Page 6

James

____________

I t’s been over a week since I’ve seen or talked to Marie… The girls are tight lipped. Her boss refuses to speak to me and I have no idea where she lives. I feel like I’ve lost a limb. We’ve never had a fight like this and I would like to fucking know what the fight is even about.

Yesterday when I got home from practice, I found the girls sitting in Marie’s room with tears in their eyes.

The furniture is still here, but without her clothes thrown around, the scent of her perfume, or her little knickknacks on the desk and dresser… it feels empty.

The house feels empty without her.

She even took all of the kitchen gadgets she loves, the smoker I cooked on several times a week. Even the décor around the house that she chose.

The girls are beside themselves and blame me for her leaving us.

I don’t even know what the fuck I did. After she met Alex, she shut down.

Was it something Alex said to her? I doubt it, Alex is a sweet, kind woman.

Sure, she can come off as snooty, but I blame her upbringing on that.

Coming from rich parents and never having to lift a finger.

I pull out my phone and sigh when I still don’t have a reply from Marie. This is the longest we haven’t talked in… ever. We’ve been attached at the hip since our parents started throwing us in a bedroom when we were in diapers so that they could party.

The good old days.

We busied ourselves with broken toys, empty beer cans, and water bottles with pennies rolling around inside. Eventually we got old enough to climb out of the rusted windows and headed to the local ice rink and learned how to skate. Kept us busy, out of trouble.

She’s always been my rock.

She was there when I wanted to learn how to play hockey, she was there when the owner of the local rink asked me if I wanted to join a league. She was there, right by my side, going door to door with me to fundraise for my gear and spot on the team.

She was there when the twins were born when we were ten…

Hell, I didn’t even have to beg her to come to Minnesota with me.

She offered, practically begging me to come to get the hell out of California.

We never looked back. We pushed each other towards our dreams. Now I make millions and she’s a PA.

Close to the career she’s always wanted.

She wanted to become a doctor but switched when she didn’t get into the MD or DO programs anywhere locally. She refused to leave the girls.

And now? Now she’s abandoned all of us, and I don’t know what the fuck is going on anymore. She’s the one that communicates, organizes everything. She’s basically our fucking mom and now I feel lost, like my mother bird left me alone in the nest.

Do I spread my wings and fly, falling to the ground in a heap? Or do I wait for her to come back? Be patient and calm? Ha.

Hell, I don’t even know how to cook aside from barbecued food. She did all of that. Shopped for everything for the girls, goes to their parent-teacher conferences, and is here when they can’t attend away games because they’re still in school.

I tap my phone against my palm and knock on the girls’ doors and wait in the hall for them to emerge.

They peek their heads out and frown at me simultaneously.

“I have a game tonight… Do you want to come?”

Alyssa sighs and looks over at Caroline and they both shake their heads. “Not without Marie. I hate sitting alone with the WAG’s. Maybe we can go to her house and stay the night?”

I frown at them and stare down at my dark phone. “You know where she is? Where she lives?”

Caroline blinks at me and opens up her door, padding closer to me and crossing her arms over her chest. “She sent us her address the day she moved in. Is there something you’re finally going to tell us?”

I sigh and lean against the wall and stare down at my bare feet. “I think it has something to do with Alex…”

Alyssa groans and slams her door closed, leaving me alone with Caroline, who is now glaring at me.

“Well, that’s probably the issue. She’s fine, she sent us photos of her house and she even has rooms for Lyss and me.

” She shrugs and runs her fingers through her long, blonde hair, the same shade as mine.

“Whatever you did, that’s on you. If you really move that puck bunny into the house maybe we’ll just stay with Marie…

I think Lyss already wants to leave anyway.

The house sucks without her. You’re never home anyway. ”

She waves and glides back into her room and closes the door softly, the click of the latch making me flinch, even with how quiet it is.

Fuck.

I toss my hands up in the air and bite down on my tongue so that I don’t shout.

I asked Alex to move in with me before we decided on going to the appointment when I got tested.

She happily agreed and started rattling on about what she wants to change and get rid of as soon as she stepped through the front door.

