Chapter 4 The Roommate I Hate
ALEXA POV
Before I could even process what was happening, Ryder immediately grabbed my wrist with his strong hand and started dragging me out of the room.
“Where are you taking me?” I asked angrily, trying my best to pull my hand free. But he was super strong. My hand felt so small and weak in his tight grip, no matter how hard I twisted and struggled.
He completely ignored my shouts and kept dragging me down the hallway like I was nothing. His fingers were like iron around my wrist. I could feel the heat from his skin and the roughness of his palm. My heart was beating fast from both anger and fear. What if he dragged me somewhere and figured out my secret? I kept shouting at him to let go, but he didn’t even look back.
We finally reached the coach’s office. Ryder pushed the door open without knocking and dragged me inside. Only then did he release my hand roughly. I stumbled back a little and glared at him angrily, rubbing my sore wrist.
“Why is he in my room?” Ryder said straight to the coach, his voice full of irritation. “When I allowed you to give me a roommate, I wasn’t expecting someone like this. I want him removed immediately.”
My chest tightened. He really hated me that much after just one day?
“Voss, I’m afraid I can’t do that,” the coach replied calmly.
“What do you mean you can’t?” Ryder’s voice turned cold and dangerous. “I want him out of my dorm this instant.”
I swallowed hard and quickly stepped forward. “Coach, I am okay with it. You can switch me to Senior Blake instead.”
The coach shook his head. “We can’t do that, Alex. Dean Marcus was the one who personally made this arrangement so that you will train under the captain in your room.”
Ryder’s face darkened. “Why is he the one making rules? Isn’t this fucking hockey business?”
“You know how he is whenever he decides to involve himself in stuff like this,” the coach said with a tired sigh.
“That bastard,” Ryder muttered angrily under his breath. He gave me one last deadly glare before storming out of the office, slamming the door so hard that the walls seemed to shake.
I stood there for a moment, my wrist still hurting from his grip. My heart was racing. Dean Marcus? Why would the Dean of the whole university care about who my roommate was? It made me feel uneasy.
The coach walked over and patted my back gently. “Alex, be safe. Voss has a rough personality, but he’s a good leader when he wants to be. Just keep your head down and work hard on the ice. You’ll be fine.”
I nodded, even though I wasn’t sure I believed him. “Thank you, Coach.”
I turned and ran back to the dorm room, my mind spinning the whole way. The moment I stepped inside, Ryder was already waiting for me in the living room. He started moving closer to me with slow, dangerous steps. His tall frame and tattooed arms made him look even more intimidating.
“What are you doing?” I asked fearfully, shifting backward. My back hit the wall and I had nowhere else to go.
Ryder stopped right in front of me, so close that I could smell his fresh soap and faint cologne. His eyes were dark and cold as he stared down at me.
“Stay away from me if you want to survive, rookie,” he muttered dangerously, his voice low and threatening. “Don’t touch my things. Don’t talk to me unless you have to. And if you cause any trouble… I’ll make your life a living hell here.”
He held my gaze for a few more seconds, then stormed into his room and slammed the door shut with a loud bang.
I let out the breath I didn’t know I was holding. My legs felt weak. I rolled my eyes even though my heart was still pounding.
“Jerk,” I whispered to myself.
I went into my own room, closed the door softly, and dropped onto the big bed. The mattress was soft and comfortable, but my mind wouldn’t stop racing. Everything had happened so fast today the tryouts, the shower incident, getting stuck with Ryder as a roommate, and now this threat.
I stared at the ceiling, thinking about Blake. At least he was here. Maybe I could find a way to get closer to him and stay away from Ryder Voss as much as possible.
Exhaustion finally took over. My eyes grew heavy, and soon I fell into a deep, uneasy sleep, still wearing my binder and boy clothes.
This new life was going to be much harder than I imagined.
---
THE NEXT DAY
When I opened my eyes the next morning, sunlight was already pouring into the room. I blinked sleepily and reached for my phone. The moment I saw the time, my heart nearly jumped out of my chest.
7:35 am.
“Shit!” I whispered in panic.
We were told yesterday to be at the training ground by 7:00 am sharp. I had overslept badly. I jumped out of bed so fast that I almost tripped over my own bag. My body was still sore from yesterday’s tryouts and the binder was digging into my skin, but I didn’t have time to complain.
I quickly changed into my hockey gear, tied my short hair under a cap, and rushed out of the room without even brushing my teeth properly. The dorm was quiet, Ryder had probably left long ago. Of course he didn’t wake me up. Jerk.
I ran the whole way to the training ground, my bag bouncing on my back. By the time I reached the big ice rink, I was breathing hard and sweating already. The rest of the team was already on the ice doing warm-up drills.
I stopped at the edge, trying to catch my breath.
“You’re late,” a deep, cold voice said behind me.
I turned around and saw Ryder Voss skating toward me with a dark expression. His tattoos were visible under his practice jersey.
“I… I overslept,” I said, still panting.
Ryder stopped right in front of me. “I won’t tolerate late coming if you’re going to train under me, rookie. This is not a joke. Everyone else was here on time.”
His words made my blood boil. I glared at him angrily.
“It’s your fault!” I shouted. “You should have woken me up when you were leaving!”
Ryder stared at me for a second, then smirked. “Am I your alarm clock now? If you can’t wake up on time, that’s your problem, not mine.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but he continued coldly.
“Punishment for coming late run around the rink on your skates ten times. Now.”
My eyes widened. “Ten times? Are you crazy? I’m not doing that!”
The other players stopped and turned to look at us. The atmosphere became very tense. It was clear that disobeying Ryder Voss was not something people did here.
I clenched my jaw. I hated this. I hated him. But I had no choice. I put on my skates and stepped onto the ice.
“Start running,” Ryder barked.
I began skating around the rink. One lap. Two laps. By the fifth lap, my thighs were burning and my lungs felt like they were on fire. Ryder skated beside me, barking orders.
“Faster, rookie! Don’t slack off!”
“Keep your head up!”
“Stop skating like a girl!”
His words stung, but I kept pushing. On the tenth lap, my legs gave out. I fell hard onto the cold ice.
I lay there on my back, breathing heavily. My whole body was aching.
Ryder skated over and looked down at me without any pity.
“Get up. We don’t have all day,” he said flatly.
Something inside me snapped.
I officially hated Ryder Voss.
