All Chapters of CROWN OF ICE: My Rival Captain Forgot Our Bond(MM ROMANCE): Chapter 1 - Chapter 5

Adrian POVThe bus hummed with the roar of a team that had just conquered the world. The New York Titans were loud. Hockey sticks rattled in the overhead storage while helmets rolled beneath the seats. Laughter bounced off the ceiling panels, and beer cans cracked open with rhythmic pops. My teammates joked about the championship finals, their voices thick with the confidence of men who believed nothing could touch them.Our trophy sat strapped into an empty seat near the front, catching the overhead light every time the bus swayed. One of the rookies kept reaching over to touch it for luck. The others argued about where we'd celebrate after the finals. The coaches had stopped trying to control them an hour ago. Tonight belonged to the players.I sat in the front row, watching the back of the driver's head, keeping my posture stiff and my face unreadable. I was the captain. Someone had to stay sober enough to think.My travel bag rested against my boots, and its weight felt disproport

Adrian POVThe heart monitor kept a steady beat somewhere near my head. Every breath felt like it was dragging over broken glass. My arms and legs weighed too much to belong to me. When I finally forced my eyes open, the light was so bright I had to squint against it."Captain Cross."A doctor leaned over me with a penlight, checking my pupils, one and then the other."Good," he said, clicking it off. "Your eyes are working fine."I tried to ask where I was. Nothing came out. My throat was sandpaper. He glanced at the chart clipped to the foot of my bed, his face carefully arranged into nothing at all."You were in an accident. Your team bus went into a river."The words landed like they should mean something. Accident. River. Bus.I reached for the memory and found only static, no road, no engine noise, no impact. Just a dull throb building behind my eyes."What happened?" My voice barely carried."You've been under for three days.""My team?"He paused, just long enough that I under

Adrian POVThe winter wind cut right through my coat. I stood in front of three coffins. Each was draped in blue and silver, the colors of the Titans. They belonged to three brothers. My teammates.Everybody around me was crying. People stood by the cemetery gates holding hockey sticks and wearing team jerseys. Reporters kept their cameras pointed at me. Three framed photographs rested beside the coffins, surrounded by fresh white flowers.My teammates stood in a straight line with their heads lowered. One by one, they tapped the ends of their hockey sticks against the frozen ground. The sound echoed like a final goodbye I could not remember sharing with the men lying before me.I was the captain of the team. I was the one who had to say something to these people. I had to help them feel better. I could not even remember what happened.Coach Dawson came up to me. He whispered my name."Adrian," he said. "It is time to talk."I walked to the microphone. My legs felt like they were stuc