Mated to Four

Breaking the Ice

Phoebe

I stood in the kitchen, the cold tiles beneath my feet doing little to calm the rapid thumping of my heart. Hayden was across from me, his usual coldness now replaced by something sharper, more focused. His eyes were locked on mine, waiting for me to speak, but I couldn’t seem to get the words out.

"I’m sorry" The confession hung in the air, but I had to finish. "I had no ill intentions. I did this for Phoenix, my twin brother. He’s in a coma right now. He’s... not awake. And I’ve been pretending to be him. I had to take his place."

I swallowed hard, my throat tightening. "After the accident... Phoenix isn’t going to wake up. The doctors don’t know when, or if he will. Our family couldn’t afford to lose his scholarship here, and I couldn’t let him down." I paused, trying to steady my voice. "So, I came here. I’ve been pretending to be him. I had to."

A heavy silence stretched between us, the air thick with tension. Hayden didn’t move, didn’t speak. He just stared at me, his gaze searching, his emotions unreadable.

I braced myself for his reaction, but the silence that followed was unbearable. Hayden’s eyes bored into mine, a mix of confusion and something darker I couldn’t place. His jaw clenched, and I could see his mind racing, trying to process everything I had just said.

"You should have told me from the beginning, told all of us." he said, his voice colder now, like a wall had slammed down between us.

"How could I? You set boundaries from the start and told me not to get close to you. What choice did I have? Was I wrong?"

"Yes. You dared to go against me. You should have told the truth back then. Is this your reason?"

My chest tightened at the finality in his tone. I wanted to say something, anything to fix this, to make him understand. But the words caught in my throat, and all I could do was watch as he turned, his footsteps heavy on the floor as he walked toward the door.

"Hayden, please..." I called after him, my voice small, desperate.

He didn’t stop. He didn’t even look back.

I stood there, frozen in place, the weight of my confession sinking in. My heartfelt hollow, a sharp emptiness gnawing at me as I realized he was walking away, just like that. And I was left alone, in the quiet of the kitchen, with nothing but the weight of my own guilt.

After Hayden left without saying a word, I felt like I had been struck by lightning. Everything I had tried to say, everything I thought would explain everything, ended in silence so suffocating it was hard to breathe. Hayden’s behavior always left me confused.

In the kitchen, which now felt eerily quiet, I sat on a chair, staring blankly at the door that had already closed behind him. My eyes started to feel heavy, but sleep wouldn’t come. Instead of drifting off, my thoughts grew more and more tangled.

Zion… He knew I was a girl. I tried to remember every detail, any possibility that might explain how he figured out my identity. How did he find out?

Then there was Adonis, who felt like a completely different person. I could sense it — something had changed in him, from shy to bolder and more aggressive. I couldn’t understand it. Had he always been like this?

But what troubled me most was Finley. Why did I feel so at ease around him? Every time I was anxious or scared, he somehow made me feel a little more at peace. But was it really because he made me feel safe, or was I just running away from all my worries?

And back to Hayden... I closed my eyes for a moment, feeling even more confused. Hayden knew who I really was, and yet he just left without saying anything. Does that mean he accepted me for who I am? Or is it the opposite? Why couldn’t I read his expression? I felt like I was trapped between feelings I couldn’t solve and a reality I couldn’t avoid.

Damn it, the more I thought about it, the more my head hurt!

The next morning, I woke up with a stiff neck, realizing I had fallen asleep at the kitchen table. I must’ve dozed off after a night of overthinking. As my eyes slowly opened, I heard a gentle knock at the door.

“Mathews!” Zion called from the other side, his voice full of energy. “Want to go swimming?”

I groaned and rubbed my eyes. Still half asleep, I walked to open my door for them. I wasn’t in the mood to deal with anything, especially not swimming. "I don't think so," I muttered, not bothering to hide my exhaustion.

“Come on, it’ll be fun!” Zion pressed, his voice a little too eager. “You need to get out of your head.”

Before I could respond, Finley appeared in the doorway, looking serious. “Zion, leave him alone. He’s not in the mood,” he said, giving Zion a warning glance.

Zion shrugged. “He’ll be fine once he’s in the water.”

“I said no,” I interrupted, sitting up in the bed, still trying to shake off the remnants of sleep.

Just then, Hayden walked in, looking as cold as ever. “Mathews, you’re not swimming today. You’ll be training with me and Coach Cooper.” He turned to Zion with a sharp look. “Let him be.”

Zion rolled his eyes, but reluctantly stepped back. “Whatever. You all are no fun,” he grumbled.

"Training?" I blinked at Hayden, a little confused.

“Yep. Get dressed,” he said, already heading toward the door.

I stared at Hayden, unable to hide my surprise. Ignored him, I hurried to the bathroom to splash my face and fix my messy, just-woke-up look. Once I was done, I half-ran out of the room and saw Hayden waiting, leaning casually against the wall outside.

We walked together toward the training room, and as we reached the center, the automatic lights flickered on, illuminating the surrounding space. In the quiet training room, it was just the two of us. I didn’t see our coach anywhere.

“Where’s Coach Cooper?” I asked.

“He might be running late. Let’s get a head start—just the two of us,” Hayden replied, his voice a bit softer than usual.

The atmosphere felt different—warmer, though there was still that unspoken tension between us. Hayden, always so cold and arrogant, seemed almost... softer? Yet, he still had that guarded pride, like a wall he wasn’t ready to break down.

“Come on, pull your chair over here,” he said, his tone lacking its usual edge. His sky-blue eyes, normally icy, looked a little warmer, and it sent a nervous flutter through my chest.

I smiled awkwardly, trying to hide my nerves. “Uh… maybe I’ll just sit here.” I pointed to the gaming chair in front of me.

Hayden stepped closer, dragging his usual chair over next to mine. I could feel the warmth of his presence beside me, and when his hand touched my shoulder, my heart began to race, as if a spark had passed between us.

“Sit down,” he said quietly, his voice deep, as if he was holding something back but couldn’t completely hide it. “You can’t play standing up.”

I looked back at him, searching his expression for any sign of what he was thinking. “Hayden... why are you acting like this all of a sudden?”

He gave a small smile, a hint of hesitation in his eyes, but he held onto his usual cool demeanor. “Because maybe... you’re more than I thought.”

His words hung in the air, making my chest feel tight. At that moment, I realized something had changed. Something I never expected to see in his gaze. In this training room, it was just us and the unspoken tension between us, leaving a feeling I couldn’t quite understand, but didn’t want to push away.