He shook his head and gave me a forced smile. “It’s behind me.”
We trudged through the snow in comfortable silence to the rink parking lot where Nick’s jeep was parked.
When we reached the edge of the lot, I gave him a tight hug.
“I miss you, Griff.Wemiss you,” I told him earnestly. “I wish Michigan was closer.”
He chuckled, “Same, ya crazy girl. Tell Nick not to puck hog so much up there in the Big League for me.”
I smiled ruefully at that and turned on my heel.
As I pulled out of the parking lot, the sight of him walking back to his place all alone made me tear up.
It was hard to leave him here. He seemed so bummed out last night for some reason. I wanted to steal him and hide him in our apartment back in Detroit so he could be happy again… but that wasn’t real life.
Instead of turning out onto the main road, I decided to pull back around. I rolled my window down and tried to smile at him even though my eyes were kinda glassy.
He turned and looked surprised to see me again, but smiled.
“Why don’t you come to Detroit for the summer?” I asked.
He cocked his head to the side and looked thoughtful. “Yeah, maybe.”
“C’mon, we want you there. Promise you will,” I urged. I felt the need to remind him that he had a place to go; that he wasn’t alone in this world. We cared about him and wanted him.
He put his hands in the pockets of his sweatpants and his eyes crinkled as he gave me a bright smile. “Yeah. I’ll be there.”
THIRD PERIOD
Seven years later
January 2017
31. Sav
“You wanna go to dinner tonight, babe? The guys are tryin’ to get a group together to hit up The Blitz,” Nick asked on the phone. He always called me as he walked back home from practice so we could discuss our dinner plans.
The Blitz was your typical hole-in-the-wall sports bar that was across the street from our townhome. A lot of the guys lived in this same complex, so it quickly became their regular spot.
“Eh, I’d usually say yes…” I told him warily. I was still curled up on the couch. I hadn’t even gotten up to get ready today. My body was definitely fighting something.
“Oh damn,” he quickly supplied. “Still not feelin’ a hundred, Smol?” I could hear the concern in his voice and my heart squeezed.
“Yeah, I’m not sure what this is, but I don’t want to get anyone else sick either, ya know?” I told him. “So maybe we should just order in?”
“Do you think maybe it could be… Oh shit.”
“What?” I asked confusedly.
“Kids are playin’ on the ice out there.”
I heard him breathing heavier on the other end of the call, like he was running.
“Kids where?” I asked, feeling alarmed. Was he talking about the river? You passed it by on the way home from the arena. We were having a warm front, so there’s no way any ice would be stable enough to skate on this week…
“Love ya, babe. I gotta go.”
“Wait, Nick!” I yelled into my phone.
