Cross Checked (Shots on Goal #2)

by Kristen Hope Mazzola

“I mean it, Cox, this is it.” Coach’s face was blaring red as he shoved his finger into my chest. I hated being late, hated having Coach pissed at me, but most of all, I hated letting my team down. I just had to keep being grateful that all this shit had gone down during off season. I would have been sent packing to my new home on the bench if I had missed practice during the actual season.

  I skated back over to my teammates right as a scrawny middle-aged man glided over to us. He wore all purple, even down to his skates.

  “Gentleman!” His bombastic voice rang through the rink. “Are you ready to change it up a bit today?”

  Right then, it sank in: we were about to get figure skating lessons from a damn fairy.

  No one said a word. We all just slowly formed a circle around our guest.

  “Oh, my prayers have finally been answered—I am surrounded by a pack of big, strong, brawny men who all have to do exactly as I say!”

  Gavin shot the dirtiest look over to his dad, who just happened to be our coach. “This is bullshit,” Gavin muttered under his breath.

  Coach yelled over, “Hayes, don’t think I won’t bench your ass. Boys, pay attention to Simon, do as he says. If you can master some fancy footwork, we might just have a shot at a championship before I am one foot in the grave.”

  “Aye, Coach,” a bunch of us yelled in unison.

  “Ok.” Simon cleared his throat. “I am Simon Abramson and we’re going to start with the basics. Anyone ever figure skated before?”

  Pavoc reluctantly raised his gloved hand into the air. “I have,” he said under his breath.

  “Fag,” Henderson coughed next to me.

  Elbowing him in the ribs, I scowled. “Shut the fuck up, dude.” I raised my hand. “I have, sir.”

  It was true and there wasn’t anything to be shy about. Fuck, the lessons I went to with Myla when I was in high school made me the strongest skater on my traveling team. I probably owed my career to those painful lessons where I felt like a fucking fruitcake.

  “Nice. At least some of you are brave enough to admit it. Trust me boys, you won’t regret this.”

  For the next few hours we practiced spins, lunges, and spirals. I was shocked as hell, but by the end of it, we were all laughing and having a freaking blast. It was nice to get a break from the normal routine of practice and have fun with the entire team.

  “Simon says!” our instructor called out before blowing a whistle. “Hit the showers! Great work today, guys!”

  I skated over to Simon. “Sir?”

  A toothy grin greeted me as he popped hip out, placing his hand dramatically on his side. “Yes? Cox, right?”

  I nodded. “Yes, that’s me. I just wanted to thank you for a fun practice. My little sister used to be a figure skater and I took a few lessons with her when we were kids. I forgot how fun they were.”

  “I am glad I could help. You should get your sister back into it. You two could learn and thing or two from each other.” The wrinkles around his eyes and lips became craters as his smile grew.

  “Hopefully, someday, Myla will get back onto the ice.” I muttered, looking away. It was hard to imagine that Myla was a skater, not is one. That was one of the hardest pills to ever fucking swallow.

  Chapter 5

  Karla

  Another shift. Another day. Another reminder that everything had changed.

  It wasn’t that I was pining for James, but I missed my life, the life I’d had only days before. After filing the police report and calling out of work for three shifts straight, I finally made myself get back into a normal routine—as normal as it could be.

  I did everything I was advised to do. Changed the locks on my apartment. Filed an order of protection against James. Shipped all his personal belongings to his parents’ house in Huntington. Took down all the pictures that reminded me of him.

  The problem was that everything reminded me of the rat bastard. The couch we got a discount on because a cushion had a little rip in it that James fixed right when we got it home. The coffee table he built for us because I couldn’t find one in the stores that I liked. The purple walls in my bathroom James painted for me because he knew lavender was my calming color. Those were only the tip of the iceberg.

  And then there were our two miniature pinschers. Nike and Thor kept looking for James. That was what broke my heart the most; I knew I wasn’t the only one that had lost someone they loved.

  Opening my front door, I could tell something was off. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but there was something missing. I walked in, half asleep as the sunrise started to peek in through the windows, illuminating a scene of sheer wreckage.

  I dropped to my knees in complete shock and horror. The entire apartment had been ransacked: holes in the walls, all my books yanked off the shelves and ripped apart, slashes in the couches, furniture thrown everywhere, dishes and glasses destroyed on the kitchen floor. I looked around and realized with a start that my dogs weren’t barking at me. I shot up, bolting around the small apartment.

  “Nike! Thor! Come here babes,” I called. Nothing.

  I opened every door. Checked under the bed. Pulled up every blanket they loved to hide under. I was hoping they were just scared and hiding, but they weren’t. My dogs were not in my apartment.

  My hands were shaking as I dialed my best friend.

  “Hello?” Martha answered. “Karla, are you ok?”

  I was sobbing. “He broke in. It’s so bad. The dogs!”

  “Hang up. Call the cops. I’m on my way.”

  I dug Officer Whistler’s card out of my wallet; he had given it to me at the police station after taking my statement about the altercation. After wiping the tears off my face and away from my eyes with the bottom of my green scrub top, I dialed his number.

  “Whistler,” he answered.

