Page 49 of Inside the Penalty Box

I let out a yawn as I shoved a pile of papers into the recycle bin. I’d stayed up until almost three talking with Dylan last night. It hadn’t been the greatest idea when I had to be up early this morning for our last study group session.

“Are you sure you’re up to cleaning and packing today? You look bloody exhausted.” Lorelai asked, grabbing her books from the table and shoving them into her bag.

“Yeah, I promised. It needs to get done anyway. It won’t be much longer before we have to find a new place back in Vancouver, so we might as well get a head start. The more stuff we can get packed, the better off we will be for a quick move-in date.”

“Alright, well, how about we stop and grab something from Sip and Stir and then head back to the apartment and get started?”

“Good idea. I could use—” I broke into a yawn, and Lorelai let out a laugh.

“Yeah, I think you and lover boy there need to keep things to a normal hour.”

I smiled and shook my head. “We didn’t keep you awake, did we?” I questioned, feeling slightly embarrassed if we had.

“No, I’d of banged on the wall if you had of. I was out like a light once I got home.”

After Greg interrupted things and Dylan talked me down, things turned a little heated. We’d even switched to video chat after so we could say good night to one another face-to-face. I’d feared that perhaps Lorelai heard things she shouldn’t have.

“Sorry, we will try to have our calls earlier in the evening, okay.”

“It’s fine. Like I said, if I’d heard anything I’d have banged on the wall. Besides, their games go late, and I know how much Candace misses Phil while he is away. I wouldn’t dare ask you not to make the most of the time you have.”

Once we’d packed up our books, we grabbed food and coffee and made our way back to the apartment. Feeling completely energized after having something to eat, we began cleaning. Lorelai tackled the living room and kitchen while I got the fun job of the washroom. I’d just rinsed down the tub and shower when I heard Lorelai call my name.

I dropped the sponge in the sink and ripped the rubber gloves off my hands.

“Hurry up…hurry up,” Lorelai said as I opened the bathroom door and stepped out into the living room.

I glanced around. The room was still a disaster. She hadn’t done a thing. I looked inside the two empty boxes we’d brought home to see she’d packed nothing up, either. I looked over at her to see she was sitting on the edge of the couch, her hands in the pouch of her sweater, watching TV.

“What is it? I thought you were cleaning and packing?” I asked, feeling annoyed.

“I was, but then I turned the TV on and look…” she said, pointing to the screen.

I turned and looked over my shoulder at the TV to see Dylan’s face filling the screen. Shock filled me as I read the headline below. Vancouver Dominator Dylan Hayes to be a father: ex-girlfriend pregnant.

“Did you know about this?” Lorelai questioned.

I shook my head as I continued to listen to the story. Now I really didn’t know what to believe. She had been so convincing that perhaps this story was true and I really was the one being lied to.

“Well?”

I flopped down on the couch and sank into my usual spot and stared at the screen. They were showing clips from past games, and then they brought up a clip from last year. Dylan was fighting with some guy on the ice, and then it broke out to a picture of both him and Carlie walking away from some building.

“When we were on our date the other night, something happened at the club.”

“Oh?”

“We were dancing. Knox, Clay, and Lucas had just arrived. Anyway, we were dancing, and then I was attacked by someone. I was ripped away from Dylan and thrown to the ground by my hair.”

“What??? You mentioned nothing about this. Are you alright?”

“I am now. Yes. Or was. Anyway, it was her, the one in the picture. She said something about wanting him back and how they were planning on having a family.”

“Oh god.”

“Yeah, it was awful. Dylan was angry, and I just wanted away from it all.”

“Wait a minute. So, then the butt dial…wasn’t a mistake,” she said as I shook my head. “Why didn’t you have me come get you?”

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