by Lynn Rush
“Can we head back to the hotel before dinner? I’m pretty beat. It would be nice to just chill out for a bit.” I needed some time to rest and think things through.
“Of course.” My parents pushed back from the table and grabbed the bags in front of them.
As we made our way out of the conference room, I fished my phone out of my pocket.
BRODIE: How’d tryouts go?
BRODIE: Did you nail the double axel?
BRODIE: How’s the facility?
A sad smile tugged at the corners of my mouth. I couldn’t stop thinking about the team and Brodie as I went through my routine. The rush that I used to get from landing jumps had been replaced by standing in goal, deflecting and catching slap shots, snap shots, and wrist shots from guys twice my size. It was a lot less painful, too. Minus the whole stitches on my cheek incident.
ME: Everything’s going well.
ME: But I miss you.
ME: And the team.
ME: Minus Eric.
ME: ((laughing emoji))
BRODIE: When do you find out?
ME: Few days.
“Willow?” Mom draped her arm around my shoulder. “Earth to Willow?”
“Oh, my bad. I was just checking in with Brodie.” I dropped my phone into my back pocket. We were almost to the elevators that led to the garage where we’d parked.
“Willow. Mr. and Mrs. Covington,” Deena said, hustling toward us. “May I have a word?”
“Everything all right?” my dad asked as he took my mom’s hand in his.
“Yes.” She waved us to follow her into a smaller conference room off to her left. “Come on in.” She shut the door behind my dad, who was the last to enter.
The room was small, with a six-person wooden table and plush leather chairs. The wall of windows overlooked one of the indoor skating rinks.
I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to sit, so I just stood beside my mom, my heart hammering.
“Whew.” Deena patted her chest and took in a quick breath. “You guys hustled out of there quickly.”
“Oh, sorry. Yes,” I said. “I just wanted to get to the hotel to relax a bit before dinner.”
“Great.” She offered me a wide smile that made her light blue eyes shine. “Because I wanted to let you know. The decision about your acceptance to the program has already been made.”
My heart stopped.
I grabbed Mom’s hand and drew in a breath.
“Willow Covington, on behalf of the Miami International Skating Center, we would like to invite you to join our team.”
“Oh, honey!” Mom dropped her hold on my hand and hugged me. I kept my focus on Deena to make sure she wasn’t joking or something. Or that maybe I wasn’t dreaming all this up in my mind.
Dad stepped forward and offered his hand to Deena to shake. “You have a real nice facility here. It’s an honor to have you coaching our daughter.”
My mouth went dry, and my heart started beating again with a vengeance, almost stealing my breath. I got in. I was accepted. Tears pricked at the backs of my eyes.
“Honey?” Mom released me from the hug and gripped my shoulders.
“I…I can’t believe it!” I gulped for air, suddenly feeling light-headed. “Really?” I looked at Deena.
She nodded, her smile getting impossibly bigger. I leaped at her and wrapped my arms around her. “Thank you so much.”
“You’ve earned it,” she said, hugging me tightly. “We will accomplish great things together, Willow Covington.”
Pride swelled in my chest, but only for a few seconds.
How was I going to tell Brodie and the hockey team I’d come to love that I was leaving?
CHAPTER
FORTY-FOUR
Brodie
“Team meeting, five minutes,” Pax yelled as he stood on the locker room bench, then glared at me. “Outside.”
“What the hell, man? It’s, like, fifteen degrees out there,” I said.
“Wear a jacket.” He hopped down from the bench, then nudged me with his shoulder as he strode by.
What the heck was wrong with him? Preach shrugged as he shut his locker, and Teddy, behind him, rolled his eyes and then bit into a candy bar.
“PDA!” Nathaniel said.
“Um, what?” Teddy asked.
“Pax Drama Ahead.” Nathaniel chuckled.
Josiah grabbed a large parka from the locker next to me.
“Nice work on the ice today.”
“Thanks.” He tugged on a stocking cap. “What do you think Pax wants?”
I shrugged as I snagged my bag from the locker and slammed it shut. By the clip to Pax’s voice, something was definitely up. I wasn’t sure what it could be, though. We were just over five weeks before the first rounds of regionals began, and the team was humming. We were so ready to kick ass at State.
I checked the locker room to make sure everyone was out, then busted through the door, hustling down the hallway and seeing the tail end of Preach and Teddy heading outside. A blast of arctic air swept through the hallway along with some flurries. Dang, was it snowing again?
I checked my phone to see the time. Willow had texted that she’d landed and her parents were going to drop her off here on their way home from the airport. I couldn’t wait to see her and hear how everything went. Even more, I couldn’t wait to kiss her. She’d been so busy, we didn’t get to even text very much.
The door slammed shut right when I got to it, so I pushed it open, saying, “Thanks a lot, guys.”
Pax glared at me and thrust his phone into the air. “So, how long have you guys been dating behind our backs?”
I gulped, and my bag slid off my shoulder. On Pax’s screen was a picture of me and Willow at Jackson Pond on New Year’s Day, kissing next to my car.
“Shit,” I said.
