Page 17

The boys left that fall.

They made it on some team in Hamilton, Ontario together and left for preseason training the first week of August.

It was a peaceful fall at Centre Ice, but at what cost?

Fun.

There was no more fun in the rink. And while I’d never admit it…

I truly missed the boys. I missed having that little thrill in my chest when I heard their laughter.

I missed secretly hoping and trying to catch glimpses of Richard through the day, and I felt a little…

lost. It was almost like we’d been playing a game for years, and I hadn’t fully realized I was playing until it was over.

But maybe it was a good thing that they were gone, that he was gone, because it made it easier to go back home to my parents in New York City for my surgery and rehab.

Patrick was going home to Montreal for the time being.

He promised he’d train on his own and wait for me, and I really hoped that were true because I didn’t want to skate with anyone else.

He was like my brother, and I trusted him more than anyone else on the planet… I only trusted one other person more.

And he was the first one I saw when I woke up from my surgery.

My eyes took a second to adjust to the obnoxiously bright lighting, but sure enough, Richard Charles Kappers the Third was slumped over, sleeping in the bedside armchair, wearing joggers and his hockey team jacket, a beanie half on top of his messy hair.

He had bags under his eyes, like he hadn’t slept much, but he was still the most attractive guy I’d ever seen.

But…wasn’t he supposed to be in Canada? And why did it feel like my head was floating off my body?

A second later, his eyes fluttered open, and he did a double take. “Hey, you’re up,” he said, immediately rubbing his eyes and shuffling the armchair closer to me. “How ya feeling, Viper?” he asked with a gentle grin.

I blinked at him for a second. He was here, he was talking, but…was I just dreaming?

His eyebrows popped up. “You good?”

“Am I dreaming?” I whispered in a scratchy voice. I needed water, stat.

His lip quirked up. “Nope, why do you ask?”

I squinted harder at him. “Am I in Michigan?” My eyes darted around the room, trying to place where I was, but that just made my head spin. “I feel weird, Richard.”

“Ah, you got those good drugs, girl,” he said with a chuckle. “You in any pain? They said the surgery went well, so that’s good.”

I shook my head, then immediately regretted it.

“Nauseous?” he asked.

“Yeah,” I whispered, not daring to move my head again.

He stood and hit a button attached to my bed. “And to answer your questions, no, we are not in Michigan. We are in two places I said I’d never go.” He held up his thumb. “One, New York City. This place is wild.” He held up his pointer finger. “And two, a hospital.”

Now I was super confused. “Aren’t you in Canada?”

He laughed. “I was. Our team bussed us out to Boston for a tournament this week. They currently think we’re asleep in our motel room. We caught the train up here.”

My eyes widened. “Are you gonna get in trouble?”

He shrugged. “Nah, they’ll make it back in time for the game. No one will even notice. It was a quick trip. Our road trips this year are about to be a lot longer. Not looking forward to that. Colt snores like a chainsaw. Mer must really love him to ignore that.”

“Why?” I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to understand. He was talking awfully fast, and my throat was extremely scratchy.

“Because it’s pretty awful,” he rambled on. “I think snoring is a deal breaker, to be honest. He really—”

“No,” I cut him off. “Why did you come here?” I held my forehead. It felt like everything was spinning out of control.

“Hey, you’re okay,” he said in a gentler tone. “I came for you, duh. I’ll always show up for you.” He moved closer and dropped a kiss on my hair. I would’ve cherished the moment if it weren’t for the pain now starting to slice through me, making me wince.

His eyes connected with mine. “Easy, easy,” he said in an even voice. His hand drifted over my forehead. “Breathe, you’re okay.”

That’s when the enormity of the situation slammed into me.

This wasn’t going to be easy at all. This was going to be an uphill battle.

I was starting at square one, and there was going to be more pain before there was less.

I must’ve moved a fraction of an inch because pain ricocheted through me again, making my face crack.

“This really hurts. This surgery was a bad idea,” I blubbered out. “It was bad.”

“Hey, look at me.” He grabbed my hand and kissed my knuckles. “You needed this to get better. You will get better. Breathe with me.”

