Chapter 5 Walking In

ALEXA POV

My legs were shaking badly by the time training ended. Every muscle in my body hurts. I wiped sweat from my face and followed the other guys toward the Locker shower room. My heart started beating faster with every step.

I walked inside and quickly sat on a bench in the corner, pretending to tie my skates again. The boys laughed and talked loudly as they started pulling off their jerseys and pads. One by one, they took off their clothes.

My eyes widened. I jumped up fast and ran toward the door, closing my eyes tight so I wouldn’t see anything. My shoulder hit the door frame hard as I pushed it open and rushed outside.

I stopped outside the building, breathing fast. My face felt hot. I leaned against the wall, trying to calm down.

“Alex, right?” a voice said.

I looked up in shock. A boy with messy brown hair and a friendly smile was standing there. He looked like a rookie too.

“Yeah,” I said carefully.

“I’m new too,” he said. “I know you because of how you screamed the day you were called during tryouts.”

I nodded, feeling embarrassed. “Oh.”

“I’m Freddie,” he said, smiling wider.

“Nice to meet you,” I replied, smiling back. It felt strange but nice talking to a boy who thought I was also a boy.

“I see you are under Captain Ryder,” Freddie said.

“Yeah, unfortunately,” I said with a sigh.

Freddie laughed. “I am under Senior Blake and he has been great so far.”

“You are so lucky,” I said, pouting a little. “I wish I was under him too.”

“But a lot of people are jealous of you now,” Freddie said. “Captain Ryder is a very good player. A lot of guys wanted to train under him, but you are the one who got chosen.”

“Blake is great too,” I scoffed.

“Yeah, he is. But not as good as Ryder. That’s why they can never get along,” Freddie said.

We both stayed quiet for a while. I looked at the ground, thinking about everything.

“Are you coming to the party tonight?” Freddie suddenly asked.

“What party?” I asked, confused.

“There is a party for the new players at the club. You are coming, right? I hear it’s always fun there.”

“I will think about it,” I said.

“Please come,” Freddie said, looking at me hopefully. “I really want to see you there.”

I nodded slowly. “Okay.”

He waved at me with a big smile before walking away. I watched him leave, still smiling.

Does this mean I have a friend now?

I couldn’t believe it. For the first time since I came to Blackwood, someone was nice to me without knowing my secret. Freddie thought I was just another guy. A normal teammate.

My chest felt warm. Maybe this crazy plan wasn’t completely hopeless after all. Even with Ryder making my life difficult, at least I had one person who didn’t hate me.

I stood there for a few more minutes, enjoying the feeling. Then I remembered I still had to find a way to shower without anyone seeing me. The smile slowly left my face.

This new life was full of small wins and big problems.

—

I waited until the locker room became completely quiet. The voices of the other boys had faded away. I peeked out from behind the corner and saw no one. My heart beat fast as I quickly slipped inside.

I moved carefully, checking every bathroom stall one by one. I opened each door slowly, looked inside, and made sure it was empty. Only after checking all of them did I finally pick the last stall at the corner. I stepped in, locked the door tightly, and let out a long breath.

I took off my clothes fast and turned on the shower. Warm water fell on my skin. I closed my eyes and stood there for a moment, letting the water wash away the sweat and tiredness from training. It felt so good. My muscles relaxed a little. I felt like I could breathe.

I reached for the soap and started washing my body when I suddenly heard the sound of the main door opening outside.

My eyes widened in shock. My heart jumped to my throat.

“Is someone in here?” a voice called out.

I panicked. I turned off the water quickly and grabbed my clothes. My hands shook so badly that I almost dropped everything. I pulled on my pants first, then my shirt. I almost forgot to put on my binder. I quickly wrapped it around my chest and tied it tight before rushing to open the door.

I stepped out with wet hair and messy clothes.

It was Blake.

He stood there holding a set of keys. My heart beat loudly as I stared at his face. He looked just as handsome as I remembered from high school. His eyes were kind and a little confused.

“Oh, you are the one,” he said softly. “I’m sorry for disturbing you. I’m in charge of locking the locker room after training. I heard the shower running so I came to check.”

I swallowed hard. “I am sorry for delaying you.”

“It’s okay,” Blake said with a small smile. “Are you done?”

“Yeah, yeah. Thank you,” I said quickly and hurried past him.

I started walking toward the exit, but his voice stopped me again.

“You look so familiar,” he said. “Have we met before?”

I froze. My hands became cold. I turned around slowly and forced a calm face.

“I don’t think so,” I said. “You must have mistaken me for someone else.”

Blake looked at me for a few seconds, like he was trying to remember something. Then he shook his head.

“Maybe,” he said. “What is your name?”

We walked outside together as he locked the door behind us.

“It’s Alex,” I answered.

“See you around then, Alex,” he said with a friendly smile before walking away.

I stood at the same spot, watching him go. A bright smile slowly spread across my face. My heart felt warm. Blake had talked to me. He looked at me. Even though he didn’t remember me yet, it still made me happy.

---

After the shower, I decided to walk around the school instead of going straight back to the dorm. I watched the basketball team practicing, then stopped to see the soccer players running on the field. The cheerleaders were also practicing their routines. Everything looked so lively. For a moment, I forgot about my problems and just enjoyed looking at normal campus life.

When it started getting dark, I finally headed back to the dorm. I felt tired but a little calmer. I pushed the door open and stepped into the sitting room.

My eyes widened in shock.

Ryder was on the couch with a girl beneath him. He was banging her roughly, his hips moving hard and fast. The girl’s moans filled the whole room. She was loud, her voice shaking as she cried out, “Ryder… fuck me harder! Yes, like that!”

My bag slipped from my hand and fell to the floor with a loud thud.

They both turned their heads and looked at me for a few seconds. The girl’s face was flushed and her eyes were half-closed. Ryder’s back was covered in sweat, his tattoos shining under the light. He stared at me with dark eyes, but he didn’t stop moving.

Just like that, they looked away and continued what they were doing, like I wasn’t even there.

The girl moaned even louder. Ryder’s hand gripped her thigh as he kept thrusting. The sound of their bodies and her cries filled the sitting room.

I stood there frozen, my face burning hot. My heart beat so fast it hurt. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t speak. All I could do was stare at them.

Ryder didn’t care. He kept going like it was normal, like having sex in the shared sitting room while his roommate walked in meant nothing.

My stomach twisted. Anger, embarrassment, and something else I didn’t want to name mixed inside me. I quickly picked up my bag from the floor with shaking hands and rushed into my room. I slammed the door behind me and leaned against it, breathing hard.

I could still hear the girl’s loud moans through the wall. I closed my eyes tightly and covered my ears with my hands.

This was his life. This was the kind of person Ryder Voss was. And I was stuck living with him.