The puck hitthe back of the net for the third time, and the arenaerupted.
My teammates swarmed me. Gloves flying. Helmets knocked askew. Reese grabbed my face and screamed something I couldn't hear over the roar. Kira slammed into my back so hard I nearly went down.
"Hat trick!" someone yelled. "Donovan just got a fucking hat trick!"
The ref blew the whistle. Play stopped. And then the hats came.
Not many — we didn't have that kind of crowd yet. But enough. A dozen beanies and ball caps sailed onto the ice, scattered across the blue line like confetti.
I stood there. Chest heaving. Stick loose in my grip. Staring at the evidence that I'd just done somethingreal.
Three goals. Clean. Earned. Mine.
Hannah skated over with the pucks. All three of them stacked in her glove like trophies. She grinned so wide I thought her face might split.
"Coach said these are yours."
I took them. Heavy. Cold. Scrawled in black Sharpie with the date, the score, and my name in block letters.
DONOVAN.
NotNate's girlfriend.NotShaw's player.
Just me.
I looked up. Across the ice. Past the celebrating girls and the scattered hats and the few parents cheering from the stands.
Calder stood near the bench. Arms crossed. Face unreadable.
But his eyes weren't.
They were sharp. Focused.Proud.
He didn't clap. Didn't smile. Didn't move.
Just held my gaze for three seconds that felt like three years.
Then he nodded. Once. Slow and deliberate.
That's my girl.
He didn't say it.
I felt it in my bones.
Something cracked open in my chest. Not grief this time. Not longing.
Victory.
I turned back to my team. Let them pull me into another chaotic hug. Let Kira dump water over my head. Let Reese bang her stick against the boards until the sound echoed through the whole building.
This was mine. Not because someone gave it to me. Not because I smiled pretty or played a role or bent myself into shapes that fit someone else's story.
Because I earned it.
Puck after puck after puck.
I tucked the three discs under my arm. Skated to the bench. Sat down beside girls who saw me as a player first and everything else never.
