Chapter 1

Lena's POV

I shoved the dorm key into the lock, balancing my coffee in one hand and the bag of Tyler's favorite protein bars in the other. I'd picked them up after practice because he was always complaining about being hungry after training.

"Babe, you home? I got those bars you…"

The door swung open, and the words died in my throat.

Tyler was on Marie's bed.

Not mine.

Hers.

His jersey was half off, one hand tangled in her hair while the other disappeared beneath the blanket covering them. Marie's face was flushed, and her eyes went wide when they met mine.

She didn't even scramble away.

She just froze.

"Lena."

Tyler's voice was flat, almost annoyingly calm. He pulled his hand free and sat up like he'd simply been caught doing something embarrassing instead of cheating on me with my own cousin.

"You're early."

My stomach dropped so hard I almost dropped my coffee.

"Are you fucking kidding me right now?"

Marie finally pulled the blanket higher over herself, but she still didn't look sorry. No tears. No apology. Nothing.

She just sat there staring at me like she didn't know what to say.

Tyler ran a hand through his messy brown hair and sighed.

Actually sighed.

"Look, we need to talk."

"We need to talk?" My voice cracked, and I hated that he could hear how badly I was shaking. "You're in bed with my cousin. My roommate. And you're telling me we need to talk?"

He swung his legs over the side of the mattress like this was just another Tuesday.

"It's not what you think."

"It's exactly what I think."

I set my coffee down on the desk so hard that some of it spilled over the lid.

"Two years, Tyler. I sat through every game. Every injury. Every time Coach screamed at you and you came home pissed. I defended you when half the team said you choked in the playoffs. I stayed up with you when you couldn't sleep before important games. And this is what I get?"

He stood, still wearing only his boxers, and picked his hoodie up from the floor.

"You've been exhausting, okay? Always trying to fix everything. Always being so fucking soft about shit. I need someone who can handle the life I actually want. Not someone who cries after every loss and makes me feel like an asshole for wanting more."

For a second, I couldn't even breathe.

So that was it?

I had spent two years supporting him, and somehow that was the problem.

Marie stayed quiet, her eyes fixed on the wall. She didn't defend herself. She didn't even look guilty.

Something cold settled in my chest.

I wasn't going to give them the screaming match they probably expected. And I wasn't going to cry in front of them. Not here.

I walked past the bed and grabbed my duffel from beside my desk. Then I started pulling my things from the drawers. Shirts. Jeans. The hoodie Tyler had given me freshman year. I stuffed everything into the bag without looking at either of them.

"Lena, come on," Tyler drawled, sounding softer now, almost annoyed that I wasn't making this easier for him. "Don't be dramatic."

I stopped packing and looked at him. "I'm not being dramatic. I'm leaving."

Marie finally spoke. "I didn't mean for you to find out like this."

That almost made me laugh. Almost. "Cool. Glad we cleared that up."

I zipped the bag, slung it over my shoulder, and walked out. The door clicked shut behind me.

The hallway felt too bright. Too normal.

People were laughing somewhere down the hall. Someone's music was playing through a thin dorm room door. A girl walked past me carrying a laundry basket and barely glanced my way.

How could everything look so normal when my entire life had just fallen apart?

My hands were shaking. My throat burned.

I made it three doors down before my knees went weak. I caught myself against the wall and stood there, staring at the scuffed floor.

Two years. Gone because I was "too soft."

I swallowed hard.

I didn't cry. Not yet. I just stood there, trying to breathe through the ache sitting heavily behind my ribs.

"Lena?"

Sophie's voice cut through the quiet. I looked up. She was coming from the stairwell, still wearing her practice gear, her hair pulled into a messy bun. The second she saw my face, she stopped, then dropped her bag."What the hell happened?"

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out.

Sophie rushed over, grabbed my arm, and guided me toward the common room. Thankfully, it was empty. We dropped onto the ugly couch, and once I started talking, everything came spilling out.

The bed. The way Tyler had sighed. The way he'd called me exhausting. The way Marie had just sat there without even looking sorry.

Sophie listened without interrupting. Her jaw got tighter with every word. When I finally finished, she pulled me into a hard hug.

"That absolute piece of shit. Both of them."

"I just..." My voice cracked against her shoulder. "I thought we were building something. I really thought..."

"Stop."

She pulled back and placed both hands on my shoulders.

"Tyler's betrayal does not define you. Do you hear me? He's the one who fucked up. Not you. You're not soft because you gave a damn. He's just too much of a coward to admit he wanted an easy way out."

I wiped at my eyes before the tears could fall. "I feel so stupid."

"You're not stupid. You're human. And sometimes humans get blindsided by assholes."

She squeezed my hands. "We're not staying in that dorm tonight. You're crashing with me. And we're getting the hell out of this building before I go back upstairs and say something I'll regret."

Despite evegything, a weak laugh escaped me. "Please don't. Marie's still my cousin. Sort of."

"Sort of is doing a lot of work there."

I laughed again, even though my chest still hurt. We sat there for a while, Sophie quietly ranting about hockey boys and their egos while I just let myself exist without pretending I was okay.

Eventually, my phone buzzed in my pocket.

I almost ignored it, but Sophie nodded toward it.

"Check it."

I pulled it out. It was a group chat blast.

Campus hockey party happening tonight. Hosted by the seniors. The usual post-game chaos mixed with whatever excuses people needed to drink and pretend everything was fine.

I locked my phone. "No."

Sophie raised an eyebrow. "You didn't eve read it."

"I don't need to. I'm not going. I can't show up and watch Tyler act like nothing happened while Marie hangs all over him."

"Exactly why you should go." She leaned forward, her eyes narrowing like she'd already made the decision for me. "Hiding in our room gives them all the power. You stay invisible, and they win. You show up looking like you don't give a single shit, and suddenly they're the ones who look messy."

I stared at her. "That's... actually kind of evil."

"It's survival." She grinned, and I knew that look. She wasn't taking no for an answer.

"We're going. You're wearing something that makes you feel like yourself again. And if Tyler so much as looks at you wrong, I'll handle it."

I groaned and dropped my head against the back of the couch. Every part of me wanted to crawl into a bed that wasn't mine and disappear until the semester ended.

But Sophie was right. Staying locked away felt like letting them have the last word.

"Fine," I muttered. "But if this sucks, I'm blaming you forever."

"Deal." She stood and held out her hand.

"Now come on. We've got a party to crash and zero fucks to give."

I looked at her hand for a second before taking it. She pulled me to my feet. My chest still hurts. My eyes still burned.

But for the first time since I walked into that room, something small and stubborn sparked beneath the pain.

I wasn't going to stay broken for them.