Page 43 of Vital Blindside

Tears dampen my shirt when she presses her face into my shoulder. My brows furrow with concern.

A storm of protectiveness crashes into me, making me tighten my grip on her. Whatever happened to her, I know I’ll be the one to deal with it. She’s my student, and I’ve grown to care for her more than I thought I would. Especially in only a couple of weeks of knowing her.

Willow has that way with people, I guess. She’s special. I knew that the moment we met.

“What happened?” My voice is gentle, cautious. She shakes her head and swallows loud enough I can hear it. “I can’t fix what I don’t know, Willow.”

“I don’t want to give up hockey. It’s all I have,” she whispers.

I blink, confused. “Why would you have to give it up? You don’t. We love you here.”

Her arms drop, and she stumbles back, swiping angrily at her swollen eyes. “It doesn’t even matter. I don’t know why I came here.”

“Hold on,” I rush out when she turns to look at the door, like she’s debating whether or not to take off. “You came here to talk, right? So, let’s talk. Don’t run off.”

“I don’t know why I came here.”

I nod. “Okay, then let’s figure it out. But not in the open like this. Come on.” Grabbing her hand, I lead us through the halls in search of the staff room.

When we reach the glass door, I unlock it and lead us inside. Willow looks around the unfamiliar space with slight approval.

It’s a nicely decorated room with a leather sofa, a few armchairs, and a small kitchen decked out with a full-size fridge and one of those fancy toaster ovens. There’s a pricy coffee machine on the counter that I’ve been too scared to use in fear of busting it and a spinning carousel of mugs with cheesy sayings.

Willow heads right for the mugs before bursting into a fit of laughter. I’m both happy to see her smile and concerned as to what could have made her switch up so quickly.

When I move to stand beside her, I look at the cup in her hands and growl, “Adam.”

It’s a matte-black mug with a pair of devil horns above the words If Lost, Return To Scary Spice.

“He loves to piss you off, huh?” she asks, setting the cup back on its hook.

“If riling me up was an Olympic sport, Adam would be the one with all the gold medals, not me.”

I sit on the couch and pat the spot beside me. Willow releases a long breath but joins me.

“We’re not going to talk about Adam and his hobbies right now, though. You’re going to tell me what’s going on with you and why you think you have to quit hockey.”

Willow grabs her knees and squeezes. “My mom can’t afford to pay for my lessons. She never could, but I was tutoring a few rich kids before school, during my lunch breaks, and after school whenever I could to pay half of the fees, but now that school’s out, that’s not an option.

“Her job has cut her hours again, and between me and my three other siblings, even if I could find another job, she wouldn’t be able to pay the other half anymore. She isn’t sure if we’ll be able to afford for me to even stay on my hockey team for next season.”

My heart constricts. Shit.

“That’s . . .” I begin.

“Horrible?” she finishes. “Yeah. I can’t not play hockey, Scar. And I don’t know, I guess I came here because out of everyone I know, it’s you who would be able to understand.”

“Because I’ve lost it all.” God, those words hurt. It’s like pouring vodka in an open wound.

I collapse into the couch and rub at my face. How am I supposed to give advice to someone when I can’t even deal with my own problems? I’m probably the worst person in the world to come to with this, but I think I might be the only option for Willow. That means I can’t sit here and wallow in the castle of pity I’ve built for myself over the better part of a year. It might be too late for me to make a comeback, but it sure as hell isn’t for her.

“You’re not done, Willow. Far from it. If you think there’s any way Adam would let you walk out of here before you’re ready, then you truly have no idea the kind of guy he is or how good you are.”

When she stares at her feet in silence, I continue.

“Did you know that he sought me out and hired me just to train you?”

Her head whips in my direction. “No.”

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