  “It’s Karla,” I muttered, not exactly sure how I was supposed to explain this to the nicest cop I had ever met.

  “Karla? Are you ok?” His words dripped with concern.

  I took a deep breath and spit it out. “James broke in and destroyed my apartment, and I think he stole my dogs.”

  The realization washed over me, knocking the wind out of my chest. I started hyperventilating as Officer Whistler started to speak in a very calming voice.

  “Karla, sit down. Right where you are, sit. I don’t want you panicking and passing out before I get there. I’m on my way with my partner, Officer Todd. You met him the other night. Try to stay calm and do not touch anything. We’re going to have to fingerprint your place.”

  I sat down right in the foyer where I stood. “Ok. I’m sitting. My door is open and my friend is on her way to be here with me.”

  “Good. We will be there soon. Hang in there.” He hung up.

  I sat cross-legged, falling apart all over again. I felt so stupid; I should have known James was capable of something like this. I knew his temper, but he had never gotten that out of control before the other night. How could I have fallen in love with a monster? He was a cheater. He was mean. He was vindictive. He was an asshole.

  A while later, the front door slowly opened. I turned to see my two best friends in the entire world cautiously walking into the train wreck that was my apartment.

  “Hey, love.” Kari sank down next to me, wrapping her arms around my body. “Everything is going to be all right.”

  Martha followed suit and the three of us sat on the floor, holding on to each other. The one positive thing I had going for me was the unwavering friendship I had in those two amazing women.

  “Karla?” Officer Whistler and his partner walked in.

  We all got up. Martha grabbed their hands, shaking them with her manly vice grip. “Officers, thank you for coming so quickly.”

  “Yes, thank you officers,” I muttered, wiping my face again. I knew my makeup was smeared all over my face and I probably looked like a five-cent hooker at that point, but I felt unusually comfortable around these two cops.

  “Please, ca
ll me Sean.” Officer Whistler shot me a sympathetic smile. “I am going to call this in and get a forensics team out. Do we have permission to search your place for evidence?”

  “Of course.” I was fighting back more tears as I thought about a ton of people walking in to see my life in shambles, but if it was going to help put James away then it was all worth it. Officer Whistler stepped out into the hall to radio in while Officer Todd went into my bedroom to check out the extent of the damage.

  “You’re still going to press charges, right?” Kari asked as she grabbed my hand. The small gesture of support was hugely comforting.

  “You bet your sweet ass she is,” Martha barked as she walked around checking out everything that was broken and in disarray as I nodded in agreement.

  Sean joined us again. “Karla, do you have a place you could stay for a few days? Just while the dust settles. I hate to think what would have happened if you had been home when he showed up.”

  Martha put her arm around my shoulders. “She can stay with me for a while and then with Kari for a bit if need be, right, Kari?”

  Kari’s face shifted into a smile. “For sure!”

  ‘Thanks guys.” Tears poured down my face again, and my eyes stung from the endless days of crying fits.

  After I felt completely violated by my ex and then again by the swarm of police that had to gather evidence from my home, the girls took me back to Martha’s place.

  “I just can’t wrap my head around all of this,” Martha states while pouring us all generous amounts of wine.

  “Tell me about it.” I chugged down a few large gulps of the smooth pinot noir.

  Kari pulled a throw pillow onto her lap while checking a few text messages from her boss.

  “I really appreciate you guys skipping work today to help me.” And damn the tears started up again. “Why am I such an emotional wreck?”

  Martha took her seat on the other side of me. “If you weren’t a wreck, I would be worried about you.”

  Kari looked up from her phone. “Don’t mention it, Karla. Honestly, we all work our asses off. We can take a personal day from time to time.”

  My gaze snapped to Kari. “Ok, who are you, and what have you done with Kari?” I teased.

  “What?” She raised an eyebrow at me. “I’m not a workaholic!” she shrilled, throwing the pillow at me.

  Martha started laughing. “Honey, you’re in fucking denial!”

  “Whatever. I’m here—isn’t that all that matters?”

  “Yes.” I put my head on her shoulder. “That is all the matters.”

  “Oh!” Martha jumped up as a dog food commercial came on. “I almost forgot.” She got up and sifted through papers on her dining room table until she found a pamphlet. “Kari and I thought this might be a good way for you to get out of the house and meet new people.” She handed me a dog rescue flyer with the cutest puppies on the front of it.

  “You want me to meet new people? The love of my life just stabbed me in the back. I don’t know about this.” I flipped it open to read the middle. It seemed like a wonderful organization, but with my job being as crazy as it was, where would I find the time?

  Kari sat up a bit. “It’s not to meet a guy or anything. We’re just worried that you will become a hermit without James encouraging you to get out of the house from time to time. We just know how you are.”

  Martha added, “Just think about it, ok?” as she took her seat next to me again. They made me promise I would consider it, and I would; helping people was my job, so why not help dogs, too?

  We started to watch stupid daytime television. It was the perfect way to spend our afternoon—watching Jerry Springer, drinking wine, and realizing that at least I was better off than the poor schmuck that was just told his fiancée had actually been born a dude.

