One determined question cuts through. "What's with your necklace, Bash? That looks like a woman's charm."
All the monitors on the wall show the feeds zooming in on my chest, where Amelia's skate charm hangs, the diamond, catching the light. I replaced the chain with a heavier, longer one. One that actually fits around my throat. But it still keeps her close.
I'm haunted by the actions of my past, that day I threw her out into the storm. We haven't spoken since. I tried. I called. I texted. Weeks passed with no reply. It all mingles, the past, the present. I feel the weight of the wrongs I've done.
Jaxson
I don't know what Bash is doing at the press conference, but I watch him stagger slightly and drop to his knees beside the podium. Camera flashes fire in rapid bursts, popping like soundless fireworks as reporters shout over one another and the room spins into pandemonium.
I turn to Rod.
"What's up with theIce Princessover there?" I tilt my head toward Bash.
Rod shakes his head. "Man, you really need to stop calling him that, it's unsportsmanlike, and if Coach hears you again, he'll reem you out... again."
I wave him off, but Rod keeps going.
"Rumor is, he messed up with a girl he fell hard for. Now he's trying to win her back."
"You've got to be kidding me." I snort. "How pathetic. What a loser."
Then it hits me that this isn't a bad idea. This… this could work. A public apology. A grand gesture. Maybe that's how I get Melly's attention.
Since I've been back to the house, here in Thunder Bay, it's been torture without her. I know that sounds ridiculous since I ignored her for months, but now, I'm sober and alone. I'm suspended for a block of games, so there's no point tagging along with the team if I can't play. Coach insisted I stay home and get my counselling started so I can continue it later over telehealth.
Up until now, I've sat there at home, neglected, wondering if that's how Melly felt. Lost, unloved. The thought makes my stomach roil, not just for myself, but for her too. It was cruel of me to leave her as I did, and I have no right to complain now that she's serving it right back to me.
I scan the room, taking in the cameras, the flashes, the reporters hanging on every word. All the excitement I've missed, since this is the first game I've been allowed to play in weeks.
Wondering how I should go about this, I decide to just be me. Melly isn't some random girl. We've been together forever. She loves me.
Sure, she's mad, and I guess I don't blame her. She stayed home and waited. I didn't. I neglected her. But she's paid me back these past few weeks by leaving. She's got my attention now. I can still salvage this. We can make this work.
As the Ice Hawks leave the stage, our team steps forward. Bash comes down the steps, hollow-eyed, and I flash him a grin. A little malicious, a little deliberate. Even in my rejected state, I have no sympathy forthe Ice Princess.
The cameras pivot as we line up behind the podium.
"Jaxson, any thoughts on Bash's apology to this mystery woman?" An eager reporter calls out.
I lift my hand. "I'm afraid I didn't hear it." My smile grows more confident.
"It appears he's in a similar boat to you, Jaxson," Tony Slater, one particularly slimy paparazzo that I truly despise, calls from the back. He's also the one who's been capturing and selling those incriminating photos and videos with Mandy. "He's hurt a woman he cares for and is in the proverbial doghouse."
Who let this guy in here?
"How are things between you and Melly?" Tony snipes, digging a hole straight into my soul.
"You know exactly how we are doing." I stare coldly at the impudent jerk.
A few uncomfortable coughs echo in the room, but it's mostly silent.
So, I shoot my shot.
"Since you brought that up," I say, lifting my chin, "I want to talk about something. I know I've already offered my wife an apology through the press release, but I want to repeat it."
The room is still again. Cameras refocus. This is it.
"Melly, love, I'm sincerely sorry for the pain and embarrassment I've caused you… "
