Page 121 of Rewind It Back

She must have been so scared and I took it out on her.

On my phone, I find her number and call. It rings long enough that eventually, I’m pushed through to voicemail. I know she’s probably at the design firm, but I just need to talk to her.

I shoot her a follow-up text, asking her to call me when she can, before I gather myself and go inside.

Zee and my mom are sitting at the dining room table together, laughing about something, when I close the front door behind me.

Smiling, she looks over at me. “Honey, are you okay?”

“Yeah.” I shake my head, trying to shake it off. “Yeah, of course. What’s for lunch?”

“Let me make you a plate.” She’s up and out of her seat before I can tell her not to get up.

This is her love language, though. Feeding the people she loves. Having them in her home.

I follow her to the kitchen, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her into a hug. “I love you. You know that, right?”

She chuckles, patting my back. “I love you too,Tesoro. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m good.”

When I take a seat at the table, I can feel Zee watching me, but I don’t look in his direction. He clearly knows something is off, but I’m not going to get into it or talk about my dad while my mom is around.

I check my phone, finding no response from Hallie, when my mom sets a loaded plate down in front of me and then one in front of Zanders.

“Thank you, Ma. This looks great.”

She takes a seat and the three of us eat together. She catches me up on all the neighborhood news, Zee tells her all about the new things his daughter is learning, and I sit and listen, checking my phone every few minutes.

“Big night tonight,” my mom says. “Are you excited?”

I nod. “Uh-huh.”

“Everyone is coming. Your uncle Mikey is dropping by the house soon. He’s coming to the game too. The whole neighborhood has been talking about this for weeks. Imagine what it’s going to be like when you’re playing here. Hometown boy—”

“Ma.” My tone is sharp, cutting her off.

Her attention flicks between Zee and me when she realizes. “Oh.”

The house is silent, no one knowing how to shift the conversation with this giant elephant sitting in the room.

“I figured as much,” Zee eventually admits. “You didn’t sign your early extension, and there’s no reason for you not to unless you’re planning to leave.”

He offers me a placating smile before refocusing on eating the food on his plate. But he’s so clearly bummed from the confirmation that his suspicions were right. Our previous captain, Maddison, is one of Zee’s best friends and he retired last season. And while yes, they’re still extremely close, he doesn’t have him on the ice every day the way he once did. And now, I might potentially leave too. We’ve played practically every shift together since I’ve been in the NHL. He was like a big brother when I first came into the league, and now he’s one of my very best friends.

“Does, um...” I rub the back of my neck. “Does everyone know?”

“The team or the crew?”

“The crew.”

He nods, shifting his food around his plate. “Everyone put the pieces together when you didn’t sign last season. Indy is freaking out a little bit, if I’m being honest, but she’s trying not to ask you about it. And don’t get me wrong, we all understand. It’s your childhood dream. Who doesn’t want to play for their hometown team, you know? We’re all going to be stoked for you when it happens, so don’t worry about that.”

“Rio, I’m sorry,” my mom cuts in. “I figured you would have talked to your friends about it already.”

“It’s all right.” I check my phone again. “Sorry. I’ll be right back. I need to make a quick call.”

Before I’m even out of the kitchen, I dial Hallie.

---