Page 74 of Wrap Around
His use of my first name, paired with the softer tone of his voice, is somehow more jarring than if he were yelling, and has me looking up to meet his eyes. His forehead is wrinkled, eyes narrowed in what looks like a mix between concern and amusement.
Now I’m confused, but feeling a little less like I’m about to be shitcanned. “Am I in trouble, sir?”
“Have you done something to warrant getting in trouble?”
Uhhhh…“No?” I cringe when it comes out sounding more like a question than an answer, and I blatantly avoid eye contact.
Coach Dempsey snorts a laugh. “Alright, I don’t want to know,” he says, holding up the folder to indicate that we’re moving on. I breathe a sigh of relief and accept the folder when he holds it out to me.
The front cover has the logo for the Calgary Flames embossed in the center.
“I got a call this morning…”
CHAPTER 28
GIDEON
Silas is in Coach’s office for way too long. He’s still in there when I leave the trainer, after proudly showing off my miraculously healed knees. When the trainer narrowed their eyes at me, reading me for the liar I am, I had to do a mad scramble for an explanation, and ended up mentioning Dr. Shelton’s diagnosis. It was that or have them know that I’m lying. Which means they’d either bench me for lying about an injury, which I have a history of, or do a deep dive into what I was really doing in that room.
He's still in Coach’s office when I get out of the showers and get dressed. I wait for a while, but my nerves get the best of me, and I move to wait outside Coach’s office. I’m bouncing my knee nervously, trying to come up with a legitimate reason to knock on the door, when finally it opens and Silas toddles out, still in his full gear. He’s white as a sheet and looks like he might be sick.
Coach follows him out the door, reaching to shake Silas’ hand.
“Congratulations, son. Try to get me an answer by tonight, if you can.”
He nods, shell shocked, and turns to face me. If it’s possible, he actually gets paler.
“Shepherd!” Coach barks. “What can I do for you?”
“Uh, nothing sir. I was just waiting for Silas.” Coach’s brow furrows. “I’m his ride,” I tack on, feeling like I need to explain further.
A few uncomfortable moments go by, where Coach’s gaze flicks back and forth between me and Silas. I realize too late that he’s probably waiting for us to move it along and stop blocking the door to his office.
Silas jumps like he’s been kicked, probably making the same realization that we’re making this weird, and starts shuffling towards the locker room. I turn to Coach and give him a respectful nod before turning to follow Silas.
When I get to the locker room, Silas is still in a daze. He takes off his shakes, pads, and under layers without saying a word. It’s not until he’s down to nothing but his compression shorts that he finally turns to face me. He opens his mouth to say something, then closes it.
After he’s paced the length of our row of lockers twice, raking his hands through his already sweaty, wrecked hair, I stop him and pull him to me.
"Silas, baby, talk to me."
Coach didn't seem upset when Silas left his office. In fact, I'm almost positive I heard him offer some congratulations. What could be upsetting him this much?
I duck my head and put myself in his line of sight, catching his worried gaze.
"What's got you so upset?"
He swallows hard, throat working around whatever words he's struggling to get out. I watch his eyes fill, the soft hazel orbs glassy, blinking fast. He pulls back and picks up a folder from the bench and shows it to me.
"Coach got a call from Calgary today," he says finally, his voice hoarse. "They need a fill in, just for the rest of the season."
My stomach drops, like the floor just gave out under my feet, and I'm plummeting straight down.
Silas rambles, rushing out some of the details, but I have a hard time processing what he's saying. I nod along, because I can't speak.
"Temporary… Rest-of-season contract…Third line coverage… Injury… Three weeks. Eleven games…"
Calgary's first line center took a hard hit during one of their away games two nights ago. We saw the playbacks—it was brutal. It's not surprising he’ll be out for the rest of the season, and that they'd need to restructure their lines. But how did they land on Silas? He's a rookie player with decent stats despite playing for a team with a losing record, but nothing that would quite stand out to a scout or recruiter, I wouldn't think. NHL teams usually call up players from their own AHL affiliate farm teams, it's unusual that they'd seek out an outside player.
