Page 26

“I enjoy the walks, yes. I…” Could I tell him? Anything I said was confidential. “I, uh, met someone actually.”

“Oh?” Schmidt’s smile widened.

“Yeah, he lives with his pet on a homestead. We met on one of my walks and became…friends.”

Great, now I’m blushing.

“That’s good to hear. You need friends.”

“It’s been nice to talk to someone who’s not on my team. I mean, I love them like brothers. But it’s still work, you know?”

My doctor nodded.

“Jules, that’s his name. He has chickens and everything. He invited me to garden with him.”

“I’m sure that would be great to compensate for your demanding job. I saw you play on the weekend. You’re back on the roster?”

“Not officially, no. Coach asked me if I wanted ice time.”

“And you said you did?”

“Yeah.” I gave him a reluctant grin. “I missed it. The team seemed happy to have me with them, too.”

“How did that feel?”

“Fantastic. But also… I feel like I let them down, you know? Like I’m weak or something.”

“I can see why your brain would tell you that, but I disagree. Admitting that you needed help, and then asking for it takes a lot of strength, Mr Lorenz. Don’t you think you’re actually doing something for your team trying to get better?”

He’s got a point there.

“If you put it like that…”

“I’d like to see you again in a week or two. Sleep on it and see if you’d like to try the medication. And keep up the walks, Mr Lorenz, will you?”

“I will.”

It’s not like I want to stay away from Jules anyway.

We fixed an appointment for the week after next and said goodbye.

Jerke put me on the roster for the next game in Veitsreuth, and I spent the next few days training hard. We lost against the Füchse thanks to Chase Harper, who hammered four goals past Guns. But not even that could put a damper on my mood.

Harper was the only player who managed to get under Guns’ skin. Our usually stoic goalie lost his temper with him every single time.

Saturday morning, I got up early, hopped in my car, and drove back to the granite labyrinth.

Back to Jules…

The more I visited him, the easier it got to find the arch. It was as if his forest wanted me back with its keeper. Maybe it noticed the changes about him like I did.

Barely twenty minutes after I went through the arch, Jules came up the path. He walked with a spring in his step, his eyes shone, and his hair gleamed even more than when I’d first met him. It was quite beautiful to watch him blossom.

“Nikolai,” Jules called. He hesitated as he came closer, as if he wasn’t sure if I was real or just a dream. “You are back.”

“I told you I would be,” I muttered, having no idea what to do with my hands.

How could I tell him that I had spent the past three weeks pining for him? That I had managed to go for daily walks instead of hanging around in my flat drained after training because the small wooded park behind my house reminded me of him, and I could pretend he was waiting for me behind the next corner?