By the time the final whistle blows, I realize the Grizzlies have won.
Chapter 20
Zane
As soon as I step out of the hallway and onto the ice, the roar of the crowd fades into a distant hum. I glance around the stands, and as expected, Gwen is there. She looks incredible in orange, though honestly, there isn’t a color that doesn’t suit her.
I wave at her and give a quick wink. I’m about to begin my warm-up when something catches my eye.
A few rows down… my parents.
It takes everything in me not to react. My chest tightens for a brief moment. My parents have always been… complicated. The thought of Gwen meeting them without me there weighs heavily on my mind. Throughout the entire game, I’m silently hoping Leo and Lisa can help her navigate whatever that turns into.
After the game, I pull my jersey over my head and roll my neck, letting the familiar weight settle across my shoulders. This is the part of my life that always made sense: the structure, the discipline, the certainty. Out here, effort equals outcome. The ice doesn’t care who you are, only what you do.
But today, even the jersey feels heavier than usual.
The team is buzzing with excitement over the win, but my thoughts are elsewhere, stuck on Gwen meeting my parents without me there.
A trainer stops at my stall. Jenna. Efficient. Direct. The kind of person who’s seen every injury, every excuse, every ego.
“How’s the shoulder?” she asks.
“Fine,” I reply automatically.
She gives me a look that could strip paint. “Fine as in fine, or fine as in you’re going to keep saying you’re fine until I catch you wincing?”
I pause, slightly caught off guard. “Fine-fine.”
She nods once, as if she’s heard enough to accept it for now. Then she studies my face briefly. “You sleeping?”
“Yeah,” I lie.
Her eyes narrow. “Don’t be stupid. Sleep is recovery.”
“I’m not being stupid.”
She exhales, clearly unconvinced, and moves on, calling out to another player to stretch like his body isn’t made of stone.
I stand, gather my things, and head toward the hallway. Blake falls into step beside me. Before the game, he insisted on coming back to my place afterward. At this point, having him there might actually help; he could be a buffer between my parents and me.
“Did you see Perth’s reaction to the Buffaloes losing? His face was all over the Jumbotron.” Blake chuckles.
Perth has been a rival of his since we were drafted, competing for the same teams and the same opportunities. Sometimes I find myself wondering what things would’ve looked like if the Grizzlies had picked Perth instead of Blake. In every version of that thought, things somehow end up worse. He was here to watch the Buffaloes or maybe to watch us lose, which thankfully didn’t happen.
“I saw him,” I reply with a laugh. “Pretty sure he has a dartboard with your face on it.”
Blake laughs along with me as we reach the car.
Outside, it’s pouring rain. We both hurry inside, shutting the doors quickly behind us as the storm beats down around the vehicle.
“Ready for some fun?” Blake asks.
“Sort of.”
“What’s wrong?”
“My parents showed up at the game…”
