Page 59 of Full Body Hit: Part 2
Noah clapped as they got into the room. “They didn’t score that period, and we got our shots in,” he said, voice artificially pumped up, trying to revive the enthusiasm that had been squeezed out of them during the first period.
No one seemed particularly moved. Chase had sat on the bench in his stall, knee bouncing, stick still held in gloved hands, which was unusual for him.
Auston had been a captain for fifteen years, and he’d done fuck all to display any of that this season. Every other time the Spirits had been down and depressed, Auston had sat there quietly,concentrating on himself, letting his teammates try to rally each other.
He walked over to Chase, trying to figure out what to say that would land correctly, when Sammy was suddenly in his way.
“Yo,” Auston complained as he had to stumble back a step.
“Not now, dude,” Sammy murmured.
Auston frowned at him. “What?”
“Just…he doesn’t need that shit right now? Okay? Just. Chill.”
Someone clapped Auston on the shoulder, and he glanced back to see Noah smiling at him, although his lips were tense at the edges. “Maybe it isn’t the best time for tough love right now, yeah?”
Auston looked behind Sammy only to catch Chase looking away quickly, cheeks red.
Chase thought Auston was about to go off on him, too.
Auston wished he could say it had been a long time since he’d felt shame.
Not embarrassment. Not guilt, Butshame—the thing that metastasised to every bit of him, shaping what he was made of, turning him into something ugly and tumorous.
He stepped away and into the centre of the room.
“Hey, remember the last game Salem played? With that own goal? Yeah, those are the guys we’re playing right now—and we’re playing them the right way. Their goalie is hot right now and he’s shutting us out, but we’re pressing hard and getting shots to the net and that’s all we can do. There ain’t shit we need to change this period, and there is no fucking reason we shouldn’t win this game. I want every single one of you to go out thereknowingwe’re gonna fucking pummel those losers into the ground, you hear me?”
There were a lot of wide, stunned eyes blinking back at him.
He pointed at Koa, their goalie. “Keeping it fucking tight this period for us, that was great. Obi, good fucking passing.” Heturned to Chase. “Nice shot after our penalty kill—their goalie fucking robbed you. Doing good, kid.”
It was like touching metal while crackling with static, a spark of electricity and pain going through him at how the air of the locker room shifted—the thrill of knowing he’d done well with the hurt of realising this was something he should have been doing all along.
He’d been so fucking caught up in the whole Chase-Charlie drama these past few weeks that he hadn’t put enough energy into his actual fucking job.
“Hell yeah,” Jimmy shouted, and Noah grinned at him.
Chase was staring, too, but there was a little knot between his brows weighing him down.
Auston didn’t have the space or the privacy to check in on him, but at least the kid took his goddamn gloves off.
They ended up winning in overtime. Kao shut the door for the rest of the game, Grigory slipping a dirty one in five minutes into the third period off Chase’s brilliant assist, Noah slamming another in during a power play.
It was Auston who scored the goal in overtime, a neat wrister from the right point, taking advantage of one of the Spirits blocking his own goalie’s view.
His teammates jumped on him, cheering into his face. All Auston could do was grin in return.
They were on the road, so no one had partners and kids to go home to—every single one of them was free to go out.
Auston spruced up in his hotel room and then met the first group of guys in the lobby, engrossed in his phone until he practically bumped into them.
Noah jostled him. “Hey. Thanks for helping me out in there.”
Auston shrugged, slipping his phone into his pocket. It was fucking embarrassing that this was something he had to bethanked for instead of an obvious part of being a veteran in the room. “Don’t mention it,” he said.
Noah gave him a thumbs-up, and Auston took the opportunity to see who else was in the lobby. “Chase late?”
