“Okay. So, long distance.” Just the thought of not seeing him every day is depressing, but Davidson is right—I wouldn’t give up the NHL for anything. I’ve dreamed of this moment for most of my life. I can’t give it up now.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Bryce
Bodie
Are you home? I need to talk to you.
I’ve been staring at Bodie’s text for the past fifteen minutes. I woke up in such a great mood, only to get the dreaded “we need to talk” text. I want to believe I’m overthinking this, but I’ve been waiting for the proverbial other shoe to drop since I told Bodie about the accident. Deep down, I know Bodie would never treatme the way Josh did. It’s just hard to get out of that frame of mind. Sort of like my guilt over the accident. I need to finally come to terms with it not being my fault—at least not entirely.
“Bryce,” Bodie shouts as soon as the door opens.
“I’m right here, beautiful.”
His bright-blue eyes hone in on me in the living room, and all my anxiety goes away for a brief moment.
“Hey.” Bodie gives a half-smile and slowly walks over, then sits down next to me, his forehead creased.
“This doesn’t look like it’s going to be a fun conversation.”
“Yeah, fun wouldn’t be the word I’d use to describe this,” he says, starting to pick at his cuticles.
“What’s going on, Bodie?” The tightness in my jaw amplifies by a hundred with every passing second that he stays silent.
“So, Coach called me in. I, uh, got called up.”
The jolt of excitement I have for him forces me into his arms. “Bodie, that’s incredible.”
When I pull back and see he’s not smiling along with me, the mood changes. “Oh.”
“Yeah,” Bodie says, cupping my face in his palm.
“When do you leave? And where to?”
“That’s the thing. I’m only going to Raleigh. Less than three hours away.”
“When, Bodie?”
“A little over a month.”
I nod, taking it all in and staying silent before I react poorly. It’s happening again. I open up to someone, and they leave me. Yes, it’s different circumstances, and I know Bodie wouldn’t if he had a choice, but it’s still happening.
“So, we make the best of the next month,” I say, trying to stay positive while my mind is telling me to crawl under a blanket and disappear.
“Bryce, don’t talk like that. We can make long distance work. It’s not that far away. I’ve been on the road for long stretches before. It’ll be just like that.” His rationalization seems plausible, but it doesn’t help.
“Okay.” My mouth says one thing, while my mind screams the opposite. I want to beg him to stay, to not leave me, but I would never. This is his dream.
He wraps his arms around me, tucking me into him as he lies back on the couch while my heart breaks for what we could’ve been.
Thankfully, Bodie didn’t ask why I was leaving early for work. After our conversation yesterday, and opening up to him before that about the accident, everything feels out of sorts. I need to talk to her—this conversation is long overdue—and maybe she can help me decide what to do about Bodie.
I knock lightly and call out to her as I open the door.
“Bryce?” She comes into the hallway, wearing her favorite apron and a big smile. It almost breaks my heart to have this conversation while she has my father’s apron on. “What are you doing here? I love surprises, but you need to warn a lady so she can look presentable.”
I laugh with her, giving her a big hug. “You always look beautiful, Mom.”
