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36
LIAM
It didn’t go over well.
The first confirmation that Coach wasn’t going to take the news well was when he answered “No” when I asked if we could come in, his eyes falling with a hostile glare on my and Zoey’s hands clasped together.
I explained myself as best as I could. I explained that I truly cared for his daughter; that I understand the way our relationship started didn’t cast me in the best light, but that I promised to always treat her the way she deserves.
He heard it all with a tightly pressed mouth and an ice-cold expression in his eyes. When his gaze was pointed at Zoey, I sensed a deep concern. When it fell on me, visions of a shallow grave danced in my head.
All he had to say in return was to say to Zoey, “We’ll talk later,” before shutting the door on us.
It wasn’t the response either of us dared to hope for, and it cast a disappointed pallor over the rest of the night. But even that disappointment couldn’t wash away the happiness and relief of being together again.
We went back to her apartment and got started on the next season of Downton Abbey, falling asleep wrapped in each other’s arms. When the rays of the sun dancing on our eyelids woke us up in the morning, it felt like we woke up in heaven, just like the first time I woke up in her bed and in her arms the weekend we spent together.
Reality reasserted itself soon enough, though.
It’s game day. We have a home game against Marigold U from upstate New York. They’re not going to be an easy opponent.
Since I haven’t heard otherwise from Coach, I go back to the Ice Box and head to the arena with the rest of the guys. I tell them what happened on the way, and we all get suited up together with a sense of expectation weighing us down, taking away from the usual joking around and excitement of the pre-game.
Only the guys I live with, as well as Grant and Ryder, know what happened between me and Zoey. But as leaders of the team, the other guys are taking a cue from our demeanor and aren’t quite as boisterous as they normally would be.
Coach’s voice suddenly cuts through the subdued hum of conversation.
“Thompson!”
“Yeah, Coach?” Miles Thompson, one of the younger players who still spends most games warming the bench, pipes up.
“You’re starting left winger today,” Coach says. Before anyone even has a chance to react to this major switch-up of our usual starting line, he turns his eyes to me. The weight of his gaze almost bends my shoulders. “Newcastle, you’re on the energy line.”
The energy line is the fourth line, reserved for players with limited scoring ability, who usually come in to give more crucial players a rest and to slow down the pace of the game.
Those players play a major role in the success of a team, but my skillset isn’t at all suited for what they’re supposed to do on the ice. Putting me on the energy line for this game is as good as guaranteeing that Coach plans on benching me for good.
Even Miles is hesitant. He’s solid, but he knows that he’s not ready to replace me on the starting line. He’s a smart, conscientious player, and he knows that being thrown into the deep end when he isn’t prepared for it isn’t a recipe for his future success.
Especially when he, and everyone else, can see I’m perfectly healthy and ready to play. Miles doesn’t want to be responsible for our team going from being on the verge of the playoffs to washing out—and every talking head and pundit identifying his sudden appearance on the starting line as the reason.
“But Coach—” Ryder begins, but he’s quickly cut off.
“Liam knows what he’s done, Hendricks,” Coach says. “He betrayed my trust. If I can’t trust him, I sure as hell can’t have him in my starting line.”
“Coach, are you sure …?” Miles starts to question.
“You don’t want the opportunity? Fine. Any other up and comers want a chance at a starting line job?” Coach snaps.
Hunter stands up. “You’ll have to find two of them, Coach.”
My head whips to Hunter. His features are set in steely confidence, meeting Coach’s gaze with a determined expression.
“What was that, Landry?” Coach says, narrowing his brow after a couple beats of heavy silence.
“If Liam deserves to be benched because he hid his relationship with Zoey,” Hunter begins, broadcast the issue in front of the whole team, “then I deserve to be benched, too. Because I knew about it. If he betrayed your trust, then so did I.”
The firm look on Coach’s face slackens for just a moment, but his jaw pops as he wills it back. “You want to put your hockey career at risk, too, Landry?”
