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I waved her off. “You can fill me in later.”
“Aw, come on, Violet.” Mia pouted. “Can’t we stay and finish watching the game?”
I released a sigh. “You stay here. I’m going to find somewhere a little quieter to give him a call. I’ll come find you after.”
“I think it would be way more fun if you stayed and let me further your education on hot hockey players,” she said as I stood up.
“Except it feels like you’re only teaching me about the crazy ones.”
“Crazy hot,” she corrected me before she turned and launched back into conversation with the girl beside her. It seemed they had plenty more gossip to share about the so-called Darling Devils.
I made my way down the bleachers and walked away from the ice rink to the concession stand in the front foyer. There were only a couple of people milling around with everyone else engrossed by the game. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and called Jeremy. It rang twice but then went straight to voicemail.
“That can’t be good,” I muttered as I lowered my phone and started to text him. I went to sit on one of the benches nearby as I tried to figure out what to say. It didn’t matter how I put it; he was going to be disappointed I missed his game. I kept writing and then rewriting my text, but I couldn’t find a good way to say “I’m sorry, I’m a terrible girlfriend.”
Eventually, I gave up and decided to head back to Mia. Maybe it would be easier if I spoke to Jeremy in person.
As I reentered the arena, a siren blared, and a thunderous cheer shook the building. I glanced up at the scoreboard to see the game had ended, and the Devils had annihilated the other team.
The crowd rose from their seats and started to leave, flooding down the bleachers and swarming toward the exit. I stood to one side and waited for Mia to pass, but I didn’t catch sight of her. It was only as the flow of people started to ebb that I was able to get to the seats. Mia was sitting right where I’d left her, ogling the hockey players who were still making their way off the ice.
“Having fun?” I asked.
She smiled brightly as she jumped up from her seat. “Just trying to get my hot guy hockey fix in while I can.”
I laughed. “You never gawk over the hockey players at our school like this.”
“Yeah, because I’ve spent the last few years in classes with those guys, and I know for a fact they’re pigs.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“You know I don’t mean Jeremy,” she said with a look that made it hard to believe her. “Did you talk to him?”
“No. I just got his voicemail.”
“Bummer,” she replied. “Well, he’ll be at the party tonight. You’re coming, right?”
“Uh…”
“Violet. Please don’t tell me you’re planning to stay home on a Saturday night.”
"I wasn’t going to,” I said. “But my mom said she might be able to video call me tonight.”
“Violet Sinclair.” Mia’s voice had turned serious. “Don’t you dare stay home tonight to call your mom.” She scrunched up her nose as though it were an offense to even consider it. Her voice softened as she continued. “You need to live your life, not wait by the phone for a call you know isn’t going to come.”
It had been a while since I’d spoken to my mom. Because of the time difference, my best chance of catching her was late in the evening, but she always seemed to get stuck working.
“Maybe it will this time…”
Mia gave me a sad smile. “Maybe.” She was nodding, but I knew she was convinced I was going to be disappointed when another night went by with no call from my mom. “Just think about coming. I’m sure your mom won’t mind if you reschedule for tomorrow.”
I let out a sigh. “Okay, I’ll think about it.”
“Good.” She glanced down at her phone as it lit up with a notification. “That’s Grant. He’s waiting out front for me…”
I gave her a knowing smile.
“Don’t look at me like that,” she said. “You know we’re just friends.”
