Ice Cold Love

Part 18

Please note: the portion of text written in italics is a flashback

Warning: Language, violence

Ronan's POV

I had officially lost it.

The moment Luca let me go, I threw him into Coach Daniels office. Coach's roaring was deaf to my ears as I pinned Luca against the wall. I felt a murderous rage consume me.

Luca tried to shove me off him, but it only encouraged me to tighten my steel hold on him as he did. "Get off me, Harding!"

My lips curved into a cruel smile at his futile attempts to get out of my grasp. I had a few inches on Luca, and I glimpsed fear in his eyes as I glared down at him. "What's wrong Trate? This wasn't part of the plan?" my voice was low as I sneered at Luca.

Were Conner and Luca so stupid as to assume I wouldn't beat them to a pulp the second I got the chance? Did they truly believe I would just sit back and let their pathetic charade go on and not do anything about it?

Right now, I didn't care that Conner Bryans was our best defensive player, or that Luca Trate was the teams centre. I didn't care I was captain, or that Coach was watching. Screw the promise I made to Adam to be better this year.

Consequences be damned, I would make sure Conner and Luca got more than what they deserved today.

The satisfaction I felt when my fist first connected with Luca's jaw only drove me to keep going. Hit after hit, I aimed at his face, his nose, his stomach. Each blow only put a minute dent in my infinite fury.

My heart pounded in my ears, and my muscles seared with the intensity of my frustration. I saw red, and I could no longer tell if it was Luca's blood or my anger blinding me, but I kept going. I didn't want to stop. Even when Coach eventually pulled me off Luca, I tried to grab him again.

"...need to stop acting like an animal!" Coach's words made their way through my furious haze.

When I felt my senses clear, I took in my surroundings. Luca was hunched over on the floor, a hand over his stomach as blood dripped from his mouth. Conner was seated in a chair at the desk, a hand over his broken nose and his eyes wide as he watched his best friend.

Coach Daniels towered in front of me, as if trying to shield Luca and Conner. "Dammit Harding!" he yelled at me as he eyed Luca, trying to scan his injuries. "First Bryans, now Trate!"

I was like a lion stuck in a room with two zebras, being held back from hunting them. My heavy breathing slowed somewhat, but my need to prove my innocence continued to nag at me.

"Coach, Coach they're lying. I didn't do anything," my words came out in breathy pants, a stark contrast to how I felt.

"I would be out of my damn mind to believe you after what I just saw, Harding."

Coach's statement only added to my rage, and I had to bite my tongue to stop myself from saying things that would only make this worse. But he deserved it, I wanted to say, he deserved more, they both do.

Coach Daniels pushed me towards the door. "Go wait outside! I need to get these two a medic."

I flung the door shut as I left and propped myself against the wall, willing myself to clear me head. It was easier to do that when two very specific people weren't present.

My mind was a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions, clawing at me relentlessly. Why was Conner so hell bent of being captain? We still had another year, I would have gratefully elected him to be captain the following year. Why did I stupidly comply when Luca texted me, asking to meet me to discuss some "team issue" in private? How the fuck did I not see this coming?