Page 58 of Aftersome
Standing right up against the glass with her camera pointed out toward us, I nearly lost all ability to skate. She looked so fucking beautiful.
Painfully beautiful and the half second I looked at her, I noticed what she was wearing.
My jersey.
My goddamn number on her back and immediately, my chest swelled. I’d never willingly given my jersey to anyone, and seeing her wear it did some serious fucking things to my pride.
It looked like it belonged on her.
And just when I thought I was given a confidence booster, it was stripped away from me the second someone collided into my side. Not enough to knock me over, but just enough to send a shooting pain down my arm that caused me to wince.
I managed to go unnoticed by the coach and the rest of the team. Hiding it with the clench of my teeth and occasional roll of my shoulder, I continued to play but with half the stamina, half the energy.
Every sudden jerk or twist I made caused fire to erupt down my arm, but I knew I couldn’t quit.
I couldn’t let them see that I was in pain.
So the remainder of the game, I fought through the grueling arches and pain but it ended up not being good enough.
We lost our away game.
But in the back of my head, I knew I had my own personal win of the night.
Seeing Doe in my jersey.
That, I’ll remember forever.
21
WREN
The minute I saw him collide into that player, I knew something was wrong. His wince. His reluctance to leave the ice. The constant rolling of his shoulder.
Mal was hurt.
He continued to play through his pain until finally the clock dwindled down to zero. Finally, I felt like I could relax again, but during the game, the need to go to him overwhelmed me, and I was stuck watching from afar till I was able to see him in the locker room.
While the guys were getting showered and changed for the flight back home, I found Trevor just outside the locker room with some supplies in his hand and his head down.
“Hey, Trevor, can I talk to you for a second?” I rushed over to where he stood and when his eyes found mine, an enthused smile spread across his face.
“Yeah, of course. What’s up?”
I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to bring up Mal or not after the night he stormed in on our dinner. It felt weird, but I knew I wouldn’t get any answers from Mal.
“Is Mal okay?” I asked quietly, afraid that any second he could walk out of those doors and catch Trevor and I talking.
That was the last thing I needed.
“I saw him get hit tonight and he looked like he was hurt but it was hard to tell from where I was standing.”
The mention of Mal had the smile disappearing from his face.
“Yeah, I mean, I think he’s doing okay. He wouldn’t let me check him over, though. It could just be his shoulder that’s bugging him again.”
“His shoulder?”
He nodded.
