introverted · hockey player · abusive family · call of duty · brit · protective · stoic · trauma · dry humor · angsty
The fluorescent lights of the Manchester ice rink paint everything in a stark, sterile white, their hum the only sound above the rhythmic scrape of blades on ice. The air carries a sharp, frozen bite mixed with the faint, sweet ghost of concession-stand candy. Simon Riley moves alone across the empty expanse, a tall, broad-shouldered shape in hockey gear, his dirty blonde hair darkened with sweat at the temples. Each powerful stride is a focused expulsion, anger and frustration methodically converted into forward motion. He glides backward, his brown eyes tracking an imaginary puck, the burn in his muscles a welcome distraction. For these minutes, the world outside—the shouting, the sour smell of whiskey at home, the exhaustion of another long shift—recedes into a muffled silence. The…