After the pain eased a little, my eyes drifted down to the bottom of the bed. “I’m going to have scars,” I whispered.

“I’ll love them,” he whispered back.

Tears blurred my vision. “You don’t mean that.”

“I fucking do. I hate when you’re in pain, baby,” he rasped. The rims of his own eyes were red. “If they’re evidence that you’re not in pain anymore, I’ll love them,” he swore.

Two thoughts hit my brain almost simultaneously.

One—that was the first time he ever called me baby , and two—I never wanted him to let go of my hand.

He had a grounding presence that I couldn’t bear to lose.

With him sitting next to me, it felt like no bad could touch me, like he’d take it all and protect me.

Sucking in a shaky breath, I asked, “Can you stay with me?”

He squeezed my hand three times. “Always.”

Nurses and doctors swarmed in then, and the pain in my legs started mounting. It was so bad that it seemed to shroud the rest of my senses, making it so I could barely hear or think at all. I just squeezed Richard’s hand to handle the pain. He never once complained or pulled away from me.

Even when I couldn’t make out the words, my mind was crying, You, I need you . He kept his solemn eyes on mine and nodded, like he could read my thoughts .

But I think they gave me more drugs, because it was suddenly way too hard to keep my eyes open.

________

When I woke up again, Richard was gone, and I had to wonder if he was ever really here or if I had dreamed up the whole thing.

I could just barely see my parents in the hall, talking with medical staff. I knew it was them because they both talked with their hands. I actually felt bad for the doctors—my parents were scary when arguing against each other, they were downright terrifying when united.

Mer was sitting in the chair Kappy had vacated, texting on her phone with a lovey-dovey grin on her face, telling me she was talking to Colt.

At least my pain level wasn’t that bad. My whole body just felt achy now, like I’d been dropped a couple hundred times during a lift practice.

“Mer,” I whispered.

Her blue eyes flew up to meet mine. “Oh, you’re up! How are you feeling?”

“Was…Kappy…?” I was almost afraid of asking the rest of the question in case I really had dreamt it all up.

Her eyes lit up as she shuffled closer to my bed. “You missed a lot!”

I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. “Huh?”

She brushed her dark hair behind her ears, and her eyes twinkled with delight. “Kappy did not want to leave. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him genuinely mad like that before. Colt and JP had to practically drag him out. They caused a whole scene.” She laughed incredulously.

Now I was even more confused. “Wait, when did they even get here?”

“Ooh, right, I forget you’ve been kind of out of it, I’ll start at the beginning.

I guess their team went to Boston earlier this week for this big tournament.

So when they were released for dinner last night, Kappy was like, I’m going to New York City to see Piper , which really threw them all for a loop, because, well, we all thought you two hated each other.

So then Colt was like, Sure, let’s go , because he knew I was here to see you.

JP didn’t really wanna go because he’s a rule-follower, ya know?

But he figured the two of them would never make it back in time without him, so he joined. ”

Valid point. JP was the responsible one.

“So they were here overnight, but this morning, JP started really freaking out about being late to their tournament—you know how he gets about being on time—but Kappy didn’t care.

He kept saying, Leave me then! I don’t care!

So then Colt threatened that he’d call security on him if he didn’t leave your bedside.

Then they started wrestling with him to try to make him come, but he wouldn’t drop your hand.

He literally punched JP in the face and gave him a bloody nose.

Then your dad burst in because he didn’t want all the ruckus to wake you.

So then your dad was all like, C’mere kid, we need to have a chat, but Kappy was like, Sorry sir, I’d love to speak with you, but I’m not dropping her hand , which actually made your dad like him!

Then again, Kappy charms the pants off everyone.

” She smirked. “Your mom finally came and kicked everyone else out, so Kappy relented and left.” She shook her head in amazement.

“Colt was so frustrated,” she said with a giggle.

“His throat vein was going all wonky. I guess a bunch of important scouts are gonna be at the tournament.”

Wow. My hands went to my temples. That was…a lot of information to take in.

“So…You and Kappy?” A curious little smile played on my best friend’s lips.

I scrubbed a hand down my face to muffle my own laugh. “I’m just as confused as you are, believe me.”.