Page 96 of The Alternate Captain
But the guys gather around and then Coach yells.
Liam is getting pulled away, Ryan’s arms around him as he fights against his brother.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Coach Adams is between Liam and me. “Get him off the damn ice. Now,” he says, directing Ryan to take him off.
“What the hell was that about?” I ask, but when no one answers me, I have no other choice but to rush towards the dressing room.
“What the fuck was that?” I ask.
“Sorry. I didn’t get a punch in. You’re supposed to be bleeding.”
“What the fuck is going on, Lee?” I pull my helmet off and shake my head.
“Why wouldn’t you tell me you knew why Vicky called off our wedding?”
“Oh. That.”
“What do you mean ‘Oh, that?’”
“How—”
“Bettsy.”
“Fucking, Bettsy,” I say.
“No. Atta boy, Bettsy. You should have told me if you knew, because Vicky wasn’t going to. I deserve to know!”
“It’s not for me to tell. Besides, I promised her I wouldn’t,” I say.
“It didn’t stop you telling Bettsy, though, did it? You’re supposed to be my best friend. You know what?” Looking furious, he stands up and for a second I wonder if he’s going to swing for me again. “Don’t speak to me,” he says.
I try to reason with him but he’s not listening. Not that I can make things any better. My own selfish behaviour has caused this, and Coach...
“Office. Now,” Coach says, and I follow him.
He rounds his desk and pushes his chair away but doesn’t sit. Instead, he leans on its back and buries his face in his hands.
“Tell me why I shouldn’t book Liam Preston a one-way flight back to Toronto, Johnny? Because whatever the fuck that was—it’s interfering with my practice. You guys may think that I’m here for the fun of it but believe me—”
“That was on me, Coach. I’m sorry. We had a misunderstanding, and I can promise you it won’t happen again.”
“Between you and Tweedle-dee, I had faith in Liam. I trusted that giving him another chance would be a good move for us.”
“Coach. Please? Considering that was half my fault, you should consider kicking me off, too.”
“Well, that’d be a fucking idea—but I can’t, dammit. How’s that going to look? There’s some shit with Rodgers and—fuck.” Coach lets go of his desk chair and slips into it. “Right, Koenig. Here’s what’s going to happen. I’ll bench him—lower body injury if anyone outside our need-to-know circles asks, but you have to promise me that this shit won’t happen again.”
Like a nodding dog, I agree. Because being benched and having to watch us play tonight will be punishment enough for Liam. The bottom line is, he needs to stay away from Vicky because the two of them are causing an entire load of unnecessary shit.
Before I can leave, I need to address something else. Something that’s been sitting heavy on my chest since I got here today.
I wasn’t feeling guilty about seeing Kelly until today. Until Bettsy walked into that dressing room and looked right at me with trust and adoration that I’d seen so many times before. There’s no way in hell I can have him depending on me when I’m not even able to depend on myself.
“Hey, Coach,” I say before I turn to leave. “I think it’d be a good idea to play Betts with the rookie. He’s got potential and Bettsy’s play style would really compliment him, you know, give him the opportunity to grow.”
“Huh? What’s brought this on?” Coach says, narrowing his eyes.
“I’ve been watching him for a while, and I believe it’d be a good call to make. I mean, it’s your call obviously, but I wanted to offer some insight—things I see when we’re on the ice.”
