I shake my head to quiet that voice. “I’m happy to be here, Max. I love playing hockey and, it’s been my dream to play with Chance McLanely. I’ve got a lot of respect for what he does on the ice.” I stretch a hand out to Max. “And now, after this conversation, I have a lot of respect for what you do off the ice.”
“I appreciate that.” Max shakes my hand. “But I can’t take all the credit for this talk. May tore into me for the way I treated you at Chance and April’s engagement party.”
“May is…”
“April’s sister,” Max reminds me. “Short, bubbly, smile that could light up a room.”
I hear the yearning in his tone. “Are you two…”
“No. Nah. Never. I’m much older than her.”
I smile. “I’m older than Riley too. By six years.”
“I’ve got double that. Trust me. It’s not a thing.” Max blinks. “Speaking of twelve years, I heard Riley was into you since she was twelve or something?”
He’s trying to change the subject, so I don’t push it. “Me and Riles? We weren’t thinking about each other like that as kids. For obvious reasons.”
“You sure? There was a video in the nursing home group chat talking about it.”
“What video? And what group chat?”
“Want me to add you? You’ll have to mute the notifications though. They’re constant.”
I shake my head. “If you’re talking about Layla’s video, then I can verify that it’s all lies. Riley’s my best friend’s little sister, so of course she was always with us. When we met again as adults, she was doing her best to avoid me in Lucky Falls.”
I laugh at the memories of her diving into her passenger seat and ducking behind people in the crowd at the fair to keep from being seen.
“Trust me. I had to work to get her to go on a date with me. Shejuststarted seeing me as more than a brother.”
“That’s not what the clip says.”
“Send it to me,” I tell Max. “I want to know what lies are being spread about us.”
My phone beeps as Max sends the link.
I nod my thanks.
With the air cleared, we make our way to the exits.
Max slaps my shoulder. “Are you ready for the pre-qualifiers? The first game is in a few days.”
We talk strategy and Max promises to send me some video links of the opposing team’s best plays.
In the parking lot, we separate to our own cars and I pull out my phone to text Riley that I’m coming. Just as I tap on my messages, I see Max’s link and get curious.
What nonsense has Layla been saying?
If I was the only target, I’d ignore her and move on with my life. But she’s throwing mud on Riley. Will I have to hire a lawyer and sue for defamation?
I click on the link and a video fills my screen.
The camera quality sucks, but that’s probably because the creator zoomed in quite a lot on someone being escorted out of a hospital corridor. The caption reads ‘Nathan Campbell Is Dating His Stalker Fan-Girl’.
At first, I toss my phone, certain that I can file Layla’s ridiculous evidence along with all the other fuzzy, low-resolution snapshots of the Loch Ness Monster and Big Foot. Riley wasn’t there at all during the time I was fighting for my life in the hospital.
However, something prompts me to pick up the phone again.
I re-start the video and notice that the dark blur that’s being escorted out by securitydoesbear a certain resemblance to Riley.
