Page 71 of Home Ice

When we get to the edge of the ice, I look at him and wave my hand, fingers spread. It's five, I mouth.

The instant we get to the tunnel under the stands, Lily rushes up to me. She takes my hand and squeezes it so hard I wince. "Hey Jams."

She groans. "I'll allow that nickname for now because you're hurt. How are you? Can you move it?" She looks up at Elijah. "Did you palpate the area? Is there any instability? What about his range of motion? You did the Lachman test, obviously. Elijah? Say something. You did the Lachman test, right? Or the pivot shift? There's an on-site x-ray, but we'll have to transport him to the hospital for an MRI. I already talked to Matthew on the Minnesota staff. I told him to call ahead so the hospital will be expecting us. Or was it Mattias? It started with an M. But he said he would take care of it. What about painkillers?" She turns back to me. "How bad is it? As soon as we're back in the dressing room, I'll get you something that will take care of it."

"Lily," Elijah interrupts her and chuckles. "Breathe. He'll be fine. Brant, tell her you'll be fine."

I reach up and skate my index finger across her cheek, ending at her lips. I assume Elijah knows about me and Lily, but I'm not sure. Right now I don't care. "Baby, I'm going to be fine. There's no way I'm going to a Spice Girls concert, so I am going to be fine."

"What are you talking about?" she asks. "Are they touring again? I'd love to see them."

I roll my eyes. "Do not mention that in front of Kayden." I hold my hand out. Her eyes flick to Elijah, but then she takes it. Her hand trembles against my palm. "I am going to be fine. I've got you, right?" I wink. I fill my voice with sureness for her sake, but some of it slips into me. I can do this.

Lily stares at me and nods. "I'm going with him for his MRI." She doesn't look to see Elijah's response, but I see him nod his head.

CHAPTER 47

IF I'M GOING TO DIE FROM A PANIC ATTACK, I WANT TO DO IT IN PEACE

LILY

The shuttering of the plane jerks me awake, and I see Chloe's hand gripped tight on the armrest. "Hey." I nudge her arm with my elbow. "You alright?"

"Mm-hmm." She gives an almost imperceptible nod, but her jaw stays tight.

I try to slide my hand into hers, but she's holding the armrest with more strength than a bear. "Bumps like this are normal, but you should have woken me up." I settle for resting my hand on top of hers. It's quivering.

She looks at me with wide eyes. "I don't know how you could sleep. It's been doing this forever."

"Honey, it's fine. I promise. It's just like being on a bumpy road."

Her stare turns into a glare. "You can't fall thirty-thousand feet on a bumpy road. I wish Silver could have come too. He would understand."

I hold my hand in front of her. "Come on."

She looks around us and then shakes her head. "I'm not holding your hand. That's embarrassing," she hisses.

I look around too. The first-class section of the flight isn't full, and with the higher backs and side panels on the seats, we can hardly see anyone else. Across the aisle, Brant is still asleep. He's the most experienced flyer of all of us, so of course a few bumps wouldn't wake him. "It's not embarrassing. Especially when no one can see you." She glances down at my hand, but then crosses her arms. Okay, so much for that. "It's not the flight that has me scared," I whisper.

Brant has assured me his parents are not demons capable of devouring my soul with just a glance, but for the amount of fear they inspire in me, they might as well be. I look at my watch. I'll meet them in just about an hour. One hour until my dread turns into reality.

Maybe not. A weak voice in my brain dares to be hopeful. You thought the worst when Brant was hurt, but look how that turned out.

When Brant didn't pop right up after the whistle blew, I knew he was injured. From the way that Minnesota player fell on him, I suspected it was his knee. It felt like my lungs were bursting as I ran through the tunnels to get to him. When I finally did, I tried my best to hide how scared I was, but my whole body was shaking. It didn’t stop until the radiology tech brought him back to me after his MRI. I wanted to jump into his lap right there in the wheelchair, run my hands through his sweat-soaked hair, and never leave him again. I didn't until I went to work two days later. I don't think I even let go of his hand until the surgeon told us the next day that he didn't have any structural damage. I nearly collapsed with relief when she told us that.

Brant wakes when the pilot announces we're beginning the descent into Toronto Pearson Airport. Normally, when he smiles the way he is now, I can't help but match him. But right now, I'm as terrified as Chloe.

"I can't believe you're nervous," he leans across the aisle to reach for my hand as soon as the flight attendant passes by. "They already love you."

"They haven't met me."

"Exactly." He reaches for my hand, but I pull it away. "I've told them all about you. Hell, sometimes when I talk to them, you're the only thing we talk about. Once they actually meet you, they'll kick me out of the family and adopt you instead."

"I don't have the best track record with people."

Brant shakes his head. "Name one person who doesn't like you."

"My mom," I say without thinking. Brant's eyes flash over my shoulder to Chloe, and I follow his gaze. Her eyes are closed, and she has her AirPods in, an early Christmas present from Brant. "Everyone from eighth grade on." Fourteen years later, I can still hear the cruel things parents and some of the other students said to me. I was just a thirteen-year-old girl who wanted to use the correct restroom and have people call me by my real name. But people acted like I was carrying some disease that would destroy the community. Dad never backed down, though, even when I was too scared to stand up for myself. Who is there to do that for me now that he's gone? Em? She'll always be there for me, but she has her own fights that need her attention.

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