Page 43 of Pucking Forbidden

“Wilder, you were late on that one,” Coach calls.

“I got it,” I shoot back, resetting.

I push harder during the next play, like I can’t outrun the thoughts bubbling in the back of my head. Theo is younger and would be easier to build a team around. He’s the kind of player that makes sense long term. Plus, despite his nose, he’s a good-looking guy. Just the sort that Grace could get to blow up on social media.

It’s not about replacing me…I know that. Still, the idea is hard to swallow.

I’m so in my head, the rest of practice is a blur, and when it’s finally over, I’m exhausted.

“Beer later?” Zander asks as we head off the ice, pulling his helmet off and shaking out his hair. “You can stop by the house, and we can chill with Rylee and Ciara.”

“Not tonight,” I reply.

He glances over. “You sure? Might be good to just relax. Let off some steam. If not a beer, maybe you want to hike into the forest and chop down a tree again? I know you had so much fun the last time we did that.”

I laugh and shake my head. “Nah, I’m good.” Truth be told, I just want to be alone right now. I’m afraid of what I might say aloud if Zander and I hang out.

We reach the locker room before he can say anything else. I quickly shower, clean up, and head out before any of the other guys can stop me.

I get to my truck and slump against the seat, pulling out my phone to pull up Chicago’s roster for the first time in over a week.

“I’m just looking,” I mutter as I scroll through the webpage. Still, I need to get serious about this. Coach is already replacing me. I care about my friends, but they don’t need me. Mrs. Clay does. Chicago is the right move…right?

Even as I think that, a pair of deep brown eyes comes to mind, staring up at me with clear affection.

No…it doesn't matter. Hadley is just a friend, so she probably wouldn't mind if I left either.

It’d be a new start in a different city. That’s not something I can really ignore.

Especially now, with Theo. He’s the future. If I’m not careful, I’ll be left behind with nothing to show for it and no way to care for Mrs. Clay.

I can’t let that happen.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN: NIGHTMARES

JULIAN

“You think you can just walk out?” my dad growls, waving a half-empty liquor bottle in the air.

I peek out of my bedroom door and look down the hall toward the living room, where Mom and Dad are fighting. Again. They seem to tower over me, even from a distance. I feel so small and weak. So helpless.

“I’m done,” my mom hisses, quieter.

No! No, no, no! Don’t say that, mommy. Don’t say that!

The slam of the door echoes, and I know she’s gone.

“Bring her back!” I hear myself cry, bursting out of my room and rushing down the hall. When I reach the living room, I find Dad standing by the worn couch, fuming.

“Sit down,” he snaps when he spots me.

“Go get her!”

“Sit down.”

The command doesn't explode out of him. It leaves his mouth as a low, freezing hiss that slices clean through the heavy air of the living room.

Fear chokes me, and the room seems to shrink around me. It’s too quiet. Mom’s gone. Where’s Lucas?