We stood together, staring at the arena. The snow-drenched campus stretched out at our feet as the sun breached the horizon, giving the buildings a golden glow. I missed my friend, I realized. But I wouldn’t change the last seven years, because they gave me something greater than hockey ever could. They gave me Aiden. Mikal deserved an apology, though.
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“So many fucking things in my sorry life. I’m sorry I took my anger and devastation out on you all those years ago. I acted like you purposely injured me. I’m sorry I cut you out of my life.”
“I understand. I always have. I took your career away intentionally or not. I was still the guy who smacked that puck.”
“Yeah, you were, so,” I turned, holding out my hand to him. “Thank you. That puck you hit led me to the greatest gift, other than Hawk, I’ve ever received. It gave me Aiden.”
He stared at my hand before gripping it firmly. “I’ll gut you if you hurt him.”
“I’d want you to, Tata.”
He let go of my hand, glaring at me while folding his arms over his chest. “That’s not gonna become a thing you fucking asshole.”
“I dunno. I kinda like it.”
“I’m not old enough to be your father, fucker.”
I laughed as I backed away from my grumbling best friend.
FORTY
AIDEN
Finally!
The energy in the arena pulsed as I raced out onto the ice with the rest of the front line—the roar of the crowd a welcome sound. I loved it, like a shot of pure adrenaline straight to the heart.
We circled the rink, tossing our hands in the air to get the home crowd on their feet. Raising my arms and stick into the air over my head, I danced across the ice to the beat of my favorite song, singing along to the lyrics the PA system blared. The ice felt charged with the bass that traveled up through my skates.
I was hyped up.
The team was on fire.
The crowd was electric.
It was a beautiful day to play hockey.
I slid to a stop with my linemates and dropped to the ice to stretch, glancing at the bench and the stands behind it. The grinon my face spread even further. Shane, Tata, and Mama sat behind the bench cheering, twirling Mauler towels over their heads while Daddy stood with the other coaches behind my teammates on the bench, all of them looking out at the team, laughing. We were all hyped for this game.
“Listen to that fucking crowd man,” Ethan Ruggers said.
“Best music on the planet.”
“Hell! Fucking! Yeah! Boys!” Trey said, punctuating his words with a thrust, humped the air. The puck bunnies in the building screamed, and the level of sound moved from ear-piercing to deafening.
Compared to a month ago, when just being in the barn made my head vibrate with pain, today I felt like I had before the accident—at home on the ice. I missed every game between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The doctors gave the go-ahead to do a full practice a week ago. It was the first game of the new year. I didn’t know if I would make it back before the playoffs, but they finally lifted the ban on games just in time for me to get added to the roster for tonight’s game.
Now that I was back on the ice, I had everything I wanted but an NHL contract.
Sasha swore it was in the bag. I’d proven myself on the ice and off, injured and healthy. The injury scared me, but I did everything asked of me. If they said sleep eight hours. I slept ten. They said no screens. I removed all the cords from my devices to remove the temptation. Daddy called his friend Julie, who walked him through setting it up for someone with little to no sight. I dictated all my homework, then sent it to Daddy, who transcribed it.
Mama and Tata were here as much as they could be. They stayed with Daddy when they were in town, which gave me an excuse to spend time over there. The coach’s house became the place to be. It’s where we did our study hours.
Ollie, once he learned what happened, jumped in to help, too. He drove me wherever I needed to go. He even customized a Mauler Hockey shirt with ‘Driver’ under the front logo and ‘TEAM MERCER’ on the back above my number. I rolled my eyes when I saw it the first time. I loved Ollie, but he was super extra.
