“Well, you earned that spot. And you earned every goal you scored or set up.”
She’s looking at me like she’s not sure where this is going.
Neither am I.
“The scout is here for me,” I say. “That’s what Calloway said. But the truth is he’s here for all of us. For what we’ve been doing together.”
“Zane-”
“I need you out there today.” The words come out rough. Hard to admit. “I’ve been playing the best hockey of my life with you on my line. I need that. Today. For this.”
“You want my help.”
“I want us to win. And I can’t do that without you.”
“But what happens then? When Grant comes back?”
“Right now, we go play a hockey game. We win. We both impress the scout. And then-” I shrug. “Then we figure out the rest.”
I stand up and pull on my clothes.
She stands too.
For a moment we just look at each other - this girl who’s been my teammate for weeks, who I’ve been searching for and who I still don’t fully understand.
I move toward the door. Stop with my hand on the handle.
“Leonora.”
She looks up.
“I’m still kind of angry. That’s not gone away overnight.”
“I know.”
“But I’m also really fucking impressed. Just so you know.”
I open the door.
“See you on the ice, Shaw.”
26
LEONORA
The bandage looks worse than it feels.
That’s Tara’s doing.
She insisted on layering enough gauze over the cut that it now sits like a small white shield just beneath my collarbone. When I move my shoulder the tape pulls slightly against my skin, but the pain is manageable. It’s more tight than stabbing.
“Don’t get clever,” Tara says.
She’s standing in the small physio room beside the locker area, arms folded while she inspects the dressing one more time.
“I’m not getting clever.”
She presses lightly around the bandage and I try not to react.