I was confused about Marie just up and leaving and wasn’t paying too much attention when the girls met Alex.

I was staring at my dark phone house and gazing at the table that we picked out together. It was filled with food like any other night, but it wasn’t homemade or made with love. Or anything that Marie would have picked.

Even her scent is gone from the house now. Instead of lavender, it smells like stale pizza and old Mexican food still in the trash can from dinner a few nights ago.

I’m starting to feel more and more empty every moment.

Alex didn’t know about Marie living here.

Maybe it was doomed from the start… I remember telling her at one point that I had a friend living with me and that my sisters are here.

But she just shrugged. Maybe she didn’t hear me and was just excited about moving out of her vacation house.

She’s always talking about the sprawling mansion she grew up in and says my home is adequate.

Coming from a trailer park - a fucking roof, full fridge, and clothes are adequate for me. But I held my tongue. She doesn’t know about my past. Not many people do.

I should have introduced everyone sooner, I should have told Marie from the beginning.

Is this fast? Probably. But I’ve known Alex for months, and she refused to date me.

Fuck me? Yes. She said that she traveled too much for work and didn’t know when she would be around more.

Puck bunny she’s not, though. She’s never been to a game, doesn’t care about contact sports.

Her mom is a makeup artist that started selling her own makeup and jewelry products in the 90’s, and they’re rich as hell now.

They have a vacation house here in Minnesota and we met during one of their trips last Christmas.

She moved here for good a few weeks ago, we reconnected, and I asked her for another chance.

She accepted, and then while drinking I figured she should just move in so that she’s not in their vacation home all alone.

I feel good around her, we drink and have fun.

She doesn’t like kids, doesn’t want me for the sport I play.

I live in a safe, gated community and would rather her be safe and comfortable. To see where this goes. You apparently learn more about people when you live with them, and there’s no way I’m moving out. I didn’t want to be away from Marie or the girls any more than I usually am with the team.

But losing Marie and the girls in the process?

No. They’ll come around.

Right?

_____________

I park in the parking lot behind the arena and sigh as I make my way to the locker room. I nod and slap the backs of my teammates, I wave to the coaches as I pass by.

Charlie, the owner’s daughter, is leaning against the wall outside of one of the offices, glaring down at her phone.

That girl scares the absolute shit out of me. I sneak around her and hold my breath as I pass. She’s a good-looking girl, but you can tell she hates it here. She has long black hair, even darker eyes, and has skin the color of snow. I don’t think she ever goes out into the sun.

Daniel Thompson, her father, owns the arena and the team. Heck, his sister is my agent, and Charlie is lined up to take over after he retires – hopefully in thirty years after I’m gone. They even live in the same community I do.

I hope I can get my head in the game tonight. Practices have been shit lately, and now my own family refuses to step foot around here to cheer me on.

Nolan, Logan, and Landon are all chatting by the showers, laughing at something. I make my way over to them and fist bump them while I try to figure out what they’re talking about.

“Landon was just telling us about some skank he just broke up with. He caught her with another man… naked in bed, and she tried passing it off,” Nolan snorts and chokes. “She said… she said it’s her brother.”

I blink at them and shake my head. “What?”

Landon sighs and runs his fingers through his shaggy blonde hair. “Guys, it was nasty… I mean, they did look alike… But what fuck was that shit?” I chuckle and glance around the room.

“Are we going to hit the ice or head into the gym? We still have a few hours.”

Logan scratches his chin. “I think Arizona is already here getting their ice time. Might as well hit the gym then we can be pumped up for the game. I’ll order some dinner for us.” I nod as we head down the hall to the gym, finding several of our other teammates in here and we get to work.

I can’t wait to be back out on the ice, breathing in the icy air. It’s home. The weight of my gear, my stick in hand. Maybe someone can start a fight so I can release this fucking tension.

I do some light cardio and lift some weights, then sit back to drink some water, watching my team.

Morgan seems off lately, he’s blasting music in his ears through his headphones and is ignoring Blake, not even looking at him.

I frown and move to stand up to ask him what’s going on when the door slams open.