Overtime with my Ex's Best Friend

I walked out of the rink with my heart pounding. My hands were shaking. I couldn't think straight. All I could hear was their voices. All I could see was the look on their faces.

Lucas. Cole. Two brothers. Both angry. Both hurt. Both looked at me like I was something to win.

I didn't want to win.

I walked all the way home. It was a thirty-minute walk. I didn't care. I needed the cold air. I needed to clear my head.

But nothing cleared my head. The thoughts just kept coming. Lucas and his lies. Cole and his truth. The way they looked at each other like they were about to kill each other.

I was inside my house for maybe ten minutes before my phone buzzed.

Sophie: "Lucas and Cole are fighting at the rink. For real this time. Coaches are breaking it up."

I stared at the screen. My stomach dropped.

I should have stayed out of it. I should have let them handle it. But I couldn't. I grabbed my keys and ran back.

The rink was chaos when I got there.

Coaches were shouting. Players were pulling them apart. Lucas was on the ice, his lip bleeding. Cole was on his feet, his jersey torn at the collar. They were both breathing hard. Both looking at each other like they wanted to finish what they started.

"What are you doing?" I screamed.

They both turned to look at me.

I walked onto the ice. Straight toward them. "What is wrong with you two? This isn't a game. You're brothers."

Lucas wiped the blood from his lip. "He started it."

"Liar," Cole said. "You threw the first punch."

"Because you were looking at my girl like she was yours."

"She's not yours. She hasn't been yours for a year."

"She'll always be mine."

"No. She won't."

I stepped between them. "Stop it. Stop it right now."

Lucas ignored me. He kept staring at Cole. "You think you're better than me? You think she'd ever choose you? You're the backup. You've always been the backup."

Cole's face went cold. "Is that what you think?"

"I know it."

"Then you don't know anything."

I pushed them apart with my hands on their chests. "I said stop."

Lucas looked at me. "Mia, just walk away. This is between him and I."

"No. It's not. You two are fighting over me like I don't have a choice. Like I'm a prize you get to win."

"Mia, I'm trying to protect you."

"From what? From your brother? From the truth? From all the lies you told me?"

Lucas flinched. "That's not fair."

"Fair? You lied to me. You let me think I wasn't good enough. And now you show up like nothing happened and expect me to fall back into your arms?"

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, okay?"

"Sorry isn't enough."

I turned to Cole. "And you. You kept secrets too. You paid my skating fees and never told me. You watched me cry over your brother and didn't say a word."

Cole's jaw tightened. "I was trying to protect you."

"I don't need protection. I need the truth. From both of you."

Silence.

Everyone was watching us. Coaches. Players. The night guard. I felt their eyes on me. It made me want to disappear.

I stepped back. "I'm done. I'm done being the reason you two tear each other apart."

"Mia, wait." Lucas reached for me.

I pulled away. "No. You don't get to touch me. You don't get to talk to me. Not until you figure out what you actually want."

And I walked away.

I walked out of the rink. Out of the chaos. Out of all of it.

I didn't look back.

I sat on my bed for an hour. Maybe more. I didn't check the time. I just sat there and stared at the wall.

Everything felt broken. I thought I was over Lucas. I thought I had moved on. But hearing the truth about what happened just brought all the pain back.

And then there was Cole. The boy who was always there. Always watching. Always helping. The boy who looked at me like I mattered.

Why didn't I see it before?

Why did it take his brother showing up for me to realize what was right in front of me?

The doorbell rang.

I didn't move.

It rang again.

Then my phone buzzed.

Sophie: "Open the door. I have ice cream."

I got up and opened the door. Sophie stood there with two pints of ice cream and a look on her face that said she wasn't leaving.

"I heard what happened," she said, walking past me into the house. "Everyone heard what happened. It's all over school."

"Great."

"Don't care about school. Care about you." She plopped down on my bed and held out a pint of ice cream. "Here. Chocolate. Because everything is terrible."

I took it. Sat down next to her. Opened the lid and took a bite.

"I hate them," I said.

"You don't."

"I want to."

"Same." Sophie scooped some ice cream into her mouth. "But you don't. You never do."

I didn't argue. Because she was right.

"Can I say something?" Sophie asked. "And you can't get mad?"

"I can't promise that."

"Fine. I'll say it anyway." She turned to me. "Cole is better for you."

"I know."

"Like, actually better. He shows up. He stays. He doesn't make excuses."

"I know."

"He's always been the one who cared. Even when Lucas was with you, Cole was the one who helped you carry your bags. The one who drove you home. The one who checked on you when you were sick."

"I know, Sophie."

"Then why are you still choosing Lucas?"

I looked at her. "I'm not choosing Lucas."

"Then what are you doing?"

"I don't know." My voice cracked. "I don't know what I'm doing. I'm scared."

"Of what?"

"Of getting hurt. Of choosing wrong. Of giving him my heart and having him leave like everyone else."

Sophie put her hand on mine. "Cole isn't everyone else."

"He's a Kingston."

"He's not Lucas."

I didn't have an answer for that.

My phone buzzed again. I looked at the screen. My heart stopped.

Cole: "I'm outside. Can we talk?"

I stared at the screen. I didn't know what to say. I didn't know what to do.

Sophie leaned over. "Is that him?"

"Yeah."

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't know."

"Look out the window."

I walked to the window. I pulled the curtain back. And there he was. Standing in the rain. His hair was wet. His clothes were soaked. He looked up at my window and held his hands out like he was saying please.

"Sophie," I said. "He's not leaving."

"Then go talk to him."

"I can't."

"Yes, you can. You can do hard things, Mia. You do them every day."

I looked at her. She nodded.

"He's been waiting for you for a long time," she said. "Go see what he has to say."

I took a deep breath.

And I walked downstairs.