I rush back to my seat, finding Emett desperately looking around the ice for his favorite player until he catches sight of me and pushes through the row to get to me.
“Mommy! Did you see him? Is he okay?”
I catch my son in my arms, hugging his shaking body close to my chest. “Why don’t you see for yourself?” Just as the words are out of my mouth, the crowd erupts with cheers. I lift Emett up and walk over to the plexiglass where Severin is already waitingfor us. Emett’s eyes light up as soon as he spots the bulky goalie standing there.
“Hey, little man,” he shouts but we can barely hear him over the happy roars surrounding us.
“Mr. Brick! You’re okay?”
Sava must read Emett’s lips and nods, giving him a wink but I also catch a wince he tries to hide.
Severin is in pain, and the bloody idiot is out there on that ice. I don’t know whether I should feel proud or horrified. He must sense my dilemma because he mouths,I’ll be fine. I promise.
You better be, I mouth back and his face splits into a wide grin.
“Is that a threat, Lychik?”
“Yes. Yes, it is.”
“Aurora?”
“Yeah?”
“I think I love you too.”
A whistle pierces through the air and Severin skates away before I can say anything else.
“Did Severin Minaev just say that he loves you?” The woman sitting in front of us asks, appearing out of nowhere. The expression on her face is horrified, and I don’t even know what to respond with because I’m still reeling from my own shock.
Thankfully, I have a son who doesn’t suffer the same effect.
“Duh,” he says to her. “I told you he’s my mommy’s boyfriend.” Emett rolls his eyes like we’re all idiots, and a laugh bubbles out of me.
I clutch him harder to my chest and pray this isn’t a dream. I pray that, for once, I don’t have to be afraid of the future and love.
21
21 – Gift from universe
Severin
“Wefuckingdidit,boys!” Abel shouts at the top of his lungs as soon as we file into the locker room, and everyone around erupts in cheers and hollers.
It was a grueling third period with more shots than the first two combined but at the end, we won and bought ourselves a ticket to playoffs.
I slump into my seat, tipping my pounding head against the wall.
“Are you all right?” Exton asks, coming up to me.
“Yeah,” I say, but my voice is coarse with pain I’ve been shoving down for the entirety of thirty-seven minutes.
Exton let’s out a humorless snort. “Even my Electra can lie better than that. Get your ass out of here and to a hospital. We’ll drive you there,” he adds and starts changing quickly.
Gingerly, I do the same.
It was a stupid idea to go out there and play, but staying back wasn’t an option. Not when it was my own damn fault for goading Zima like that…and at least it ended with a win.
“And this is how you play fucking big boy hockey!” Coach Hill stomps into the room, his face set in a wide smile. “You all did it! You listened to each other, you saw each other, and played like a real team. Phenomenal goal, Goram. That was pure art.”
