Page 22

Chapter 21

Ryker

19 years old

" T hat's the goalie for the hockey team," one of the not-so-subtle cheer girls says as she walks by with a group of friends. They take a seat at the end of the long picnic table out on the quad. "He's friends with the team captain," she hardly whispers.

"Landry? God, that guy is so hot. Wasn't he dating—"

"Shh," one of the other girls says. "She's coming. Hey, Jen!"

"Hey, bitches!" Jennyfer Cobbs takes the empty seat closest to me. I try to pull my hoodie a little tighter over my face, but she turns to me.

"You can't hide under a hoodie, Ryker. I know that's you in there," she whispers.

I push it away from my face. "I wasn't hiding."

She smiles at me. "You doing ok?"

"Yep."

"You… excited for your hockey camp?"

"Mmhmm," I say, hoping she doesn't continue with the interview into the territory I don't want to comment on.

"And how's Keelan?"

Shit. There it is.

"Uh… good. He's… Keelan."

"Yeah," she says softly. "He's always good. But, like, today especially?"

I shrug.

"Well… tell him I'm thinking of him."

I nod, surprised she doesn't ask about her ex-roommate. But I guess when girls fight, they don't really do things like that.

I gather up my books and slip them into my backpack. "I'll let him know."

School's out, and everyone is moving this week. The dorms are a mass exodus of students packing away boxes and long lines of parked vehicles ready to take them away to their summer destinations.

Keelan and I are heading out with a few of the other guys to a summer training camp in Dallas. We'll be gone until the start of next semester.

"See you around," I tell Jenny.

She smiles at me sadly. "See you around, Ry."

I like Jenny. I can't help but feel bad for her because, honestly, I saw what she saw. Keelan didn't officially do anything with Rina when she and him were together.

But I saw the way he looked at her.

There was something in his eyes that was just different from the way that he looked at Jenny.

Rina was a creature he couldn't put his finger on. Jenny was an open book. No puzzles to figure out. Just Jen. The girl who liked to party and make friends. She was fun and competitive and basically the girl version of Keelan, which might be exactly why they didn't work for each other.

It's still unfair for the poor girl. Not that I'm about to make it my mission to make her feel better about the situation. We get dealt shitty cards in life sometimes. I know the hard moments are the ones that make us grow, even if we fight them.

I make my way past students rolling carts full of bedding, and God knows what else. I opt to take the stairs instead of the elevators that look like they'll be backed up for the next hour.

I take the stairs two at a time, hoping Keelan is finally awake. I tried to give him the morning in. But it's been two years since I met him at hockey camp the summer after he lost his parents. It was the same year my brother went to prison. We both had a lot to get through that year.

Keelan is the brother I didn't know I needed. And we knew the day we met, we'd be in each other's lives whether we liked it or not.

I get to the last step and brush past a girl seated with her head resting in her hands. If it weren't for the soft, "Hey, Ry guy" when I opened the door. I would've missed her entirely.

"Rina?" I say, letting go of the door handle. "Are you okay?"

She brushes her thighs. "I just… yeah, I just came to say goodbye."

"Oh," I say. "Wait, aren't you coming back next semester?"

She shrugs, "I don't know. I guess we'll see."

I drop down on the step next to her. The both of us now blocking the stairwell.

"What do you mean? Where are you going?"

"There's something I need to tell Keelan," she says.

"Okay…"

"But I can't bring myself to do it."

Her eyes are a little puffy, like she's been crying all morning and her nose is flushed.

"Well, is it important to you?" I ask her.

She nods.

"Then, it'll be important to Keelan."

She takes a deep breath and lets it go through her mouth.

"Come on," I extend my hand, and she stares at it. "I'll go with you."

She takes it, and I help her up. And as we make our way back to our dorm, she hesitates at the door.

If I'm being totally honest, I'm not looking forward to this either. Whatever it is has her distraught which means Keelan's already bad day could be getting worse. But I guess that's what I'm here for.

I push the door open and he's blasting Britney Spears from the radio and dancing around as he tosses clothes from his drawers into his luggage.

He doesn't even notice us when we come in. But when he does his smile spreads wide, eyes bright at the sight of Rina.

"Well, if it isn't my two favorite people!"

Okay… not the mood I expected to find him in.

He grabs her by the hand and spins her around, dancing to the music.

"Kee," I try to get his attention. "Rina has something she needs to tell you."

He reaches for the knob on the stereo and turns to her. "You do?"

She swallows and nods.

"That's awesome! Because I have some news too. You guys might want to sit down for this," he pats the empty mattress.

"Uh… okay?" Rina gives me a look, and we both sit down on the beds across from each other.

"Okay," Keelan breathes. "Dallas is picking me up."

My eyes go wide. "Dallas? As in…"

"Pro hockey. The NHL baby!" Keelan pumps his fist in the air. "Can you believe it? They had a scout at the last game, and I just got the call and check this out… it gets even better."

Rina looks panicked, but she puts on a brave face. "What?"

"They want Ryker, too!" Keelan comes up to me and gives my stomach some punches. "Can you freaking believe it, man?"

"No," Rina and I both say.

The news doesn't feel real. It's what we both have always wanted, but somehow, it's hard for me to believe.

Rina stares at us, jaw tight. "That's… wow." She finally utters.

"Right?!" Keelan says, squeezing her shoulders. "I mean, it does mean I won't be able to come back next semester, but we'll figure it out, right?"

"Um," Rina rubs the side of her arm uncomfortably. "About that…"

She gives me a look, and I take that as my cue and get up. "I think I forgot something downstairs," I announce.

Keelan turns his attention to Rina. "What's going on?" He asks her, concerned.

I walk out the door and close it behind me.

The pros. The mother fuckin' pros. I need to tell my brother. He'll lose his shit. And it's Friday, so I know he'll be calling.

I walk down the stairs in a daze and pull out my phone. There's a missed call from an unknown number and a voicemail waiting for me.

I press the phone to my ear.

"Hello. This message is for Ryker Balinger. This is Stefan Smith from the Dallas Stars. I'm calling to let you know that we saw you play a great game out in Austin. We've spoken to your coach there at ASC and want to invite you to our development camp this summer. We're also asking your team captain to join us. Please give me a call back when you get this, and Balinger… Congratulations."

It's real. This is it. This is our moment.

A blur of black hair runs past me as I slip the phone into my pocket.

It's Rina. I call out for her, but she doesn't look back.

Back in the room, the music is off, and Keelan is zipping up his suitcase as soon as I walk in. He drops it on the floor.

"Everything ok?" I lean on the doorframe. All the excitement from earlier is gone from his expression.

"There's a car that's coming to pick us up by noon. Did you call Smith back yet?"

"Keelan."

"If you don't call him back, you might lose your spot. So you should probably do that before he offers it to someone—"

"Keelan Landry!"

He looks up at me, lip quivering.

"She's leaving, and she's not coming back," he finally admits.

"Do you know why?"

He shakes his head. "Just that it's not working out. Being here."

"That was her big news?"

"That was her big news," he says, grabbing his backpack off the floor. "Anyways, you should call Smith."

He grabs his luggage and rolls it behind him. "I gotta call my aunt and sister. I'll be outside."

"You good, Kee?"

He nods. "It's fine. Girls are a distraction anyway, right?"

They are. If we plan to get anywhere in this career, we'll both need to accept that as a fact of life.

Keelan leaves through the door, and I reach for my phone to call Smith back.

This is the start of the rest of our lives. And in order to move forward, sometimes we have to leave things behind.