Page 25

Levi

“What a crazy week!” I said to Dylan and Aurora as we made our way into the arena.

They had picked me up from the airport an hour ago.

Mrs. Fletcher had gotten news that her daughter who lived in Halifax was having some health issues, so I’d had no choice but to take Mia to New York to stay with my parents.

I’d flown there yesterday, spent the night, and flew back today in time for our first playoff game against Florida.

“Well, it’s going to be another crazy couple of weeks as well,” Dylan added.

“I know, and I’m already exhausted.” I chuckled.

“Tell me about it. Jackson barely sleeps.”

“Oh please, you barely get up with him,” Aurora added as we stopped outside of her office.

“Babe, I get up with him as much as I can. You know full well I need my rest,” Dylan added, pulling her into his arms.

“So he says,” Aurora added, smiling at me. “But between you and me, I can’t even remember the last time he got up with him.”

“I’d kill to have someone to fight with over who gets up with Mia.” I chuckled.

“So, then, it doesn’t end? These middle of the night moments?” Aurora asked, letting out a sigh, looking defeated.

I couldn’t help but chuckle as Dylan let out a frustrated sigh.

“They do. Well, in some capacity. I will say they are easier now than they were. Having to guess what is wrong as they scream is hell.”

“Well, I’m glad the two of you are talking about me as if I’m not even here,”

Dylan said, shaking his head and laughing.

“You are welcome, babe,” Aurora added, pressing a kiss to his lips. “Good luck tonight.”

“Thanks.”

She then turned and pressed a kiss to my cheek, wishing me good luck as well, and then made her way into her office while Dylan and I made our way to the locker room.

An hour later, we all sat listening as Coach Thompkins gave us our pre-game hype up before sending us to get ready. The moment he’d left the locker room I pulled my stuff from my locker and began getting ready. Knox sat across from me, buried in his phone.

I frowned as I watched him.

“What are you reading there?” I questioned. “You look deep in thought.”

Knox looked up at me, a funny look coming over his face.

“What is it?” I asked again, this time concerned that perhaps he had gotten bad news.

“Have you checked Sports Hub?” Knox questioned, looking over at me?

“Nah, I haven’t read that one in a while,” I said, reaching for my jersey.

“Why what are you reading?” Colton asked, pulling his stuff from his locker, leaving it in a pile on the floor.

Dylan, Lucas, and Clay looked over at me. I could tell from the looks on their faces that they’d read the article Knox was reading, but I found it odd they had said nothing to me about it. Especially if Knox was bringing it to my attention.

“I think you should look,” he said, leaning forward and passing me his phone which Dylan ripped from his hands.

“You know, I don’t think it’s worth reading right now. We have to get ready.”

While I was curious about what he’d read, when I glanced at the clock, I realized Dylan was right. There was no way we had time to mess around.

It was the start of the third period. We’d just returned to the ice, skating around to warm ourselves up. I was on my second lap of the rink when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Scarlett behind the bench with one of the players from the other team.

She stood there, her hair pulled up the same way she’d always worn it.

She was wearing the sweater I’d gotten her when I’d been away, shortly before we’d broken up.

I was so trained on her, watching as she placed her hand on the other player’s shoulder as she laughed at something he’d said, that I almost didn’t see a player from the other team come at me.

I leaped out of the way to avoid a collision, and that was when they rang the buzzer to start the third period.

Once I was in position, I glanced over to where she’d been, wanting to catch another look, only to find she wasn’t there.

I looked behind the bench of the opposing team, checking each seat to find she wasn’t there either. I was so trained on finding her, I didn’t see the other player coming at me, and the next thing I knew, I was down on the ice, staring at the ceiling, the wind completely knocked out of me.

I lay there, not moving, and then Dylan looked down at me, then Brad from the medical team arrived.

“Are you okay?” Brad questioned. “You hurt?” he asked, placing his hand on the back of my neck, concerned that I’d injured myself when I hit the ice.

“Just had the wind knocked out of me. I’m good,” I added.

The crowd cheered as I got up off the ice and made my way over to the bench with Brad, sitting out the next play. My eyes scanned the arena from where I sat, still looking for any signs of Scarlett, but seeing none.

We all stood in the locker room, everyone quiet after the game we’d just lost. I was exhausted and had a bit of a headache, so I got changed and was just about ready to leave to head home and crawl into bed when Knox stopped me.

“What the hell happened tonight?” he asked. “That hit. We were worried that maybe you’d not be playing the rest of the game when you didn’t get up right away.”

I’d done everything I could to get Scarlett out of my mind, but nothing had worked.

For weeks I’d done nothing but think of her, often messaging her brother to ask how she was doing but then chickening out.

Instead, I would just have a conversation with him over nothing.

Tonight, had been odd though, panic and excitement filling me when I was certain I’d seen her in the crowd.

“Yeah, it was like he came out of nowhere,” I admitted.

“He was coming right for you. What do you mean, out of nowhere?”

“Exactly what I said.”

“Didn’t you see him coming at you?” Knox questioned.

I hadn’t seen him coming, but that was because I hadn’t been paying attention to the game.

“Look, I hate to admit it, but I thought I saw Scarlett in the crowd. It screwed me up.”

Knox gave me a sympathetic look. While I’d convinced them all I was okay with the breakup, it had been a lie. Ever since I’d returned from my parents’ after running into her I’d second-guessed myself, wondering if I should have given her a chance to explain things to me.

“Look, we know you’ve been having a hard time with this. We don’t blame you, we know how much these women can fuck us up.”

