Page 20 of Released from the Sin Bin

“Yeah, maybe.” He looks off to the side to avoid looking at me.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing.” He looks at his phone. “I gotta go. Are we good?” He points his thumb over his shoulder asking if we’re done working out, but making sure we’re not really fighting.

Luca is family. No matter how annoying he is, he’s still a brother to me. I only wish he’d trust me the way he’s asking for my trust.

I wish I had the same confidence he does in his relationship.

I’m not playing my best.

My head isn’t in the game and I’m surprised we’re not losing.

“Heads up.” Jocelyn whistles right before I get checked into the boards.

I didn’t see the girl coming and get knocked hard up against the glass while trying to keep control of the puck. Her stick fights with mine as we both attempt to get it out and slap it to our teammates. Her hard body keeps me pressed against the glass as I struggle to get my stick between the boards and the puck.

She’s in a better position than I am, but luckily, Jocelyn comes to my rescue. Slipping her stick in as I slap the other girl’s away, she takes the puck out. I hold the other player back to give Jocelyn room as she winds up and shoots the puck through the zone.

The puck flies up with ice spraying behind it to pass the goalie diving to save it. It sails less than an inch over the goalie’s glove and into the back of the net to light the lamp up.

“Yeah,” I shout and wrap my arm around Jocelyn’s shoulder as the rest of the team comes around to celebrate the winning goal.

It’s my fault we were in overtime. I should’ve blocked the other team’s last goal, but my focus on the game kept wavering and they all knew it. Coach kept me on the bench longer than usual and that last check I took could’ve cost us the game if Jocelyn hadn’t come to my aide.

Vic is away for a competition with the rest of his co-ed Husky Slopes Team, consisting of skiers and snowboarders. We didn’t say goodbye on good terms. Ever since we had the discussion, or more like I tried to discuss our future together after graduation, he’s been distant.

We’ve had our fights over the years, but this last one was particularly bad. I get pushy, and I pushed him too hard to talk about it. He told me he didn’t want to think about leaving Drexton, and I kept asking. We cleared the air right before he left and decided it was better to go with the flow.

“What’s with you today?” Jocelyn sits down on the bench next to me in the locker room. “You’ve been off all week and have barely spoken to me.”

Besides having a fight with Vic, I haven’t talked to Kandi since our fight. It hasn’t been a good few weeks. I’m worried about Luca being in love with Kandi, and she hasn’t changed anything since our talk. Luca is still in and out of her house at all different times throughout the day, and Kandi hasn’t tried to talk to me since the stuff she said about Vic and I.

I can’t talk to Jocelyn about it because I know exactly what she’ll say, and she’ll agree with Kandi. Instead of helping me through it, they blame Vic. They always do.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” I mutter and pull my clean shirt over my head.

“It’s Vic, isn’t it? What did he do now, Willa?” She straddles the bench and slides down closer, urging me to tell her.

“It’s not Vic.”

She crosses her arms and raises her one brow to call me out on the lie.

“It’s not his fault. I’m worried about graduating next spring.” Ignoring her scrutiny, I continue packing my bag.

“What would you have to be worried about? You’re a straight-A student, a killer hockey player that any team would be excited to sign, and—”

“Tomlin,” Coach Higgins calls out, interrupting her incessant praise. “The Bobcats responded.” He comes around when the female coach whistles that it’s clear for him to enter. “Are you sure this is what you want? I sent your information to a few other teams that I thought would be a better match for you.”

Vic had mentioned working for his father in Salt Lake City after graduating a few times. It makes the most sense that he’ll want to take over the firm eventually. When he wouldn’t talk to me about it, I preemptively asked Coach Higgins to send my information to the Utah Bobcats. They're not far from the city and then I’ll only be a short plane ride away from my parents.

“No,” Jocelyn scoffs. “The Utah Bobcats? That isn’t what she wants. Willa–” She shakes her head, disappointed at me when I nod to agree with him.

“I still have time to think about it, but I’m positive it’s my top choice right now.” I hold my head high, appearing confident in my decision.

“Alright.” He smiles sadly, agreeing with Jocelyn. “They want more information, but you have plenty of time before signing anything.”

Coach leaves without another word, but the weight of each step as he makes his way out of the locker room presses down on me. I hate disappointing the people that believe in me most, but they’d never understand.

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