Page 90 of When Alec Met Evie
I chuckle. “She’s got a future, I think.” We’re quiet as we continue down the hall, but the little girl’s question is pinging around my brain.
Were you even watching the puck?
I look over at Felix. “Was she right about the shot at the end of the third period? Was my game off?”
“You saw the score. We werealloff,” Felix says.
“I know. But did I really not have your back?”
Felix’s steps slow as we approach the locker room. “Come on, man. Are you seriously letting a six-year-old get inside your head?”
“Should I?” I ask, suddenly intent on getting an honest answer. I’m aware of my own stats, so I’m not claiming things haven’t been different this season. But when I’m on the ice,I’m on.My play hasn’t suffered. At least, I didn’t think it had. “Was she right?” I ask again.
Before Felix can answer, Coach Davis appears at the end of the hall. “Sheridan.” He tilts his head toward his office. “Come talk to me a minute.”
I look back at Felix. His expression is unreadable, but he drops a hand on my shoulder, giving it a quick squeeze before moving past me and pushing into the locker room.
Tension coils in my gut as I walk toward Coach’s office. It’s not unusual for him to pull me aside and talk about one thing or another, but after the comment from the little girl outside and my brief conversation with Felix, there’s a sense of foreboding to this meeting that I’ve never felt before.
I lower myself into a chair across from his desk. “What’s up, Coach?”
He clasps his hands in front of him and gives me a long look. “You’ve done good work with Theo the past few weeks.”
I nod. “Thank you. He’s a good defender. And it seems like he’s made some good progress in therapy.”
Coach nods, then breathes out a sigh. “Alec, there’s no easy way to say this.” He pulls off his hat, then rubs a hand over his hair before putting it back on again. “I’m pulling you from our special teams. Power plays and penalty kills.”
I lean forward. “What?”
“And I’m starting Carter with Nathan tonight.”
The tension from earlier morphs into a sinking ball of dread. “Coach, if it’s my knee, I’ll play through the pain. Get another shot of cortisone. You can’t?—”
He holds up a hand, silencing my protests. “It’s already done. The decision is made.”
I slump back into my chair and work to slow my breathing. I probably should have seen this coming. Except, Ididsee it coming. I’ve been watching my stats. I’ve just been choosing not to do anything about it. Choosing to focus on Evie and Juno instead.
“I know how hard you’ve been taking care of your knee,” Coach says. “And you’re still a valuable part of this team. ButAlec, be objective for a minute. Even outside of your injury, do you really feel like you’ve been playing with your whole heart?”
I swallow my first impulse, which is to bark back,I thought I had been.At this point, it won’t be productive to argue with Coach. And after the look Felix gave me when I asked him to be honest, I’m beginning to think my first impulse isn’t actually the truth.
“Alec, look at me,” Coach Davis says, and I slowly raise my gaze to meet his. “It’s okay to ask yourself if this is still what you want. And it’s okay to admit it if it isn’t. We all know the schedule is crap. That it’s hard on families, hard on bodies. You’ve put a lot into this team. And I will be honored to coach you through your very last game whether it’s this season or five seasons from now. There is no ultimatum in this conversation. But my priority is to win games. And the decisions I’m making are what I think will give us the best shot.”
I’m in the locker room applying heat to my knee when Nathan drops down beside me, stick and tape in hand.
“Is Evie coming tonight?” he asks as he lines up the tape with careful precision.
I readjust the heating pad. “Yeah. Bringing Juno and everything. Plus, my whole family is in town.”
He nods. “That’s got to feel good. I don’t remember the last time you had family in the stands.”
I grab my own stick from where it’s leaning against my stall and work on peeling off the tape so I can replace it. “Yeah, it’s nice. Not sure how much they’ll get to see me play, but I guess I’ll take what I can get.” The words come out biting, and Nathanlooks up sharply. I frown and shake my head. “Sorry. That wasn’t—I shouldn’t be barking at you.”
“It sucks, man,” he says, and I know from his tone he’s already been told about the changes to tonight’s lineup.
“It’s the right call though,” I say, meeting Nathan’s eye. “You’ve noticed too?”
He’s quiet for too long, eyes on his stick, so I lean forward, elbows propped on my knees.