“Oh, hey, guys.” Willow rounded the corner, then skidded to a stop, her eyes wide and her jaw open. “What’s going on?”
“Shit, Brodie! You lied to us?” Preach yelled. “To me?”
Josiah gasped. So did Nathaniel and Teddy. Preach had sworn. He’d actually said a cuss word. I could count on one hand how many times I’d heard him use profanity. He had to be really pissed.
My heart hammered in my chest and my mouth went dry.
“Is this true?” Preach pointed at me, stepping toward me. “You and Willow? Hooking up? Tell me—”
“They have been.” Pax flipped his phone in our direction again. “My cousin totally busted them!”
“How did you get that picture?” I growled.
“Doesn’t really matter, asshole,” Pax said. “But my cousin snagged it when he drove by the pond. What else are you guys hiding? Huh?”
“I saw them in Clover, once, too,” Teddy said, shaking his head. “At the ice cream shop.”
My heart pounded. And here I thought we’d be safe in Clover.
“The practice sessions. The pond. Excuses as to why we couldn’t hang.” Preach’s voice reverberated off the arena brick wall behind us. “All lies?”
“Preach. I can explain. Let me—”
“Save it.” He showed me his gloved palm, then pointed at Willow. “I can’t believe you guys did this to the team.”
Oh shit, he was going to tell Coach, wasn’t he? Preach was a stickler for the rules, which was exactly why we hadn’t told him. Why we hadn’t told anyone. We’d been so careful…
“Wait, Preach, don’t. Please don’t tell,” I said.
Willow just stared at me. Her mouth open. Her eyes wide. She didn’t deserve to be called out like this. The hurt I saw ripped through my chest.
Shit.
“Is that why you wanted her on the team so bad? Because you were getting in her pants?” Pax yelled.
“Fuck you, Pax!” Willow yelled.
He spun and flopped onto the snow-packed ground, groaning.
I pointed at him. “Stay down.”
“That bitch ruined everything,” Eric added.
“Oh, shut up, Eric. You’re a sexist pig, and the only one ruining anything right now is you,” Willow said.
Preach tackled me around the waist, and I was down. He’d caught me off balance, and the next thing I knew, I was on my back, and he was putting all his weight on me.
I actually thought he was going to hit me, but then someone yelled, “Hey.”
I recognized that voice as Preach’s dad.
“Brodie,” he yelled. “Preach. You guys out here?”
“Brodie?” Caleb yelled, coming out from behind Mr. Armstrong.
I shoved Preach off me, and he didn’t give much of a fight. He was probably as confused as I was as to why his dad and my little brother were here.
So much was going on at once, I was having trouble keeping everything straight.
“Caleb?” I hopped to my feet and opened my arms for him to come to me.
“Dad?” Preach stood and brushed the snow from his arm. “You okay? Is Mom okay?”
“Yes. Fine.” Mr. Armstrong waved me to him. “Brodie. Come with me now. Ryan, follow behind us.”
Oh crap. Mr. Armstrong was using Preach’s real name. Something was up, and that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Caleb seemed fine, so it couldn’t be him, but the strained look on Mr. Armstrong’s face didn’t help calm my thrashing heart down at all.
I hoisted Caleb into my arms and hustled after Mr. Armstrong. Willow followed close behind.
Thank God Mr. Armstrong hadn’t noticed Pax on the ground.
The chatter from the rest of the team faded away. The fear surging off Preach’s dad nearly plowed me over.
“I parked right next to you,” Mr. Armstrong said. “We’ve got to move fast. Give him to me.” He pointed at Caleb. “I’ll buckle him in while you get your stuff out of your car.”
“What’s going on, Dad?”
“Just do as I say, and hurry. Ryan, get your car and be ready to follow us. Brodie, pull everything from your car that you want to keep.”
“What’s happening?” I asked as I handed him my baby brother. He reached for me, but I forced a smile. “It’s all right, buddy.”
Mr. Armstrong held my brother and tucked his head to his neck. “Asset seizure. Police are on their way to your house. I got a tip from a buddy.”
“Oh my gosh.” Willow gasped from beside me.
I reached for her, and we ran toward my car. I hadn’t seen her since Friday before she’d left for Miami, and now, instead of sneaking away to spend some time alone with her, we were in the freezing cold, running to empty out my car, an entire team feeling betrayed behind us. But I couldn’t worry about that right now.
Mr. Armstrong’s Lexus was right beside mine, still running.
“Why are the police involved?” I asked.
“That’s just how it all works,” he said. “The bank is seizing your father’s assets. They’ll come take this car soon, so we might as well get what we can from it.”
“I don’t understand,” I said as I opened the glove compartment and center console and grabbed everything I could shove in my pockets and hold in my arms.
With Willow’s help, we emptied my car in under five minutes and threw everything into the back of the Lexus. I crawled into the backseat to sit beside Caleb, and Willow followed me in.
Caleb grabbed my hand, then focused on the screen affixed to the back of the seat in front of him. He was wearing headphones and watching a Minions movie. I turned and looked between the seats and out the front window. The snow flurries zoomed toward the car, but they blurred out of focus.
I was tired.
