“My god, does he have a mute button?”Redov groans and winces.He’s wearing sunglasses and his skin is pasty.Not to mention his posture is horrendous.He’s slumped over like his spine is made out of a gummy worm.“I’m fine.I’ll be fine.Once I finish this Powerade and the Advil kicks in.”
Callan laughs.
After morning skate and a quick strategy meeting with the coaches as they go over plays on a whiteboard, we strip out of our gear in the locker room.I head to see Bryan, the conditioning coach who came on this trip.“What’s up, Theo?”he asks as I knock on the open door to the small triage room.
“I’ve got some pain in my shoulder,” I say.
“The new rebuilt shoulder?”he asks, and I nod.“Take off your shirt.”
I do, and he walks around behind me and palms my shoulder blade and puts a hand on my elbow.“I’m just gonna move it around, okay?”
“Yeah.”
After a few moves and twists, I wince.“That hurt?”
“Yeah.But it doesn’t last, it’s fleeting.”
“When we get back, I’ll send you for an X-ray just to get a better look, but honestly, Theo,” he looks regretful, “I just think it’s overuse.It’s a lot of new parts in there, and your body is adjusting still.”
“Well, I can’t stop using it,” I say, and he laughs.
“No, not when it’s your job to hit guys and take hits and make those killer slapshots,” he says, coming to stand in front of me while I reach for my shirt.“I think you’ve gone really hard, and that fight last night probably didn’t help.”
“Worth it though,” I mutter, and he chuckles.“So what do I do?More ice?Any stretch that will help?”
“Sure, more ice after games will manage the pain.”He nods.“I’d say ask the doc for a script.Nothing too strong, but something with a little more kick than Advil, and take that after games for a week or so.See if it settles.And also lay off the arms in weight training for a week or two.Stick to resistance training and yoga for a bit.”
“I can’t ask for drugs.”He looks confused, and I wait for him to put the pieces together.
“But you didn’t have a drug issue, right?It was alcohol,” he says quietly.
“Yeah, but it’s all the same.I’m just not gonna risk it if I can at all help it,” I tell him.“So I’m not doing prescription drugs.”
“Okay.Sure.So the ice and the limited exercise.”Bryan nods.“And we’ll get the X-ray back home just to be sure.”
“Okay, thanks.”I head out.
Am I being ridiculous?I mean, he’s right, I didn’t have a drug problem, and if it’s just a week on painkillers, it’s not a big deal.But still… I don’t want them.I’ll figure out something else.
The shoulder bothers me during my nap, but not as much as my brain, which I can’t shut off.I pop two extra-strength Advil as I get ready to head back to the rink.
I’m sitting at my cubby, reading a text from Palmer Hudson, who plays for the Vipers and was one of my closest friends when I did, too.He wants to meet up with a bunch of other guys from the team, including me.I say yes because maybe it will be good to reconnect.I never got to say a proper goodbye to those guys.
“Richard!”
“You’ll do the pre-game interviews, okay?”Kendra says, popping her head into the locker room, but staring at the floor.She’s ridiculously worried about one of us being naked.“And before you say, ask someone else, they want to talk to you.It happens now or after the game, but it happens either way.”
I sigh.“Yeah, okay.Where?”
“End of the hall to the left.I’ve set up an area.Can’t miss it.”
She disappears, and I swallow down a groan and get up.It makes sense they want to interview me.I left the team abruptly and in a scandalous way.I was also a huge part of the team, an alternate captain, and a fan favorite.I roll my shoulder, bite back the discomfort, and head for the interview area.There are three journalists there, and I recognize all of them since they’re regular reporters for the Las Vegas Vipers.My brain scrambles for their names as I plaster a smile on my face.
Bianca is here.She is the media manager for the Vipers, and I know her well.We… know each otherbiblically.I don’t remember sleeping with her, but I remember waking up in her apartment naked.It happened right before the roof incident and should have been my wake-up call that I was off the rails, because it was the first time I broke the team rule against fraternization unless it was a declared relationship noted by the team’s HR.
The woman for the local news station is… Jennifer.Yeah.That’s it.I think I did shots with her at a charity event once.
And the male reporter is Andrew.He once said I was overhyped.He never liked me, and I bet he loves how my story here ended.
