He nodded, more hyped than I ever thought someone could get over something unseen. I’d never admit it out loud, but he wasn’t the worst friend a person could have.
“Be careful,” he warned. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t.”
“Yeah, yeah. Go enjoy the party.”
He gave me a fist bump before heading back toward the crowds. I continued through the parking lot. The walk to my van wasn’t long. By the time I got there, my phone buzzed with a message. Her username flashed on my screen and my smile was back.
Chai03: Heading out now. I’ll be the girl shaking with nerves. See you soon!
I chuckled at her honesty and quickly shot her a confirmation text. Dots appeared on her end. She was typing. I waited, but before the response came through, something hard and cold slammed against my jaw. My mouth tasted of iron in an instant. I recovered fast enough to set my gaze on Alex Greate. Without padding he was still a large guy with angry eyes and burning red skin.
“Doesn’t feel too hot, does it?” he asked, voice rough like he hadn’t used it in ages. “Getting knocked out of nowhere.”
“No teammates or referees to get between us this time,” I warned when I stood my full height again, straightening my back and cracking my neck.
“You’re damn right. Sucks for you, asshole,” he said before winding up for another punch.
I rarely got the chance to do stuff like this off the ice. Sure, I had somewhere to be, but this would only take a minute. And God, it was going to be satisfying.
Most people frowned upon aggression outside sports. I understood that. Respected it. But it never felt right.
What felt right was my knuckles connecting with Greate’s nose. My knee shoved in his gut. The crook of my arm around his neck. Hearing his voice strained as he begged me to stop. Feeling his blood on my skin as I tightened my grip a little more.
I’m not sure if I would’ve stopped if the other guys didn’t show up. But once they did, everything went south in a heartbeat. In the end, I was the one gasping for air. Like me, they had little taste for mercy.
I understood that. Respected it.
Two of them shoved me into a broken stone bollard. My spine connected with a sharp edge. There should’ve been more pain, but I couldn’t feel much of anything at that point.
Once my head hit the concrete and a crack sounded, the painlessness felt permanent. My understanding waned, along with everything else. For a second, I stared up at the sky, listening to faraway voices panic about blood. And then, everything was dark. I couldn’t maintain focus long enough to keep my eyes open. Only one thought ran through my brain.
After all that, I’m still showing up to this date with a black eye.
Chapter Two
Finn
Ondaysevenpost-op,I got my hands on a phone. According to my sisters, my original one got damaged in the fight. They’d brought me a new one with almost everything re-installed. It was large and shiny and unlocked whenever I held it up to my face.
My hospital bed sheets felt scratchy, and the buzzing of nurses constantly walking through the halls kept me up. I needed a decent distraction. The phone seemed like a perfect one.
As I scrolled through the device, I felt like I was invading someone’s privacy. Occasionally, my amnesia allowed me to remember small, mundane things. I knew my name. How to tie my shoes. Fix a cup of coffee the way I liked.
I hadn’t known my sister’s names were Denver and Anna. My parents had divorced. Dad worked a lot. Mom moved to England to be with her girlfriend. My friends were hockey players. I was one, too.
I decided it would be wise to make a list of the things that felt unfamiliar, so I could ask questions about them later. On the notes app on my phone, I made two categories: things I remembered and things that confused me. There were only three in the familiar column. The confusion column got longer every day.
After minutes of trying to come up with something familiar, a notification ding distracted me from my list-making. The message came from an app I haven’t had time to study yet.
Chai03: Hi, just checking in…again. I feel like these messages might be annoying if you’re seeing them. But if you are seeing them, please let me know if you’re okay! I’ll leave you alone if I know you’re okay.
I frowned. The username didn’t ring any bells, so I added it to the confusion column. I scrolled through the message thread to see how long I’d been talking to this person. Unlike my text messages, I didn’t set this app to auto-delete threads after a certain amount of time. There were months’ worth of conversations.
My heart hammered as I read through the messages. None of the words triggered a full memory, but while reading, a warm feeling moved over my body. I knew this person. Not only knew but was close to them. From the direction of some messages, I think I had a crush on them.
I noted the dates and time stamps. We spoke constantly. Every day for almost a year. From what I gathered, I moderated her game streams. She trusted me with secrets she hadn’t told her best friend. We planned to meet up for the first time…the night of my accident. The night I forgot everything important.
My stomach dropped when I read the messages from that night and after. Chai started out worried, then confused, hurt, pissed, and now, was back to worry.