It was cold.
And I just wanted to forget today ever happened.
But no. I was going to go to my house, which hopefully wasn’t seized already by the U.S. Marshals. The house I’d lived in for eight years. I’d loved that house until Mom died, then I’d hated it. But now that it might be taken away, I loved it again.
First the team busted me and Willow, now this. My fucking life was falling apart. No, it was being ripped apart at the seams.
“Can I see your phone a sec, Willow?” I didn’t even know where mine was right now. Probably stuck in my bag in the back of the car.
She unlocked it, then handed it to me, and I typed a search for seizure of assets. The results weren’t good.
“That means Dad’s broke, right?” I said, adjusting the heat vents to hit Caleb more.
“Rumors have been flying for a while now, I’ve been hearing things, but I didn’t want to believe it. Just figured he was struggling with your mom’s death. Drinking. Making wrong choices.”
“What happened?”
“He stole people’s retirements. They caught him at the international airport about an hour ago, son. He was trying to flee the country.”
“What? He was…he was leaving…the country?” My stomach bottomed out. Bile stung the back of my throat. I hadn’t heard anything from him since Christmas Eve, but to leave the country? I had to have heard wrong.
Mr. Armstrong nodded. The final turn to our long driveway was coming up.
Dad was going to leave us? Leave Caleb? Just run away?
Not even say goodbye?
“He’s sick, son. It may have started out as grief over losing your mom, but it quickly turned into addiction. He’s out of control.”
“But…”
“Just hang with me a few more minutes. Stay strong a bit longer.” He nodded as he focused on the road ahead. “Think quickly. What do you need from the house? Does Caleb have all the prescriptions he needs? Medical records in a safe…”
“Got most of his medicine at your place. I’ll grab everything I can get my hands on, though.” My head was spinning. “I don’t remember the safe code.”
“Does he keep it anywhere?”
“Wait. I think I might have it on my phone. I—I saw lots of cash in there before.” I gulped, remembering when I’d dug in the safe for bail money that time he’d been thrown in jail. “Like…a lot of cash, Mr. Armstrong.”
“Leave it. Just take medical records or important stuff like that, birth certificate, social security cards…”
“And clothes, I need—Caleb needs some more—”
“We got that covered. Don’t forget something that reminds you of your mom. That’s important. Don’t want to lose anything like that in all of this.”
“Oh my gosh, Brodie,” Willow whispered.
I gulped. I was losing everything, wasn’t I?
At least I had Willow with me. And hopefully Preach could forgive me for lying. But what about Boston College? Where would we live? What would happen to us?
Tears stung, but I blinked them back. Like Mr. Armstrong said, I needed to hang in there a few more minutes. I needed to be strong for Caleb.
Willow’s phone in my hand chimed, and I looked down. An email message preview filled the screen.
From someone named Coach Deena Polanski: Welcome to the team! You’re all confirmed for your January 11th arrival. Flight information attached. So pleased you accepted our offer.
CHAPTER
FORTY-FIVE
Willow
“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.” Brodie paced back and forth in front of Preach’s house.
We’d just gotten back from emptying out his house into Preach’s and Mr. Armstrong’s cars. The second the car stopped, he’d jumped out and run to the front of the house. The snow had picked up, morphing into huge, fluffy snowflakes, but they weren’t pretty like I normally thought.
Noth
ing about my return to Woodhaven today had been pretty.
I closed my eyes and took in a slow, deep breath, trying to calm my heart down. “I came right to the Ice Den to tell you. This wasn’t anything I could just send over text. Then I walked into the Pax Hunt Shit Show.”
“Why couldn’t you have told the team? Now they’re going to know I lied to them again!” Brodie’s eyes narrowed in on mine, the amber flecks that usually sparkled weren’t visible under the pale moonlight.
“Because I wanted to tell my boyfriend first!” I argued. “You, Brodie. You were all that mattered to me once I got off that plane.”
“Well, what does it even matter if you’re leaving?” He shook his head. “They’re already feeling betrayed, but this is going to gut them.”
I opened my mouth but then shut it. I didn’t know what to say or even what I could say at the moment. So much had happened over the past few hours. His dad was in jail. He was basically homeless, not a possession to his name except what he was able to pack into Mr. Armstrong and Preach’s cars before the authorities arrived.
Yes, I had asked him to keep the tryout to himself for a few days, but I hadn’t expected things to move so quickly. I thought I’d have more time.
Plumes of white burst from his mouth, he was breathing so heavily in this frigid air. The snow crunched beneath his boots as he marched back and forth before me.
“You said you weren’t even sure anymore, and now you’re all of a sudden going? What the hell happened?”
“I can’t help it. They want me down there right away.” My shoulders slumped, and tears stung my eyes. “Y-you always knew this might happen.”
“But you were really starting to love hockey. The team. I thought…” He let his head fall into his hands. “Maybe you’d stay…”
Tears blurred my vision, and my body sagged beneath the weight of his sadness—and mine. I couldn’t blame him for being so upset, to find out I was leaving Woodhaven in a matter of five days by seeing an email scroll over my phone…and after what went down with his father.