Page 226 of Saving Forever with the Hockey Captain

"I love the woman who laughs at my terrible jokes. The woman who knows exactly when I'm pretending to be fine. The woman who taught me that asking for help isn't weakness and that being captain doesn't mean carrying the world alone."

I swallow against the tightness in my throat.

"You once told me that people deserved the chance to choose for themselves." A smile touches my face. "So, I'm finally giving you that chance."

The room is completely silent. "I don't know what happens next. Maybe nothing. Maybe everything."

I glance once more at the notebook.

"But whatever you decide...thank you for teaching me that healing isn't just about getting back on the ice."

My voice softens. "It can also mean finding your way home."

I end the call before I can second-guess myself.

The phone rests quietly in my hand.

For the first time since leaving the clinic...

I don't feel helpless.

I don't know whether Annette will call back.

I don't know whether she'll forgive me.

I don't even know whether she feels the same way.

But I finally gave her what Coach said she'd never had.

Not another action. Not another assumption.

The truth.

Outside, the last light of day settles across the lake.

Inside, for the first time in a very long while... my heart feels lighter than my shoulder.

Chapter twenty-nine

Annette & Jamie

Before Sunrise

Annette

I don't listen to the voicemail that night.

Or the next morning.

By Thursday afternoon, I've checked my phone often enough that Mrs. Alvarez finally notices.

"You keep looking at it," she says quietly as we straighten the supply cabinet between patients.

"I know."

"Are you expecting a call?"

I glance down at the screen. "No."