Chapter 3 Chapter 3

The bonfire roared like it had something to prove, flames licking the night sky while half the town huddled around it in puffy coats and scarves. I’d layered up like a paranoid onion—thermal, hoodie, jacket, gloves—and still felt the cold biting through my boots as I picked my way across the snowy field behind the old mill. Music thumped from someone’s truck speakers, a mix of country and whatever playlist Finn had screamed was “fire.” Literal and figurative.

Knox found me before I even reached the flames. He was wearing a green Eagles beanie pulled low, cheeks already pink from the cold, and the second he spotted me his whole face lit up like I was the goal he’d been waiting to score.

“You came,” he said, breath fogging between us. “I was starting to think you’d chickened out and gone back to reading about dragons.”

“Dragons don’t require frostbite,” I shot back, but I was smiling. Stupidly. He took my gloved hand without asking and tugged me toward the circle, his grip warm even through layers. My heart did that annoying fluttery thing again. Two days of texting and one hot chocolate and I was already doomed.

The team was loud and welcoming—Finn immediately handed me a stick with a marshmallow speared on the end like it was a peace offering, and the other guys ribbed Knox about “finally bringing a civilian.” I laughed, roasted my marshmallow until it caught fire, and pretended I wasn’t hyper-aware of every time Knox’s shoulder brushed mine.

Until she appeared.

Sophia Reyes.

I knew her name before she even said it because three different people had already whispered it like a warning label. Team manager, senior, legs-for-days, and the girl who’d had “dibs” on Knox since middle school according to the group chat I’d accidentally been added to. She stepped into the firelight wearing a white coat that somehow stayed spotless and a smile sharp enough to cut glass.

“Knoxie!” she called, voice sugary. She slid right between us, looping her arm through his like they’d done this a thousand times. “You saved me a spot by the fire, right? You always do.”

Knox stiffened—just a fraction, but I felt it. “Soph. Hey. This is Avery.”

Sophia turned her gaze on me like I was a puck she wanted to body-check. “Coach’s daughter. Right. Cute.” The word sounded like an insult wrapped in glitter. “Heard you almost got taken out by a rogue shot. Rookie move, but adorable.”

I forced a laugh. “Yeah, well, I’m new to the whole ‘hockey tries to murder you’ thing.”

She didn’t laugh back. Instead she leaned into Knox, whispering something that made him chuckle—low, familiar. My stomach twisted. I told myself it was just the smoke. But when she tugged him toward the cooler for “the good cider she’d snuck in,” he glanced at me with an apologetic half-shrug and followed.

I stayed by the fire, poking my charred marshmallow like it had personally betrayed me. Finn nudged my elbow. “Don’t let Soph get to you. She’s been in love with Captain Perfect since forever. They dated sophomore year, broke up, got back together, broke up again… it’s like a bad romcom on repeat.”

My throat tightened. “They’re not… together now?”

Finn shrugged, eyes on the flames. “Not officially. But she shows up everywhere he is. And Knox? He’s too nice to shut it down hard. Plus, his dad’s been sick, and Soph’s family helps out a lot. It’s complicated.”

Complicated. Great. Exactly what every new girl wants to hear.

I forced myself to mingle, laughing at the guys’ stories, letting someone teach me the team chant. But my eyes kept drifting. Knox and Sophia by the truck now, heads close. Her hand on his chest. His laugh at something she said. The fire popped and sparks flew up, but the real heat was crawling up my neck—jealousy, pure and ugly.

I needed air. Or distance. I slipped away from the circle, boots crunching toward the tree line where the light faded into shadows. The music dulled. My breath came out in white puffs. I just needed thirty seconds to remind myself this was day four in Minnesota and I had zero claim on the team captain.

That’s when I heard their voices.

“—can’t keep doing this, Soph.” Knox, low and tired.

“You said after graduation things would be different.” Her voice cracked, not sugary anymore. Real. “You promised. And now some California princess shows up and suddenly I’m yesterday’s news? She doesn’t even like hockey, Knox. She’s a phase.”

My heart slammed against my ribs. I froze behind a thick pine, invisible in the dark.

Knox exhaled hard. “It’s not like that. Avery’s… she’s different. I don’t know what this is yet, but I can’t keep stringing you along. You deserve better.”

Silence. Then Sophia’s laugh—bitter. “You always say that. Then you come back. Every single time. Because we fit. The town expects it. Your dad expects it. Don’t pretend some girl who’s here for five minutes changes anything.”

I couldn’t breathe. My gloves felt too tight. I turned to slip away before they saw me, but my boot caught a root. A sharp crack echoed through the trees.

Footsteps. Fast.

“Avery?” Knox’s voice, right behind me.

I spun. He was there, breath visible, eyes wide like he’d been caught stealing. Sophia hovered ten feet back, arms crossed, watching.

“You heard that,” he said. Not a question.

I swallowed. “Enough.”

“It’s not—” He stepped closer, but I backed up. The firelight flickered behind him, turning his face into something half-shadow, half-golden. “Soph and I… it’s history. Messy history. But I meant what I said to you. The bonfire, the texts, the hot chocolate—none of that was a game.”

My voice came out smaller than I wanted. “Then why didn’t you tell me there was a whole saga I was walking into?”

Before he could answer, his phone buzzed loud in his pocket. He pulled it out, glanced at the screen, and his face went pale. The caller ID glowed: DAD.

He answered instantly. “Dad? Yeah, I’m here. What’s wrong?”

I watched his expression crumble in real time. Sophia moved closer, already reaching for his arm like muscle memory.

Knox’s eyes met mine over the phone. “Avery, I have to go. It’s… it’s bad. I’ll explain everything, I swear. Just—don’t leave. Please.”

He turned and jogged toward his truck, Sophia right on his heels, calling his name.

I stood there in the freezing dark, fire crackling behind me, heart in my throat.

Whatever “bad” was, it had just yanked the one guy I was falling for out of my reach.

And I had no idea if he was coming back… or if Sophia would be the one driving him home.