Chapter 4

Ryder's Pov

The first days of school always sucked.

But this one was supposed to be different. This one was supposed to be my shot. My clean slate.

No screw-ups. No fights. No running my mouth at the wrong time. Just good behavior, good grades, and good plays on the ice.

The coach said if I played well this year, kept my head down, and stayed out of trouble, I could qualify for a scholarship. College hockey. A real team.

A real future.

And if I could do that, I’d make Mom proud. I’d make Rosa proud.

Thinking about my baby sister always twisted something in my chest. She was the reason I even said yes to all this. The reason I was willing to try, really try, after… everything.

After juvie.

I’d spent enough nights staring at a cement wall to know I didn’t want to go back there. It didn’t matter how tough I thought I was. That place stripped you down. Made you cold.

So yeah. Fresh start. Play well. Be of good behavior. Win the scholarship. That was the plan.

Problem was, I’d already started messing it up before the first period was over.

It had been a dumb thing. The History teacher said something that was just wrong, straight-up wrong, and I corrected him without thinking. He didn’t like that. And since I was also late to class, that was enough for him to slap me with detention.

On my first day.

Which is how I ended up in that quiet, stale-smelling room, staring at a cracked clock and wondering if maybe this “fresh start” thing was already slipping through my fingers.

Coach wasn’t gonna be happy. He’d already been telling me about grades and my “academic attitude.” Which was just a fancy way of saying I needed a tutor.

The tutor thing was fine. I could deal with extra hours if it meant I stayed eligible to play. But then Coach hit me with the twist, apparently, the school’s best option had already turned me down.

She didn’t even want to try.

And that stung a little, even though I’d never met her.

I was still stewing on that when the door opened and she walked in.

Honey-blonde hair, pulled back in a loose tie, catching the light like it had been dipped in gold. Sea-green eyes that scanned the room without rushing, without really looking at anyone, until they landed on me.

It felt like those eyes paused for just a fraction of a second longer before moving on.

Mr. Turner called her name. Lila.

And that’s when it clicked. I’d heard about her in passing already, snippets from guys in the locker room, chatter in the halls. She used to be one of the best hockey players this school had ever had. Better than most of the guys, from what they said.

But then there was “the incident.” Nobody seemed to want to say exactly what happened, but everyone agreed on one thing, she quit after that.

Now here she was, standing in front of me in a detention room.

She didn’t look like she belonged here any more than I did.

For a few minutes, she sat at the teacher’s desk, pretending to read a paper. I pretended not to watch her, but I caught myself studying the way her brow furrowed like she was concentrating on something far away.

There was a heaviness in her, just under the surface. Not obvious, but there.

When detention ended, I didn’t move right away. I wanted to see if she’d look at me again. She did. For a heartbeat. Then she was gone, walking out into the hallway with a girl who looked like she’d known her forever.

But behind those green eyes, I’d seen something. Something she didn’t want anyone to notice.

And I couldn’t shake it.

After the crowd thinned, I headed to the Coach's office. His door was half-open, so I knocked once and stepped in.

He was at his desk, rubbing his forehead like he’d been there too long. “Ryder. Come in.”

“Got detention,” I said, leaning against the doorframe. “History class.”

He groaned. “Son, you’ve been here one day.”

“I know. Won’t happen again.”

He didn’t look convinced. “You’re already behind, Ryder. You need to catch up if you want to stay on the ice. Which means we’ve got to sort out the tutoring situation.”

I crossed my arms. “You already said the tutor turned me down.”

He sighed. “Yeah. That was Lila. The girl you just saw, I assume.”

My brows rose. “That was her?”

“Yep. And she’s the best player this school’s ever had. Knows the game inside and out. She could teach you things I can’t. But…” He spread his hands. “She doesn’t want to.”

I thought back to her in that detention room, quiet and guarded. “Why?”

“She’s stubborn,” he said simply. “Something happened, and she walked away from the sport. Now she won’t go near it.”

I shrugged. “So I’ll change her mind.”

The coach gave me a look like I’d just said I could move a mountain. “Ryder…”

“I’m stubborn too,” I cut in. “If she’s the best, then she’s who I want. I’ll handle it.”

He shook his head but didn’t argue. “Don’t get yourself in more trouble.”

“Trouble’s not the plan,” I said, pushing off the doorframe. “Winning is.”

When I left the office, the sky outside was turning that soft orange that meant the day was winding down. My mind was already working, running over ways to get Lila to say yes.

I didn’t just want her as my tutor because she was good. I wanted to know what made her quit. What made her shut herself off like that.

And yeah, I liked the fire I’d seen in her, even in the few seconds we’d shared eye contact, I’d felt it.

On the walk home, I passed the little toy store on the corner. The one with the faded sign and the window full of stuffed animals.

I stopped.

I’d been saving for a while, not much, just loose change and a couple bills from odd jobs here and there. But I had enough for something small. Something for Rosa.

Inside, the store smelled faintly of vanilla and old wood. I found a soft doll with a yellow dress and a stitched smile. The kind of toy she’d carry everywhere until it was worn thin.

The cashier wrapped it in thin paper, and I slid it into my bag, already picturing Rosa’s face when I gave it to her.

But as I stepped back onto the sidewalk, my mind drifted again.

To Lila.

To the way she’d looked at me, steady but guarded, like she was daring me to try and figure her out.

She didn’t want to coach me. Fine. But I’d make her want to.

Because if I was gonna make this fresh start work, I needed the best. And from what I’d seen today, Lila was exactly that.

And I'll make her see it.