Page 115 of Arctic Titans of Northwood U: Volume 1

CADEN

The emergency team meeting was scheduled for Sunday evening and I paced my room on Sunday morning with a rising sense of dread.

When did things get so complicated? It felt like a month ago everything had been normal. But now, the world has gone wild. I didn’t know my place in it. I was spiraling out of control.

Sawyer stopped by my room early, knocking once before marching in. “I’ve only got a minute,” he said. “Noah’s waiting for me. We’re heading downtown to sample every gelato they have in Scoops & Sweets.”

“Oh. Wow. You used to go to keg parties,” I said, half surprised and half worried someone had kidnapped Sawyer and replaced him with a sentient plush toy in disguise. “Okay. What’s up?”

“What do you mean? I’m here to ask you that. What the hell is happening?” he asked.

I spun in my chair to face him better and shrugged. “Apparently, some of the guys are unhappy with how things are.”

“No shit,” Sawyer said, sitting on the edge of my bed. “And?”

“And it looks like they blame Beckett and me. I guess we’re going to discuss how to deal with this whole…situation.” I licked my lips. This felt too close to nervousness. I didn’t like it. And I wasn’t going to admit any wrongdoing. My life was stolen from me when all I’d earned was handed to Beckett.

“How to deal with it?” Sawyer asked, incredulous. “As in, will one of you have to back off?”

“Or step away,” I suggested. I didn’t hate the idea of Beckett taking a leave. But I disliked the thought of being compelled to play by Beckett’s rules. I didn’t know what the true climate was. Apparently, it was not as black and white to everyone as it was to me. I’d thought that the whole team understood that Beckett was the problem.

Sawyer checked his phone, tapped at the screen quickly, and tucked the phone back inside his pocket. He ran a hand through his hair the way he always did when he was confused. “I don’t know what to say. What do you need to hear? I’ll say that.”

I snorted. “It’s fine. We’re just gonna share our thoughts tonight. Participation is mandatory. Say what you believe and that’s it.”

Sawyer winced. “I don’t know what I believe.”

That made me laugh. “Then agree with someone who speaks before you, man. I don’t know. If you all gang up on me and kick me off the team, I’ll hunt you down one by one. But, no hard feelings, right?”

Sawyer grinned, then pulled his phone out. The screen was already alight.

“You should go. Your man’s gonna get worried.” I winked at Sawyer, pretending I wasn’t freaking out. My future had never been more uncertain. It was an odd sensation after believing I’d hit rock bottom.

“This isn’t Noah,” Sawyer said quietly as he texted. “I should have realized you wouldn’t reach out and intrude. I’ve been too busy to notice.”

I frowned. I had no idea what he was talking about.

Sawyer pressed the ‘send’ button, then looked up at me. “It’s Riley.” He turned his screen around. “He’ll wait for you at the Daily Grind Café. I said noon’s fine.”

Heat rose into my face and my throat closed for a moment. I regained some control over myself. “You…”

“Yeah,” Sawyer interrupted. “I figured you should talk to him. And I just realized that you’re too nice to call him yourself. He’s not that busy, by the way.”

“I don’t know what to say.” I blinked, dumbfounded. “Sawyer, that’s really…kind.”

“Who would have thought, huh?” He cracked a smile, then hopped onto his feet and slapped my shoulder. “Wish me luck, now. I have a big bet on cookie dough being the best flavor. Noah’s set his mind on lemon, of all things. I’m not sure our relationship can handle this.”

I laughed at that, but my ears were still buzzing. I’d set Riley aside in my thoughts. I missed him, but I didn’t want to unload on him. We texted now and then, of course, but I’d never shared the details. I was always more curious about his life.

Sawyer left me just enough time to prepare and make it in time. I reached Daily Grind three minutes before noon in a bustling area of central Detroit. Cafés were dotted down the narrow street and trees lined the sidewalks, providing plenty of shade. It was near enough to one of the larger streets that there was always traffic to keep the shops and cafés busy.

Riley Brooks, the former captain of the Arctic Titans and a friend, stood in the line at the cash register when I got there. When I entered, he turned at the sound of the bell above the door. With a broad grin, he tapped the shoulder of a man who’d stood behind him and swapped places. Then, he walked up to me with arms spread. “Dude, I missed you.”

He embraced me in a brotherly hug that threatened to crush me. When he let go, we were both smiling. “I missed you, too.”

“Let’s order first. Afterward, I’m gonna kill you for not telling me that shit’s hitting the fan,” he said kindly. And that was what we did. Well, minus the killing part. When our sweetened coffees were handed to us, we sat by the window with a view of the street, and Riley cracked his knuckles. “What the hell is happening?”

I’d told him about Beckett’s captaincy immediately, but I had never told him how I truly felt. Now, I released a sigh that carried more than just the air from my lungs. It had all the weight of the burdens I’d carried for the past three weeks. “I don’t even know where to start. I guess I should first say that I’m sorry I kept all this from you, but I…” I shrugged, and my throat was sore. “I don’t know what I’m doing there anymore.”