“Thanks, man.”

“Remember earlier tonight when I wanted you to read that article?”

I nodded.

“I think you should read it.”

I looked at him, alarm filling me.

“Is there something written about me?”

Knox nodded. “Before you fly off the handle, because I know you hate the media, it’s not written about you in a bad way, but it is something I feel you need to read.

The other guys think so as well, but they didn’t feel it should be read before the game.

In fact, Dylan gave me shit for trying to get you to read it. ”

“What the fuck does it say?” I questioned, now worried that it was something horrific like before.

“Just read it when you get home tonight, not before,” Knox said, placing his hand on my shoulder. “Trust me.”

I’d driven home, quickly showered and crawled into bed, grabbing my phone and opening Sports Hub. I’d done what Knox had suggested, waiting until I’d gotten home. I navigated over to his message, clicking the link he’d sent me directing me to the article.

I stared at the title, swallowing hard.

Players Who Own Our Hearts written by Scarlett Green

Each one of us has a player that we long to watch long after the game is over.

They are the ones that have us tuning in each game to see their next play and watching the after-game interviews to see what it is they are going to say.

I’ve even spoken to fans who have learned to love the sport because of these players.

They are literally the magic behind the game, and if you are lucky enough to have one of them in your life, they are the magic behind that as well.

I first fell in love with the game as a young child. My brother played when he was younger, and me, being the youngest, was often forced to go with my parents to watch. At the time I hated the sport of hockey, but soon, I found myself lost in the sports world. A world I never left.

I was so close with my brother growing up, and I was often found attached to his hip. In fact, I often enjoyed hanging out with his friends more than my own.

That was where I met the man who owns my heart.

I first met him at one of their college games, shortly after my brother got hurt, that injury ending his career.

At first, I worried that I’d now be forced to end my love for the sport and this player since we wouldn’t be at the games anymore.

Only I soon learned that once you are in this hockey family, you stay there.

He stayed, staying close to my brother and our family, eventually becoming one of my very best friends.

The one thing that taught me was that not only are these players the magic behind the team, but they are loyal to the ones who welcome them into their lives. It is probably my most favorite quality about them, that and the fact that you can rely on them whenever you need them.

Unfortunately, over the past few years, I’ve learned a hard lesson. That while these players are loyal and reliable, once you hurt them, you are no longer part of their circle. Being shut out is the most devastating feeling in the world.

The past six months have been the hardest six months of my life. I’ve moved from New York to Vancouver to take another new job, and then back to New York, taking another new job, and I’ve lost, for the last time, the one person who meant the world to me. Levi Anderson was that person.

See, I’d been coerced into writing an article and reporting on him by my boss at the last publication I’d worked for.

She wanted one type of article, and while I knew that this would harm him, I quietly refused, turning in an article that was the opposite of what she wanted.

I figured I’d done the right thing, that he’d be proud of what I’d written, only the joke was on me.

What I should have done was stand up to her and refuse.

Instead, she went behind my back sneaking into my own private files from interviews she booked for me using my name, rewrote the article, then published all the dirt under my name.

I can still remember the look on his face when he read it, the look he held when he told me never to talk to him again. I soon realized that my love for the game diminished, because I no longer could hold or feel that magic. He was gone, and there was nothing I could do about it.

I’m hoping to find that magic again, hoping to see his face once again look at me with the same smile and love that he once did.

Whether it happens or it doesn’t isn’t for me to decide, so with that I sign off, encourage you to find the magic, and if you are lucky enough to have one of them in your life, then make sure you hold on to it because once the magic is gone, the world just doesn’t seem to shine as bright as it once did.

I stared at my screen, noticing the words blurring. I put the phone down and wiped my eyes, immediately wanting to message her. Instead, I got up from the bed, making my way to the kitchen to get a drink of water to stop the ache that was there when my phone pinged.

DYLAN: Are you doing, okay?

I looked at my phone, how the hell did they always know to message.

KNOX: Yeah, I finally let Lorelai read the article. She’s in tears, she really laid it out on the line.

CLAY: WOW, that is all Peyton, and I have to say.

LUCAS: Ella is crying too. She wants to know if you’re going to forgive her?

LEVI: I know, I’m at a loss for words. I think she owns my heart guys, no matter what everyone thinks.

COLTON: Fuck me, even I shed a tear.

DYLAN: Levi, you better take her back, she made the big guy shed tears.

CLAY: Didn’t think that was possible.

LUCAS: That’s funny.

LEVI: He does have a soft side, none of you guys have found it yet.

KNOX: Your woman did. So, what the hell are you waiting for? You going to go and get her?

LEVI: Thought everyone hated her?

DYLAN: The girls had a feeling something was wrong, they didn’t hate her, they just felt something wasn’t right. Of course we don’t hate her, we barely know her.

CLAY: Yeah, what the hell are you waiting for? Go get her.

COLTON: If you don’t go get her, I’ll take her. Anyone who writes an apology to the entire world is one you need to be willing to put your heart on the line for, now go get her.

LEVI: Thanks, guys, for always being here.

I shut my phone off, then stood in the kitchen, drinking down the first glass, refilling it before heading back to my room.

I needed to come up with a plan, and then I’d head to her hotel in the morning.

I was just about to go to my bedroom when I heard a tiny knock at my door.

Glancing at the clock, I frowned. It was well past midnight.

I placed my glass on the counter and made my way over to the door and, without checking to see who it was, I pulled the door open, shock filling me when I saw who was standing there.