“And this goes for everyone,” Dom says. “I’m probably going to be the next one to get hit, but look out for Ari, okay? She will never admit when she is struggling or ask for help when she needs it, but she does. She is damn good at her job, and we have no reason at all to think she can’t do it, but we are a family. She is a part of this family now. If you all could help David whenhe hurt his knee, you can help Ari when she struggles… The reason I wanted to do this meeting was that Friday will be the first time she’s seen that rink since she was hurt. Ray knows her better than anyone here, and when he is willing to piss her off to make sure everyone knows she will need support—but to still be pushed to keep going—I am going to stand by that.”
“I don’t mean to sound insensitive,” a woman says. “But… why go there at all? I don’t know if I could go back to the place I got hurt.”
“Because she’s hard-headed like her momma,” Ray says, making me laugh.
“My name is Laken Rockwell, by the way,” she says. “I am the PA for the second line. Janice is the PA for the third.”
“I spent months relearning how to do basic things and be able to function day to day,” I say. “I was fired the same day I woke up from the coma, and I was determined to succeed despite what happened. I’ve accepted that I’ll have to go back one day and see that rink. It’s not to say it won’t be hard, because it will be. I try to pretend that I don’t get triggered by things, but I do. I will be the last to admit if I am in pain. I could easily walk away, but then they win. Everyone who hurt me or didn’t support me wins.”
“So… are we skipping over your lie?” Jovian asks.
“Really?” Dom deadpans.
“No, I think this is important,” Jovian says. “Ari, you said you didn’t know who hurt you. That was a lie. You said to Eli that we were just like them, which I take offense to, by the way.”
“I shouldn’t have said that. I have full confidence you’d finish me off and not leave me to bleed out on the ice,” I say, making Ray laugh. “Yes. I know who it is. I have no way to prove it, and the police don’t give a shit. The coaches don’t give a shit, and I am confident that they know who did it but are protecting them. If I speak up, I risk dying next time. They have the money and the means to make it happen. I am choosing to move on and save myself from that pain again.”
“What can we do to support you?” Dom asks. “This meeting is entirely about protecting you.”
“So you corner me on the ice, of all places, and make me talk about it?” I ask.
“Yes,” Ray says. “You told me to push, so I am pushing.”
“I meant make me get up and learn to walk, not confess my trauma in front of twenty-five people,” I snap, but close my eyes and take a deep breath.
“Ari, I love you. You are like a daughter to me, so I am going to play dad for a second. If you want me to support you and you don’t want me to sit you out of those games, they need to know that happened. Your trauma matters, and I can’t keep you safe if you are too damn stubborn to even eat regularly.”
“You are annoying,” I say with a frown.
“In my defense, your mom made me do it,” he says, pointing to the glass where Mom is waiting behind it. She smiles before stepping on the ice.
“Hey, Mrs. Denver,” Connor says with a smile.
“You boys being good?” she asks before hugging me.
“Trying to.” Kip laughs.
“I didn’t know you were still helping out,” I say to Mom.
“Yeah. I started helping a few months ago when Dom and Ray’s PA retired,” she says. “Go on. Tell them.”
“Why?” I ask.
“Because you are about to have to be in that place again, around the people who hurt you. With no proof, speaking up puts you at risk. This means that you need to make sure those fuckers can’t get to you again,” Mom says.
“How did you know I was lying?” I ask.
“Because you woke up a few times before you completely went under and said their numbers, baby. I’ve known since the first day,” she says.
“Fine.” I sigh. I turn to everyone else, and I go through the events of what happened, without names. I explain how I caught them raping a girl, turned them into the coaches, and then everything I remember about what they actually did to me. I end with what the long-term effects are. Several players are angry at my confession, but most are in tears.
“So, the four you are friends with. They don’t know who it is?” Jovian asks.
“No. Kip, Connor, Hunter, and Mateo know it’s two of the players, because they pried it out of me last night, but no one else,” I say.
“So,” Dom says. “Do not let her be alone with any of the players. I don’t care who it is or if she gets mad. Okay?”
“And don’t start any shit with them,” Ray says. “The last thing we need is them thinking she remembers. Everyone thinks she has no memory of it.”
