Hailey Queen
Hailey crossed her arms, still shaking, but her voice was steady when she spoke.
“You need to tell Roy,” she said. “This isn’t something you hide. You don’t get to decide this alone.”
Ryan shook his head immediately. “No.”
“Ryan—”
“He has a championship game coming up,” he snapped, the edge in his voice returning. “Scouts will be there. The entire school expects him to win. He’s under pressure already. If I tell him this now, it will destroy him.”
Hailey stared at him, disbelief mixing with anger. “You think lying to him is protecting him?”
“Yes,” he said without hesitation. “Right now, it is.”
“You’re wrong,” she shot back. “When he finds out you kept this from him, it’ll hurt even more.”
Ryan stepped closer, lowering his voice. “You don’t understand. Hockey is every