  Chapter 6

  Brayden

  “Are you excited to be home?” I asked as I opened the front door for Myla.

  She slowly crutched her way into our home. “Excited is an understatement.” She made it the couple of feet to the loveseat in our living room and plopped down. “I just need to get used to these damn crutches.”

  I brought her bag in and set it by the bottom of the stairs. “I am going to do some laundry and bring down a bunch of your stuff from upstairs.”

  The living room had turned into our makeshift bedroom for the foreseeable future. Until Myla was cleared to start putting weight on her leg and was able to make it up the stairs, she and I would be calling the first floor home. I knew I was being a little overprotective, but I didn’t want her trying to do too much for herself while I was sleeping in my bed upstairs and then reverse all the progress she had already made.

  “You really don’t have to do this, Bray.” She glanced around the room at the couches with sheets and pillows on them.

  “Myla, we talked about this already. Just let it be.” The alarm on my phone started going off. “Shit, I have to change and head to practice. Are you sure you’re going to be ok while I am gone?”

  She shot me a devilish glance. “If you do not get your ass out of that door in five minutes, I am going to kick it. Even though I only have one working leg, Darren made sure I could take care of myself for the most part. I am going to binge on all of my recorded stuff on the DVR and order a pizza.”

  “Fine.” I pulled cash out of my wallet. “You can’t blame me for worrying.”

  “I appreciate it, but we both need you to keep your job. One of us has to pay the damn bills.”

  “Touché, sis.” With that I bolted up the stairs, changed into my sweats, and headed to practice. I was actually going to be on time for once, and I was stoked that Coach was finally going to see that I could handle my personal and professional lives in some capacity.

  The days went on in a sort of routine. Taking care of Myla and practicing with my team consumed my life. We started to get into a nice rhythm, but nothing could have prepared me for everything that had happened in such a short amount of time. It was like the earth had shifted on its axis. The weirdest part was that even though everything had changed in my life, nothing really had.

  Yes, my mother was gone. Yes, Myla was no longer going to be an Olympic skater. Those things were giant, mind-altering facts that I had to grasp as my new reality.

  But, my team was still the same. The mail never stopped coming. The bills still had to be paid. Laundry still had to be done. My father was still in prison for vehicular manslaughter. The world kept spinning, days kept coming and going, life went on. I had to get back into the swing of things or I might get left behind—at least that was how it felt.

  Myla was getting stronger every day and her spirits were up. It was pretty much all I could ask for.

  “Hungry?” I asked, carrying two plates with chicken and rice into the living room.

  Myla glanced up from her Kindle and took one of the plates form me. “That smells so delicious, thanks.”

  “Hey, we both gotta eat, right?” I winked at my sister before sitting down on the other couch across from her.

  It was the simplest of moments, but it was nice to just have a quiet night with Myla. Before the accident, we were both so busy with practicing and trying to make it into the big leagues that we barely ever slowed down and just enjoyed each other’s company. Even though I had lived with my sister our entire lives, I felt like over the last few months I actually started to get to know her—the real her.

  I had never known she hated the color yellow or that she detested lima beans. I got to hear about all the books she had been devouring since she wasn’t able to do much else. We talked about how much she missed skating and how nervous she was to try it again once she was back on her feet. She told me about the recurring nightmare she had been having since the third grade where an octopus with sponges for hands attacked her while she floated in a wooden boat in the middle of the ocean.

  On their own, none of the things I was learning about her would seem like they meant much of anything,
but piled together, I felt like I had gained a sister. I mean, I’d had a sister since I was three and my parents told me Mommy had a baby growing in her tummy, but our relationship had jumped to another level, one I would never let go of. Myla was turning into my best friend and someone I truly admired.

  “Hey, Brayden?” Myla looked up at me from her plate.

  “Yeah?”

  “I don’t think we say it enough, but I love you and I am really thankful you’re my brother.” Tears were welling up in her eyes as she broke eye contact.

  A goofy grin spread across my face. “I love you, too, My.”

  Chapter 7

  Karla

  “To another girls’ night!” Our sake glasses clanked together before we threw back the warm peach flavored shots.

  “Karla, how has it been back in your place?” Martha asked while checking off the boxes to finalize her order.

  I shrugged. “It’s been hard not having the dogs.”

  Kari threw her hands up in the air. “I still cannot fucking believe that all that shit happened.”

  It had been just about a month since my apartment had been destroyed. The investigation was closed and at the end of the day it was not able to be determined that James was the one who broke into my apartment. Officers Whistler and Todd did all they could to figure out how to prove it was him, but their efforts just didn’t cut it. The hardest part was that James didn’t have Nike or Thor. They seemed to have just vanished. I knew that it was more likely that he sold them or gave them away, but that was only speculation.

  “I am still pressing harassment charges against him. We’ll see. Hopefully he gets at least probation.”

  Kari was still huffing, dramatically flailing her hands around as she spoke. “I am going to make his life a living hell. He doesn’t know what he is up against. There will be no deals made. I will make him sit through a trial.”

  I put my hand on Kari’s arm, trying to calm her tantrum a little. “I really don’t want this to go to trial, Kari. Think about how awful that would be for me.”