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“Come on!” a loudmouth guy shouts from behind a few rows back. “McKinstry needs to get out there and kick his ass!”
The people around him all seem to agree.
I smile nervously at Alina. I know she wants Tucker to kick his ass too.
Butterflies are filling my stomach as I think about my man going out there and getting hurt. I can still see his swollen bruised face and that was a fight he won! What if he loses the next fight? I can’t bear to see him like that. I don’t even want to think about it.
The puck comes flying toward our zone. The players take off after it, but Maddock pushes our goalie—that nice boy Nolan we met at the restaurant—and he falls to the ground. Maddock is laughing as he skates away.
Coach Moss yells at him as he skates by. Maddock gives him the finger.
The whole Hyena bench jumps to their feet, all yelling at him. All except for Tucker. He sits there calmly.
My heart is pounding angrily as I watch this prick bullying my new friends.
“He’s disrespecting the whole team!” the loudmouth behind me shouts. “This is bullshit!”
The puck goes over the glass and the ref blows his whistle. I get a shiver of excitement when the Hyenas change lines and Tucker comes onto the ice.
“Come on, baby!” I shout, clapping my hands.
My excitement turns to nerves when I see Maddock remain on the ice. He’s been trying to goad my man into a fight all night.
“Let’s go, Hyenas!” Alina shouts as she pounds on the glass. “Arrooooo!!!”
The boys line up as the ref holds the puck over the circle in the ice. Tucker’s brown eyes dart to me for a second before he gets back into the game. The puck drops and everyone explodes into action.
We’re sitting behind the Centaur’s goalie, so we can see everything. It’s right in front of us.
Harris passes the puck to Austin who then passes it to someone I don’t know. It bounces off his stick and hits the boards right in front of us.
Oh no.
Both Tucker and Maddock go for it.
Tucker gets there first, trying to scoop the puck out, but Maddock is just going for him. He’s going for blood. Ignoring the puck, he slams into Tucker like an out of control truck. The boards shake violently as my man is crushed into them.
“No…” I gasp when I see Tucker’s face being smushed hard into the glass. Maddock is forcing his face into the glass with his forearm. Meanwhile, the puck is on the other side of the rink and all the other players are skating after it. Tucker and Maddock are the only two left here.
“Leave him alone!” I shout as Maddock punches my man in the ribs twice.
Tucker doesn’t fight back.
He’s doing it for me. I know he is.
Love and gratitude swell up inside me to see it. This man is incredible. He’s putting me and my wishes above everything else.
I’ll be forever thankful.
But enough is enough.
It’s always better to be nice. I firmly believe that.
But I’m realizing that sometimes being nice means doing what you can to protect yourself and your friends. It means standing up for yourself. It means kicking that big bully’s ass.
Maddock laughs as he hits Tucker one more time and skates away.
Tucker’s eyes flash to me as he gets up, about to get back in the game.
