Fake Dating Alpha Hockey Captain by Riley Above Story

Chapter 35

I can’t believe it.

I can’t f ucking believe it.

My hands clench tightly on my steering wheel as I head home, half-eaten bread and butter in my buckled-in takeout box. It’s almost too hard to see the road with how much I’m crying.

Am I a fool? Is my life just a big joke to make fun of without letting me in on it?

Like, did I do something to deserve this?

I just can’t wrap my head around it. Part of me doesn’t want to because I’m pretty sure I’ll just collapse in a pile of tears or have a freak out if I think about it too

much.

Twice in a single year, I’ve been stood up on a date.

No replies to my texts, no calls, nothing on social media. The last photos he uploaded were from the party the night before. It’s like he’s just disappeared off the face of the earth.

If he had gotten too drunk or something, he could’ve maybe told me. Like, if his car broke down or his family wanted time with him, I don’t know.

But don’t leave me hanging! Don’t act like my feelings don’t matter!!

If it had been Oliver, maybe I would’ve accepted it, but that’s because, in hindsight, he always treated me badly. I didn’t realize it so much back then.

But in just a few months, Alex showed me what being treated better felt and looked like. And I seriously thought he was being genuine about it. I really did.

I’m such an idiot! I’m so f ucking st upid!!.

It gets harder to breathe, and my vision abruptly swims.

I can’t take this.

I turn on my emergency blinkers and swerve my car to the side of the road. Thankfully, no one else is really on the streets aside from a few cars further away.

Chapter 35

After putting my car in park, I dig my fingers into my hair and try to breathe.

Swallow down oxygen.

Anything to reinflate my lungs and piece together my shattering heart.

But there’s a hot ball sitting in my chest this time. Something that hasn’t been present the last few times I’ve had a panic attack.

Anger.

I’m angry. Furious!

Why would he even do this?! Is the hockey team holding something against me?! Was Alex and Oliver working together this whole time to make a big joke out of

me?!

F uc k!

I scream and slam my fists into my steering wheel, making my car horn blare. But I don’t care. I don’t give two s hits how much attention I’m attracting right now! I’m just so overtaken by rage, I can’t help it.

It’s hard to breathe and I’m panicking and I’m so f u cking angry and it all just wants

to burst out of me.

I hate this so much. I hate feeling like this so much.

I’d thought that maybe I could open up to Alex. I thought maybe we felt the same way because he kept being nice to me and going above and beyond with the dating thing! And the fact he planned the date-especially that!

But I shouldn’t have believed him.

I should’ve known better than to trust something that was entirely too good to be

true.

But he

was just…too kind.

Too snarky. Too involved. Too…

Hah. I almost thought he was genuine just now.

12.1

Chapter 85

My teeth clench as I bow my head in the car. A low whine filters out my throat as despair digs deep into my chest.

Then, my feet kick as I

feet kick as I scream again.

I remain parked there for the next few minutes until I can breathe again. Then, I carefully get back on the road and drive the rest of the way home.

When I get to school the next day, I stomp inside the building, on a mission. Apparently, my fury is showing on my face, because people move out of my way as I head in.

I finally get it.

I get why Jessica lashed out and got angry at Alex on New Year’s Eve. Why Danielle got jealous and started trying to bully me. Why Charlie got so frustrated that she started taking it out on other people.

I understand how terrible they felt, to some extent.

Of course, I don’t want to take this anger out on anyone else. I wouldn’t feel right doing that.

Oh no. All of this hurt, pain, and anger belong to one person.

And he deserves it wrapped up in as nice of a f uc king package as I can manage it.

Because, strangely enough, the stuff he’d said and talked about with me before make sense.

I didn’t deserve being mistreated by Oliver. I didn’t deserve the embarrassment, the bullying, the ridicule. I’ve not done a single thing that would make any of those actions be sensible as retribution against me.

And I definitely don’t deserve to be stood up on a date that he planned for us.

I turn the corner in a hall, beelining toward the hockey arena. Their championship game may be done, but they’ll keep playing hockey until the end of the school year in their off-season. If Alex will be anywhere, he’ll be there.

As I head forward, I see Hailey up ahead. She’s likely going to see Lenard, so

Chapter 35

hearing me, she turns around.

“Hey, Cynth! How was theeehhh…”

She trails off as I approach and stays to the side as I stomp past her. While I don’t slow down, I do hear her start to follow me.

I shove the hockey arena doors open, and some nearby players startle, looking

over at me.

Having caught my attention, I stalk over, and they back up a bit.

“Wherrrrre is Alexsss?”

The three remain frozen for a good moment before giving each other confused looks. I breathe in deeply to try and ease my tone. They don’t deserve my anger.

…Sorrrry. Where. Is Alex. Please?”

One of the guys spoke up then.

“Oh, uh, no, you’re good. We understood you the first time. It’s just, uh…”

He glanced at one of the others, who continued.

“We thought he was maybe with you? He never showed up for practice today.”

My glare lightens a bit in confusion, and Hailey catches up behind me. She greets the guys briefly before turning to me.

“What’s the beef, girl? You’re, erh, enraged.”

“Trrrying to find Alex. Ssstood me up.”

All of them look surprised, their eyebrows raising.

“Uh…yeah. ‘Scuse us, guys,” Hailey says, pulling me over to a nearby wall, from the others. “Seriously? He didn’t show up.”

away

“No! I waited there for hourrrs-“I swallow thickly, trying to keep from crying. No crying right now. Only anger. “I waited for hourrrs and he didn’t show up.”

“But, like, I was there. I literally heard him set the reservation.”

Chapter 34

“And therrre was one! I got there earrrly and sssat at our table without a problem. But he jussst never showed up. And he has ssn’t answered my phone callsss or

texts.”

I’m stuttering harder than usual, unable to pace my speech properly in distress. Still, discussing this with Hailey does make me feel a little better.

“Oh, Cynthia, I’m so sorry this happened.”

She gives me a hug that I lean into heavily. At least I’m not feeling so alone

anymore.

“Tell you what, you try contacting him again, and I’ll see if Len knows something. He seemed a bit odd after Alex left early.”

“He left early?”

“Yeah! I thought he was leaving to just talk with you on the phone or something, but you haven’t heard from him since…”

“That night… I dunno when he liked the texsst I sent him beforrre I went to bed.”

“Hmm… Alright, gimme a sec. Stay right here.”

Hailey hurries off, so I stay where she told me to. Still, I feel restless without actually doing anything, so I open my phone again and look at our text messages.

The last thing he’d done was ‘love’ my pre-bed text with the stuffed animals.

Maybe if I could contact someone else he knows…..

For some reason, it dawns on me then. Something a bit weird that I hadn’t really minded until recently.

Alex knows my mom, but I don’t know his parents. The most I know is his older brother, but it’s not like I have any real way to contact him. I don’t even really know where he lives, either.

And though he and Michael had seemed close, not even his brother had been there at his hockey game. Now, he’s suddenly just…gone?

My anger cools rather quickly. The fact it lasted so long was a surprise to me, too.

But it’s replaced with anxiety. And now, the lack of responses to my text messages

5/0

Chapter 35

seems more sinister than before.

12:14 Sat, 23 Mar 2

Chapter 36