Page 29 of Lose You Twice

Practice notes. Film at four. Lift groups tomorrow. The defenseman’s shoulder. The freshman’s conditioning. Coleson’s attitude. Grayson’s left side. Weston’s inability to take anything seriously.

The Stormbreakers call at one.

Business Ethics quiz due by midnight.

Group project meeting I forgot to confirm.

Treatment before film if I want Dane off my back.

Wren.

I yank the lace too hard, and the aglet snaps against my finger.

“Careful,” Grayson says from the stall beside me.

I glance over. “I’m unlacing a skate.”

“Looks more like you’re attacking it.”

Weston drops onto the bench across from us. “Everything Kai does looks like a hostile takeover. Especially since you know who returned.”

“It’s called focus,” I say. “And Wren has nothing to do with it.”

“Maybe you possibly need a hug?”

“Do not hug me.”

“See?” Weston points at Grayson. “Hostile.”

Grayson smiles, but he knows more than Weston. Sometimes I hate that he’s become almost like a brother to me, but I also trust him more than almost anyone, which is inconvenient and deeply annoying.

“You still have your call with Seattle today?” Grayson asks.

I nod my head. “Yeah. Just a check-in.”

Weston perks up. “Are they calling to tell you they miss you? Because I miss you already, and you’re still here.”

“You’ll survive.”

“Will I?”

“No one knows,” Asher says. “I don’t think I will with both of you leaving me with Wes.”

I strip off my shoulder pads and hang them neatly in my stall. Everything has a place. Tape in the side pocket. Gloves clipped. Base layer into laundry. Skates aligned, toe-out.

But order doesn’t seem to fix the nonstop spirals in my mind lately.

“Who’s the call with?” Grayson asks.

“Dane.”

Dane Whitaker is Seattle’s player development director, which means he’s technically not my coach yet and still somehow manages to sound like one every time we talk. Former defenseman with zero patience for bullshit. He’s been my main contact with the Stormbreakers since I was drafted.

He checks in every couple weeks.

Training load. Classes. Injuries. Nutrition. Sleep. Mental state.

The last one is always where I lie the most.