I couldn’t deny that. I would follow Elliot anywhere. He was my north star. “It’s nothing.”
“Doesn’t seem like nothing.” Colin was the image of casual, but I knew he was itching to ask for more details. I appreciated the restraint. Revealing as much as I had was hard enough.
“It is nothing. It can’t be anything. It was over before I accepted this job.”
He nodded and gave me a sad smile. “No worries, man. I trust you.”
“Thanks,” I said.
“And hey, we don’t have to be on the ice for another couple of days. Drink up!”
I lifted the beer to my lips. Drinking didn’t help, but it also didn’t hurt.
Chapter 11
Elliot
When Coach called you in for a meeting, you had no choice but to go. For the life of me, I couldn’t think of a single reason why I was being called in. I was at the top of my game. Everyone said so. The sports announcers couldn’t stop talking about me, and my social media was blowing up constantly with notifications. Apparently, I was the talk of several podcasts.
My agent had a list of sponsorships and endorsement deals that I could sign at any time that would have me set for life.
I drowned it all out. None of it mattered.
We had yet another game in which I scored a hat trick. We were on a winning streak, and I was leading it, but I was still being a team player. I wasn’t being a dick or showboating. I passed off to teammates when I could. I didn’t talk to the press much, just enough that I didn’t get in trouble.
Evan’s words echoed in my mind from time to time, but I ignored that too.
Sure, I had been less than social with the guys. Every invitation to the bar, to dinner, to movies, to anywhere, went unanswered. But that was typical. I never went out with the guys that often, even before my heart had been ripped out of my chest and shredded over the ice.
I caught Coach’s eye through the window, and he gestured for me to come inside. He and Assistant Coach Mario sat there. I sat down next to Mario.
“Coach,” I said.
“Elliot, how are you?” Coach asked.
I shrugged. “Just fine,” I said. I couldn’t sleep. I only ate because I needed the protein. When I closed my eyes, all I saw was Silas. But other than that, I was totally fine.
“We’re going to be on the road for the next week. You ready for that?”
I nodded.
We were quiet for a while. I wasn’t about to offer up any information, and it was up to him to tell me why I was here. This was not unlike being a pulled over by the police. I wasn’t talking until I knew what I was being accused of. Previous Elliot may have filled the silence with small talk, perhaps asking Coach about his son or asking Mario how his omega was doing, but not current Elliot.
“You know, we’ve been considering what to do with you for a while.” Coach leaned back in his chair and folded his arms over his chest. Though he hadn’t played professionally for long, and he’d been a coach for several years, he kept himself in good shape.
My stomach twisted. What to do with me? Was I being traded? No, there was no way. They had no reason to trade me. We were just about to land ourselves a spot in the playoffs.
“We’re not trading you. I would never let that happen,” Coach said.
Clearly, I wasn’t keeping my emotions in check as well as I thought I was. I wanted nothing more than to escape with my headphones and a quiet room. When I wasn’t on the ice or in the gym, then I was buried in focus music or meditation sounds. Anything to keep my mind clear and to keep from thinking. I refused to think about Silas, or my lack of a true home, or my future. All I cared about was the next practice, the next game.
“What I meant was… Son, is everything all right in your personal life?”
I stood a little straighter. My throat thickened, and my tongue felt like it suddenly weighed twenty pounds. “Why do you ask?”
Coach leaned forward. He kept his expression neutral, almost caring. It was a stark contrast from the hard-ass we usually encountered in practice. I knew he had it in him, I’d seen him with his omega and son, but I’d never had that emotion directed at me.
It almost made me want to spill all my secrets.
