Page 23 of Puck Blocked
“I… ah… I watch the highlights mostly.” I shrug a shoulder. “I used to go to the games. When Sean and Luke played in high school and college, I went to all their games.”
“Did you wear Luke’s number then too?” Aliyah waggles her eyebrows up and down.
“No.” I shake my head. “My brother would have thrown a fit and tore it off me.” I laugh. “He was overprotective like that.”
“What happened to him? Luke never talks about it. Just mentioned that he passed.”
“He… um…” I look down at Aliyah’s wrist and spot the long scar that runs along her skin. I don’t know if talking about what Sean did is good for her.
She follows my line of sight and offers me a tight smile. “I didn’t do this to myself,” she says, tracing a finger along the jagged scar. “My mother did. She had some… issues. Mostly with me.”
“I’m so sorry.” I take a deep breath. “My brother did do it to himself. We didn’t even know he was struggling. It was just like one day he was here, and the next he wasn’t. He left us.”
“I’m sorry. That’s really shitty.”
“It is.” I grab the wineglass and down the contents. I don’t really ever talk about Sean. I’ve talked about him more this past week than I have in the last four years. It’s easier to lock that pain away, somewhere deep, and not let it out.
“Oh, here they come!” Aliyah squeals, drawing my attention to the television screen.
“Are you a hockey fan too?”
“I’m a Liam King fan,” she says, waving her left hand and showing off the huge shiny rock on her finger. “I actually don’t like skating. I have a fear of blades and blood.”
“And you own a hockey team?”
“My dad owns a hockey team. I just own one of his players.” She gestures to the screen again.
As the Knights skate out onto the ice, an excitement I haven’t felt in a long time builds within me. It could be the wine, but I think it has more to do with watching Luke play. I had Sean convinced I went to his games to watch him and to be the supportive sister I was. Really, I just wanted to see Luke. He moves on the ice with such a strange mixture of grace and brutality. It’s mesmerizing.
“I love that we can watch the whole game,” I say.
“Why didn’t you watch whole games?” Aliyah asks.
“I wasn’t allowed.” I admit before quickly slamming my mouth shut. “I… ah… I didn’t… I…”
“It’s okay. You don’t need to explain anything to me, Montana.” She holds up the bottle, hovering the tip over my glass. “More wine?”
I nod my head, thankful for her understanding and the fact that she doesn’t pry. I grab my full glass and raise it to my lips again.
“You’ll have to come to a game at The Castle. They’re epic. The crowd really comes out for our guys.”
“Maybe.” I shrug, refusing to commit to anything.
As the game plays out on the screen in front of us, I realize that something’s most definitely wrong with Luke. He always plays hard, but tonight he seems off. He’s being a lot more vicious. Rougher. He’s been pulled off two guys already, and Grayson doesn’t appear to want to leave his side.
“Something’s wrong,” I say aloud this time.
“Yep. I agree.” Aliyah picks up her phone. I want to ask her who she’s calling but I also don’t want to be rude. “Dad, what’s up with Jameson?” she questions as soon as the person on the other end answers.
I don’t hear Mr. Monroe’s response. Aliyah just nods her head.
“Well, tell him that he’s making his girl worry. So clean it up,” she says and then hangs up.
“Oh my god. No! I don’t want to cause trouble for Luke,” I tell her.
“That’s not causing trouble—trust me. Luke’s position on the Knights is locked in.”
“I’m also not his girl,” I attempt to clarify.
