Page 109 of Puck Me Back to Life

The moment I step into the locker room, I understand why.

“They said he's already in the building.”

“I heard he landed last night.”

“Wonder if he's actually as good as William.”

“Nah, different player.”

“The media's gonna have a field day.”

Every conversation circles back to the same topic.

The trade.

Late last night the organization sent out the official email. The Arcane Wizards have acquired Noah Grove.

I must have read it six times before finally putting my phone down. The email had included the usual corporate language. Asset management. Future considerations. Salary retention. Paragraphs of sterile business jargon attempting to disguise the fact that people's lives had just been rearranged.

None of it mattered. All Kai would see was one name.

Grove.

I look toward his stall. Empty. His gear isn't there. His water bottle from yesterday still sits beneath the bench exactly where he left it.

Something twists unpleasantly in my stomach.

“He here?” Dante's voice pulls me out of my thoughts.

He drops his equipment bag beside his own stall before following my gaze. Then his expression changes.

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“He text you?”

I start tying my hair back, avoiding his gaze. “This morning.”

“And?”

I hesitate. “He sounded okay.”

“But?”

I look back at the empty stall. “I'm not so sure anymore.”

Dante's easy smile disappears. For once, he doesn't have a joke. “Shit.”

Neither of us says anything for a few seconds.

The room keeps filling around us. Players laugh. Trainers move through the aisles carrying medical kits and tablets. Somebody starts arguing about fantasy football despite the fact that it's completely unrelated to hockey.

Life goes on.

My eyes keep drifting toward the doorway. Every time someone walks in, I expect to see Kai.

Coach enters a few minutes later, and the conversation dies almost immediately.