Hockey Rivalry

Chapter 17

Lia

"Have you eaten at all?" Colton asks.

We're up on the rinks roof. Colton's favorite place.

"If I'm being honest I don't remember the last time I ate." I admit.

I know I can freely talk to Colton about this. And it genuinely makes me feel, I don't know, free in a way. It's not like I can really hide it from him.

"I hate that you think you aren't beautiful." Colton says.

"And I hate that you find comfort in smoking." I shift my body to face him. "You're ruining yourself."

"So are you." Colton doesn't take his eyes off the trees below us. I place my hand on his arm. Colton turns his head. "Why do you do it Mer?"

Zoe is the first person that pops in my head.

"Toxic relationships." Is the only words my mouth manages to form.

"Jake?" Anger rises in Colton's eyes as he spits out his name.

I think about Jake's and I's relationship. All the times he's hinted at how I didn't have the figure of a stick.

"Jake yes. Zoe is the root of it all."

"Zoe? Why would you listen to her?"

"She used to be my best friend." I press my lips together.

"It's crazy how little we know each other considering how long we've known each other and how close our families are."

"I'm gonna be honest and say you weren't exactly the kind of person I'd associate with back then."

"Understandable. My friends and I hung around a lot of pot heads." He shakes his head disapprovingly at himself, "tell me more."

(⚠️)

"Okay. Well. Zoe always pulled all the guys. It was a celebration if she could even keep a boyfriend for a month. I constantly asked myself what I'm doing wrong because she made me feel as if I was doing something wrong for not having guys chase after me. I saw that her waist was smaller than mine. Her whole frame smaller than mine. So I started excessively working out on top of lacrosse. She would also comment about how I was 'always eating' so that's where I stopped." I take a deep breath. "Lilly stood up for me. For the both of us. When Zoe's 'jokes' started becoming more than jokes. She always had to say something about my appearance."

(⚠️)

"Why did that matter to you?" Colton sounds angry. At me? Not sure.

"Because she was my best friend. I wanted to be like her. I wanted a boyfriend. But then Jake came into my life. I can't figure out why he liked me and I still can't figure out now. He probably thought I'd drop my pants for him." I look at Colton. He's biting his bottom lip and his eyebrows are pulled together. He's focused. "I don't know why you like me."

"Mer. I wouldn't do any of that to you." Colton wraps his arms around me. "You're beautiful. You can be a pain in the ass sometimes. You're the Life of the Party. A fun person. You're Perfect to me." Colton presses his lips to my forehead. I wrap my short arms around him.

"I want to help you, Colton." I crane my neck back to look at him. "Please stop smoking."

"When you start eating properly again. I'll stop my bad habits."

"I care about you a lot." I blurt.

Colton smiles and he moves his face down and kisses me. Ahhh the exciting feeling of electricity charging through my body.