“It’s fine. Just a little bloody.”
“It’s alotbloody,” he corrected. “Are you sure Foster’s daughter did that? It wasn’t some professional boxer out for an evening jog?”
“Yes, I’m sure.”
“Maybe my dad should take a look…”
Dr. Walker had tended to plenty of my hockey injuries over the years, but I didn’t want to bother him. Then again, if even Seth was concerned, this was probably more serious than I thought.
“You’re getting blood on the seat…” he added.
I grimaced as I realized he was right. Perhaps I did need to get my nose checked out after all.
Thankfully, Seth’s dad didn’t mind taking a look. He told me my nose wasn’t broken, but it might be a little swollen and bruised for the next few days. Luckily, there was no serious damage. Not physically, at least. Mackenzie had given my ego a big hit.
“If anyone asks, I took an elbow to the nose during practice,” I told Seth as I left his house.
He scoffed. “That’s boring. I’m telling everyone you’ve started bull riding.”
“Bull riding on a school night after hockey practice?”
“Okay, what about that underground fight club you supposedly set up?”
“That rumor’s like two years old. I started it to give Gray an alibi when he sprained his wrist.”
“Why, what was he really doing?”
“He tripped while picking daisies with Paige…”
“Seriously?”
“Yep. Before they were even dating.”
Seth’s eyes lit up before he shook his head. “Fight club it is. We can’t have people thinking you’ve gone soft without your older brothers around. You’re supposed to be the wild one, not the mild one. And if word gets out you were punched by a girl…”
“Okay, fine, the fight club is open for business.”
“Good. Just don’t forget you’ve got a reputation to live down to.” He grinned before closing the Walkers’ front door on me.
As I drove home, I wondered if Seth might have a point. While our team had certainly been weakened by talented players graduating last year, that wasn’t all we’d lost. The fearsome reputation my brothers and I had developed over the years had given us a distinct advantage on the ice.
Opposition players always seemed to think twice when it came to confronting us, and it often felt like we’d beaten them before the game even started. So, I’d been more than happy toencourage some of the ridiculous rumors that swirled around town about us, and I’d even added a few of my own when necessary. With my brothers gone, there was less reason to fear the Ransom Devils. Maybe it was time to let the rumor mill crank up again.
I was hoping my nose wasn’t too bad to look at, but the moment I walked through the front door of my house, Cammie started to smile.
“You look terrible.” My sister could be brutal sometimes, and I swore she had gotten even worse since starting her junior year. “Did you drop your phone on your face again?”
“That was one time.”
“Stick to the nose at practice?”
“Fight club, if you must know. You should see the other guy.”
“Does he look like he tried to stop a puck with his face too?” Like I said, brutal.
“He wishes.”
“No one in their right mind would wish they looked like you.”
