MELISSA'S POV

My alarm blared at 5:30 a.m., jerking me awake like a slap. For a moment, I wanted to pretend it didn’t exist. But no—today was practice. And in this life, you don’t hit snooze. You show up. Period.

I dragged myself out of bed, muscles still stiff from the last session. The shoot. The endless questions. The weight of everyone's eyes. It had all drained me. But now it was back to where I belonged. The rink. The grind. The game.

After a hot shower, I threw on my black ...