“Move, Seth! I don’t need a babysitter!”
Marc was just as close, and I panicked when I lost sight of the puck behind his massive frame.
“Jansen!” I yelled. “Get out of the way!”
“Can’t,” he called back. “Just doing my job.”
“Well,Ican’t domyjob if I can’t see!”
I could hear my dad yelling something similar from the bench, but the two defensemen completely ignored him. A few minutes later, I’d let in another two goals. One skidded through Marc’s legs and into the net before I even saw it. And I had even less chance of saving the second shot, which bounced off Seth’s back as he dived to make a block.
This was Parker’s doing; I was sure of it. He must have told the guys I needed help. Or at least made them so worried about my skills they felt like they had no other choice. Did he not trust me?
I got some respite when Parker finally managed to pull a goal back, but the Sharks weren’t finished. I let in yet another goal before the final siren sounded, this time from a shot that deflected off Jansen’s ass. Apparently, he thought it more capable of stopping the puck than I was.
I left the ice exhausted and feeling like a total failure. We’d lost by five goals to one. Another L for the Devils. We’d barely done better than the previous game.
My dad gave the team a brief speech focusing mostly on how hard we were going to have to work at practice next week if we wanted to reach the level he expected from us. Judging by the silence after he finished speaking, everyone agreed. I was relieved not to be singled out, but I felt certain the rest of the team blamed me for the loss.
I hadn’t played well, and I was just as angry and disappointed at myself as they were. But I was equally annoyed at Parker. Annoyed, and a little hurt. It was like he gave up on me in the final period, pretty much ordering Seth and Marc to fill in for me because I couldn’t do the job myself.
I wanted to confront him, but I didn’t get a chance before we boarded the bus, and the mood on the return trip was so somber I didn’t want to make it worse. When we got back to Ransom, I was relieved to find Jaz waiting to give me a ride. Her gloomy expression told me the game hadn’t looked any better from where she’d been seated in the crowd.
“I know, I know,” I said, as I dumped my gear in the back of her car. “I sucked.”
“You didn’t suck,” she replied softly. “That was a tough game. And you made a lot of good saves.”
“I made a lot of mistakes, too.” I sighed. “I got tired. Struggled with my focus. Missed too many shots.” I didn’t want to go into much more detail than that, so I just shook my head. “They would have been better off with Anderson.”
“They would not have!” Jaz exclaimed. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. It was incredibly brave to even go out there. Besides, it was your first game. You’ll do better next time.”
I nodded, but only because I didn’t have a choice. Ihadto be better next time. I was running out of chances.
“I just want to forget that game ever happened,” I said.
“Well, I have the perfect way.” Jaz started to smile. “There’s a party tonight.”
“A party?”
“Yep, there’s almost always a party after Devils games.”
“Even when they lose?”
She looked thoughtful for a moment, then shrugged. “They don’t usually lose.”
Now I definitely didn’t feel like partying. Plus—
“My dad will say no,” I said.
“What about your stepmom?”
I went quiet as I considered whether it was worth the trouble. While I might not want to go to a party, maybe Jaz was right, and it would take my mind off things.
“Tessa might be okay with it,” I said. “And my dad’s not speaking to me, so I couldn’t ask him even if I wanted to.”
“It sounds like you should ask her.” She was practically bouncing up and down on the spot with anticipation.
“Okay, fine, it’s worth a try.” I pulled out my phone to type the message as we climbed in the car. Tessa responded before Jaz even started the engine. I grinned when I saw her reply. “Looks like we’re going to a party.”
