My Hockey Alpha

Nina

I felt like a harpoon pierced me straight through the heart when I saw Enzo walking with Lisa across the quad. She was leaning on him and holding his arm

He glanced up and saw me, our eyes locking across the quad. I froze. He froze, too, for a moment, his brown eyes focused on me with an expression that I couldn’t quite read. I hadn’t seen Enzo in a few days since the night we went to the diner… Had he been with Lisa this whole time, even though she attacked me like a madwoman?

The longer I stood there, frozen, the more tears started to well up in my eyes and the hotter my face became. I couldn’t bear to see him with her like this.

Before he could say anything, I turned on my heel and walked away. no, ran–

When I got home, the apartment was dark and empty. I slammed the door behind me and leaned on it, sobbing silently in the darkness, eventually sinking down to the floor and burying my head in my knees. I had told Enzo that I just wanted to be friends, but I knew that part of me still had feelings for him and seeing him with Lisa only solidified that.

I wasn’t sure how long I sat on the dark kitchen floor in tears, but eventually, the tears stopped coming and my face hurt from crying.

“God, I’m so stupid,” I whispered to myself, leaning my head back against the door. I sat there for a few minutes longer as my mind spun from all the crying.

Just then, my phone buzzed in my pocket. Pursing my lips, I pulled it out and squinted against the bright light of the screen. There was a text from Enzo.

“Can you talk later? I can explain.”

I rolled my eyes and shut off my phone, deciding not to answer. I didn’t want to hear explanations; I had grown tired of them at this point. If Enzo wanted to get back together with Lisa, that was his decision to make.

After a few more minutes of wallowing on the floor, I finally stood and decided that maybe it was best if I get out of the apartment and occupy myself. Besides, I had an exam the next day; some studying at the library would do me some good.

The campus was quiet as I walked to the library. I passed by a few students who were out on walks or heading to their night classes, but the quad was mostly empty — just how I liked it. The moon was nearly full and there was a gentle breeze blowing across the campus that kicked up some of the fallen leaves, and a light fog had begun to settle. It made for a spooky atmosphere, perfect for fall, and got me excited for Halloween in a couple of weeks.

it was mostly empty aside from a few late-night study sessions here and there and the nighttime librarian. I always preferred the library at night; not only was it more empty and

bookshelves. The moon shone through a window above

to drown the

“Psst!”

to see James peeking out from behind a bookshelf with a grin on his face. He came

so late?” he whispered as he

wanted to get out of

bit his lip. The moonlight illuminated his soft features, which made my heart feel a little less broken for

I asked, gesturing to the spot across from me at the

to see that he was reading a book on genetics. The cover looked old and dusty, and the pages were yellowed. He saw me looking and

got me thinking,” he said. “It’s all sort of silly, but the author of this book actually thought that there may have

as I studied the worn cover of

that there were, in fact, human-animal hybrids — they were just created from a curse, not breeding. Although, after everything I had learned about the supernatural lately, I wondered if that was a

I asked. “It does sound sort

James replied with a nod.” I’ll bring it to you

the company, though; it felt good to be around someone platonically who shared similar interests, and

midnight and the librarian announced that the library was closing over the

to go home and be alone with my

started putting his books back

shrugged. “I just wanted to stay, that’s all,” I said. “I don’t really

an eyebrow. “Why? Everything