Page 87 of Absolutely Pucked
“Did you know you were losing your sight? Shit, that’s such a rude question.”
He laughed. “It’s cool. And I guess? It was a tumor. I had one in my right eye when I was three, and they said that there was a good chance the cancer could come back and infect the other eye, but if I made it to fifteen, the chance dropped dramatically. We both kind of thought I was in the clear when I hit nineteen. We were wrong.”
“Sucks.”
He snorted and shrugged. “I’d rather be blind than dead, so…it worked out. Blind hockey’s more fun anyway. Unless you get stoned with your teammate and decide a midnight hike is the best idea ever. Spoiler, it isnotthe best idea ever.” He thumped his leg on the ground, and it was then I noticed he was in a walking boot. “Anyway, what’s your sad sad story?”
“My brother hates me because I slept with his ex, and then I slept with his best friend, and now he hates me more.”
“Dude.”
“To be fair, his ex was a manipulative monster, and I didn’t know it was his best friend until it was too late and I’d already fallen in love with him.”
“You need to go into script writing. That would bean amazing soap opera.” Asa leaned back and grinned at me.
“I do not have a talent for writing. Just for screwing up.”
“Then you need to make more prolific friends than Jonah.”
Right then, faint music fired up, and the guys began to skate around the ice. I spotted Jonah right away. He was doing complicated splits in front of the goalie net. “Jesus, are all of you that flexible?”
“Hmm? Oh, nah, just the goalies. We’re bendy.” He froze. “Wait, are you screwing Jonah?”
“No. No, God. I mean, he’s nice and all, but no.” I coughed, trying not to sound like such an awkward turd. I almost said Ford’s name, but then I realized that even though this was a professional team full of professional athletes, they probably knew Ford, and I wasn’t about to make things worse for him. Not to mention, Tucker was about to become their head coach, so…yeah.
“Yeah, he and Micah are weird dudes. But I like them. He’s basically trained me, and he’s much better than any teacher I ever had.”
“He’s the only reason I’m not falling apart right now,” I confessed. It was a near thing, but it was the truth. I looked over at Asa and saw that he had his hands on what looked like a super-thin, mini air hockey table. “What is that?”
“What’s what?”
“The thing in your hand.”
He laughed. “Lets me watch the team practice. They each have a magnet in their sweaters, and it moves thedots around the board.” He leaned over to show me how it worked. Tiny movable pieces skittered around the board, and although it didn’t make sense to my eyes, I could see how it would make sense with touch. “I’m trying to pay attention so my skill doesn’t atrophy before my ankle heals.”
I should probably try to do more of that. I was rotting in more ways than one since the whole thing with Delia, and it hit me that I’d all but given up. That was not the person I had become. After all the years of metaphorically fist-fighting my insecurities, I didn’t want to be shoved back into that hole.
“Hey, I need to go make a phone call.”
“I’m happy for you?” Asa said with a frown.
“No, I…I was letting you know. I didn’t want to just walk away.”
He softened. “Oh. Yeah, thanks, bro. See you later, or are you taking off?”
“I’m stuck with Jonah for a bit, so yeah. I’ll be around.”
“Sweet. Good luck. Your shit sounds serious.”
It was. In a way.
But I deserved all of it.
I paced the front of the welcome desk with my phone pressed against my ear. Part of me wanted him to answer. Part of me hoped it would go to voicemail.
The universe decided for me. Daniel answered after the third ring. “You’re calling me?”
“Yes. I’m done. I’m going to fight you.”
