Page 20 of Holding Penalty

Captain, let’s stay on topic here. We have a missing teammate

ADRIANO

He’s not missing, he’s just trying to avoid you

HAYDEN

WHAT!? Who would try to avoid ME?

ADRIANO

…

COOPER

…

NOAH

…

HAYDEN

You, too, Noah? I would have expected more from you of all people

NOAH

Don’t guilt-trip me, Hayden. You know my conscience can’t stand it

HAYDEN

Hey! The read receipts say that Vaughn read that message! Vaughn, are you there? Or Vaughn’s kidnapper?

HAYDEN

Listen up, Vaughn’s kidnapper. I’ll find you, and I’ll bring our beloved goalie back to us. I have a very particular set of skills …

VAUGHN

You’re skilled at being annoying, I’ll give you that

HAYDEN

Hey!

HAYDEN

Nash, defend my honor

ME

Why am I being dragged into this?

HAYDEN

Because you’re the only one whose grumpiness can match Vaughn’s. It’s like when The Hound had to fight The Mountain in Game of Thrones.

I can only roll my eyes at that. I click the button to put my phone to sleep and then set it back on the coffee table. I’ll happily sit out the rest of this conversation, even though the constant buzz of notifications tells me it probably won’t stop any time soon.