

Nora: Knox, please just answer the phone.

Nora: I’m not with Drew. I told him it was completely over.

Nora: Please let me explain.

I stared at the screen.

The messages sat on Delivered.

He wasn’t opening them; he wasn’t answering. He was doing exactly what he always did when the world hurt him: pulling up the drawbridge, locking down the gates, and freezing the entire world out.

I dropped the phone onto my mattress, ripped off my flour-stained green apron, and grabbed my duffel bag from the closet.

I didn’t pack neatly; I threw my jeans, sweaters, binders, and boots into the bag, yanking the zipper shut with force.

I hauled the heavy duffel down the stairs and burst into the bakery kitchen.

Mom was standing by the cooling racks, holding a tray of golden sourdough loaves. She stopped dead, looking from my packed bag up to my pale, tear-streaked face in utter shock.

"Nora? Honey, what’s wrong? What happened?"

"Mom, I..." My voice caught, and I struggled to breathe as my chest heaved.

Mom set the baking tray down on the counter immediately, rushing over to take my trembling hands in hers.

"Nora, honey, stop for a second," she urged gently, her warm thumbs rubbing soothing circles over my knuckles. "Take a deep breath. Look at me. Breathe."

I forced myself to inhale, letting out a shaky, trembling exhale as the tears spilled over my cheeks.

"Mom, I have to go," I finally managed to choke out. "Knox came all the way to Oakhaven yesterday to see me. I don’t know what he saw or heard at the lake, but he’s not answering my calls or replying to my texts. He probably thinks I broke his trust... I... I have to get back to campus right now."

Mom looked at me, surprised by the raw distress in my voice, but seeing how desperate I was, she pulled me into a tight, comforting hug, squeezing my shoulders.

"Okay, honey," Mom said softly. "Go. Be careful, and call me as soon as you get to Briar, okay?"

"I will," I breathed. "I love you, Mom."

"I love you too, sweetheart. Go."

I ran out the front door of Sugar & Spice into the brisk morning air, hauling my duffel as I sprinted three blocks down Main Street to the town square transit stop.

The 8:00 AM regional coach was already idling at the curb.

I swiped my student transit pass, climbed the narrow steps, and collapsed into a window seat, pressing my forehead against the cool glass.

As the bus merged onto the mountain highway, I pulled out my phone and texted Priya:

Nora: Priya, are you on campus? Do you know where the hockey team is this morning?

Two minutes later, Priya replied:

Priya: Yeah, why? They have an optional recovery skate and film review at Briar Ice Arena from nine to eleven. Why, what’s going on?

Nora: I’m heading straight there.

—

By ten-fifteen in the morning, the coach pulled into the Briar University transit plaza.

Rain was falling from the gray sky above, soaking the brick paths and turning fallen leaves into slippery sludge.

I didn’t stop by the dorm to drop off my luggage.

I tightened the strap of my bag across my shoulder, pulled up the hood of my navy wool coat, and sprinted through the freezing downpour across the central quad.

My lungs burned. My boots splashed through icy puddles.

All I could see was Knox’s face.

I pushed him away, Knox. I pushed him away because I love you.

I reached the massive brick-and-glass facade of Briar Ice Arena.

I pushed through the heavy glass double doors, shaking the rain from my coat as the freezing, familiar smell of chilled mist, Zamboni exhaust, and sharp steel hit my senses.

The arena lobby was quiet.

I hurried past the administrative desks, slipping through the security gate into the narrow rubber-matted player tunnel that connected the locker rooms to the main ice sheet.

From the far end of the hallway, the double doors of the varsity locker room clicked open.

Loud locker-room laughter echoed off the concrete walls.

Bear and Jake walked out first, carrying their stick bags, followed by Milo.

And then, Knox stepped into the corridor.

My breath caught violently in my throat.

Knox wore a dark charcoal Briar Athletics training hoodie with the sleeves pushed up to his forearms, dark sweatpants, and clean training sneakers. His sports duffel was slung over one broad shoulder, his dark curls damp from the post-skate shower.

He was gorgeous. Towering. And utterly, terrifyingly unapproachable.

The bright, laughing boy who had spun me around in the air on Wednesday was completely gone.

In his place was a ruthless statue of chiseled stone. His jaw was locked tight enough to shatter bone. His shoulders were rigid, and his eyes were cold, dead, and hollow.

He was the ghost of every dark rumor that had ever surrounded his name.

I dropped my heavy canvas duffel onto the rubber mat with a loud thud, stepping directly into the center of the narrow tunnel.

"Knox," I called out, my voice trembling with exhaustion. "Stop. We need to talk."

Bear and Jake froze in their tracks.

The laughter instantly died.

Bear looked from Knox’s frozen expression over to my soaking wet hair, pale face, and the duffel bag on the floor.

A flash of uncomfortable realization crossed Bear’s face. He clamped a hand on Jake’s shoulder, nodding down the hall toward the exit.

"We’ll wait in the truck, Cap," Bear said quietly, ushering Milo past us.

The exit door clicked shut at the end of the hall, leaving the tunnel in dead silence.

Knox stopped three feet in front of me.

At six-foot-three, he towered over me, his cold, oppressive presence making the freezing arena air feel warm by comparison.

He didn’t look at my eyes; he didn’t even look at my face. He looked right through me, staring at the concrete wall behind my head as if I were a ghost who didn’t exist.

"Knox, please," I pleaded, taking a half-step closer. My hands reached out, wanting to touch the damp fabric of his hoodie, but something in his posture made me freeze. "Mom told me you came to Oakhaven yesterday. You have to listen to me. It wasn’t what it looked like on that dock..."

"Save your breath, Bennett," Knox interrupted.

His voice didn’t rise in anger.

It was flat. Monotone. Dead.

A sound so devoid of feeling that it felt like ice water poured directly into my veins.

"Knox, please, just five minutes..."

"We don’t have anything to talk about," Knox said coldly, his hollow eyes finally dropping to meet mine for the briefest fraction of a second. "You got my midterm score to an eighty-one. Harold Orwell’s complaint was dismissed. The compliance department cleared my eligibility. Your final tutoring fee was wired to your account this morning."

A sharp pain ripped through my chest.

"Knox... this was never just about a tutoring fee," I choked out, tears burning behind my eyes. "You know it wasn’t!"

"It was a contract, Bennett," Knox rasped, his voice slicing through the air like a skate blade on fresh ice. "The contract is fulfilled. You did your job. I did mine."

He stepped forward, his massive frame closing the distance.

For one split second, I thought he was going to reach for me. I thought the wall would break.

Instead, Knox shoved his hands deep into his hoodie pockets, brushing his broad shoulder roughly past mine as he walked down the rubber mat toward the exit doors.

"Knox!" I cried out, spinning around in the hallway. "Knox, look at me!"

He didn’t turn around.

He didn’t hesitate for a single step.

He pushed through the metal exit doors into the pouring rain, letting the door slam shut behind him with a deafening, final BANG.

I stood alone in the freezing, empty corridor, clutching my chest as hot tears spilled over my lashes.

The ice wall was back.

And if I didn’t break it down, I was going to lose him forever.