Page 85 of Boarded Hearts

Fuck me, this woman.

What have I done to deserve her?

I inwardly work to control my anger at the blatant way Amie tried to sabotage my relationship. “Yeah, keep away from her. She’s bad news.” I kiss the corner of her mouth and rest my forehead against hers. “I love you, so fucking much.” I’m yet to hear those words in return, but I know they’ll come. I’ve always been ahead in my feelings and that’s okay, as long as she gets there eventually.

Her thumb strokes my cheek as our noses brush. “I’ll see you on the ice. I’ll be the one wearing number twenty-two.”

“Evans, what the fuck is wrong with you?” Coach Burrows yells from the side.

We’ve been going over some light drills. Zach’s game has been off for weeks, and his head has been everywhere but on the ice. The team has been carrying him, but against the New York Blades, we need our enforcer and at six-five and two hundred and thirty pounds, Zach has always been our guy.

I skate over to him; he’s barely spoken with the team since he got here, but he hasn’t even looked at me. “Yo, man, what’s going on?” I take a gulp of my Gatorade and lean against the side.

“Nothing,” he snaps.

“Well, clearly there is. You haven’t been at it for the past few weeks.” I’m desperately trying to toe the line between best friend and captain responsibilities. He of all people should get that as my AC.“Coach is riding you because your head hasn’t been in it for weeks. I need you; we need you at your best tonight. So, tell me, what can I do to help?”

He turns to look at me for the first time all session. “You can help me by fucking off.”

The fuck? This isn’t the Zach Evans I know, my bro on and off the ice. His words piss me off, but his tone slices straight through me.

“Yeah, well, no can do. So, get your shit together or we’re toast out there tonight.”

I shake my head and begin to skate away. “You think you’re untouchable now you have the girl? Jesus, you stroll around here like you’re God’s gift. You’ve been so wrapped up in your own perfect world you can’t see anything other than her. Not even your so-called bro and the shit I’ve got going on.” He skates up to me and shoves his hand at my chest. He’s got an inch and at least ten pounds on me but more than that, Zach might be a pussycat off the ice, but he was born to fight on it.

“What?”

He blows out a humorless laugh. “Yeah, I thought so. No fucking idea what’s going on around you.”

“Well, I won’t if you don’t fucking tell me!” I shout, bringing the rest of practice to a halt.

He lurches forward getting right in my face, his anger bubbling over. “I shouldn’t fucking have to. I’ve always been there for you man, and where are you when I need you? Knee deep in pussy, as fucking always.”

My stomach rolls, and I want to hurl. He’s right. I don’t know what’s sent him into this downward spiral, but I do know I should’ve been there to protect him. My heart rate begins to pick up, and all I can hear is the throbbing pound of my pulse in my ears and a sharp pain in my chest. “It’s Amie, isn’t it? She’s been giving Felicity shit too.”

Zach drags a gloved hand over his face. “Yeah, something like that.” Bitterness is still clear in his voice. “The whole situation is fucked. My fucking life is totally fucked.” His last two words shake as his voice cracks. I’ve never seen my stoic best friend break, but he’s on the edge of losing it now, I can tell.

“Okay, you’re worrying me now, just tell me what’s?—”

“She’s fucking pregnant, alright? She told me three days ago that she’s pregnant. At first, I was scared but excited, and now… Now there’s doubt over whether it’s mine.”

What the fuck.

My mouth opens but the words die on my tongue.

Finally, he continues. “The news hasn’t broken yet, but it will. This is Amie. Of course it will break. She called me last night telling me she’d been sleeping with Schneider after all, and he’s claiming it to be his. He wants her to take a paternity test as soon as possible, but she’s saying it can only be mine.” His laugh is dark. “Apparently, she loves me.”

I’m dead on my feet, unresponsive. Zach’s revelation swirls in my head, but nothing seems to be registering other than this is bad. Really fucking bad. And the kicker? He’s about to play the other potential father in only a few hours. I have to tell Coach that he needs to be benched; it’s not safe for him to play in this headspace.

My best friend drops his head between his shoulders and pulls off his helmet, running a hand through his sweat-soaked mousy brown hair. “No one knows, not even my parents, and I’m desperate to keep it this way.” He looks up at me then, his blue eyes glassy but fierce. “I’m playing tonight. Do not tell Coach. At this rate, I’m one bad game away from the farm team, so please, just keep it quiet.”

I shake my head. “You know I can’t let you go out there when you’re in the place you are.”

He pokes me hard in the chest with his gloved hand. “And how many times have I kept my mouth shut when you played still half-cooked? How many times did I cover for you when I dragged you out of bars just hours before practice? I’ve got this handled, but tell Coach, and you and me…” he motions between us. “We’re done.”

“He’s a liability out there.” Coach Burrows turns to me on the bench. It’s the start of the third period and we’re down three to nothing. The entire team is crumbling, but Zach is playing in slow motion. He and Schneider have been eating at each other all game, the tension palpable and bordering on lethal.

My game isn’t much better. I’ve barely made a clean pass, and my defensive support in the slot and behind the net has been non-existent. My legs feel like weights. My body’s thrumming with adrenaline, but I feel like I’m skating through molasses.

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