Damn. “That means a lot coming from you Coach.”
“Any chance you can rub off some of your maturity to Tristan? I’m going to talk to him after this but, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a kid go that hard before. Usually once you know you’ve won the fight you back off. Tonight you had to pull Tristan off.”
“I tried to talk him down. I couldn’t hear what the Bolton player was saying to him, but when he was chirping at me earlier, he spoke about someone I love. Someone who’s off limits. I nearly snapped too. It’s always hard when they come for someone you care about.”
“It is. But it’s also not worth getting hurt over. You never know which injury will becometheinjury.”
I give him a nod. He would know better than anyone.
Mason smiles. “Well I should track down Tristan and see how he’s doing. I know Coach Jameson has already pulled him into his office so?—”
I wince. Poor kid.
“Yeah, my sentiments exactly. Keep up the good work Jake. I’m really proud of you” He pats me on the shoulder before heading out the locker room.
The pride I feel from his words are one of the things that keeps me going, after my entire body is screaming in pain. The other thing is the reality that soon, so soon, I’d be able to bury myself in Eliana’s warm embrace, and pass out for the rest of the night.
Chapter 39
Jake
“Just to be clear, I’m still sitting shotgun, right?” Ollie asks me for the third time this morning.
“Yes, Oliver you can sit shotgun instead of my girlfriend. I promise she’s not replacing you.” I pat him on the shoulder in mock comfort as I continue to load our bags into my trunk.
“Excellent, because if you decided to switch up on me, I would’ve had to call you out for breaking bro code. Actually, I would’ve called you out for breaking up ourbrotherhoodandratted you out to the rest of the team.”
“Not sure including the team would work out in your favor. The guys know how annoying it is to sit next to you on car rides.”
“I am not annoying. I have thebestroad trip snacks,” he protests.
“Yeah, and the worst-smelling road trip farts. Seriously man, you should get that checked out.”
“Ha ha, very funny.”
“I know. I’m a regular comedian. It’s why Ellie loves me so much.”
As if on cue, Eliana walks out of Hockey House with Josie in tow. I jog up the porch steps to help Josie, who’s struggling to juggle all her bags.
“What do you have in there Jos’?” Eliana laughs as she hands me a bright pink backpack.
“Well I had to bring all my CDs and photocards since Sienna is going to be there. She told me the next time she sees me we can trade merch and have karaoke sessions. We’ll be gone for five days, so I had to be prepared for anything.”
“Wow you crammed all of that in one bag? That’s pretty impressive—“ I start.
“SIENNA!” Josie squeals as she runs towards my younger sister, who’s coming out of my parent’s car. When Sienna was younger she would always complain about not having a younger sister. Now that Josie is around, she finally gets her wish. And it’s a role I know she’s taken very seriously.
“Josie-Posie, I'm so happy to see you! I have all of ITZY’s songs queued up for our road trip playlist!” Sienna leads Josie down the stairs and over to my parents and Charlotte so she can meet the whole family.
I take Eliana’s bags off her shoulder and set them down before wrapping an arm around her waist and bringing her into my chest. “Sienna has been talking to me about karaoke nights all week, babe. My whole family’s over the moon that you’re both joining us.” I place a small kiss on her forehead, relishing the way she tightens our hug.
“That makes me feel better about crashing your trip. I think I just have lingering anxiety from the semester that I need to expel.” She gives me a sheepish smile.
“Well it’s a good thing I have tons of rest and relaxation planned for us on this trip.”
I managed to make it through the end of the semester as painlessly as possible, largely thanks to Eliana’s help. While final grades for PSYCH101 hadn’t been released yet, I felt fairly confident that I didn’t fuck up the exam. Between helping me prepare for my exam, studying for her own, and still working in the lab, I knew Eliana was exhausted and ready to relax. Despite the chaos that happens on any family trip, I’m determined to make this the best Christmas for her and Josie.
“Do you need my help with planning anything?”
