"Then don’t."
Coop shrugged, then tossed me the puck. I caught it reflexively, the weight settling in my palm before I could process it.
"But don’t pretend bailing is the noble move. That’s not leadership. That’s just quitting with a nicer label."
Coop got up, grabbed the remote to turn off the TV and turned toward the door.
"You’ve already changed the room, Hayes."
The door swung open, then shut.
Coop was gone.
***
The gym was quiet this morning, just bar clanks and my own breath. I tried to lift it out of my system. Coop’s voice. Riley’s face. The weight in my chest.
I’d been here long enough to soak through my shirt and outlast the cleaning crew.
By mid-morning, I was still thinking about what Coop said.
I’d already made the call in my head. Now I just had to say it out loud.
The hallway outside Ryan’s office smelled like rubber mats and burnt coffee. I stood there, one hand on the doorframe, watching him through the narrow window.
He was hunched over the desk, flipping through scouting reports with that look he always wore when he was trying tomake five things happen at once. Clipboard in hand, coffee untouched beside him—steam long gone.
I could still turn around. Say it was nothing. Go back to the weight room, pretend I was just passing by.
Instead, I knocked twice.
Ryan looked up, eyes narrowing a fraction before he nodded. "Yeah. Come in."
I stepped inside. The door clicked shut behind me.
He leaned back in his chair, pen still in hand. "What’s up?"
I stayed standing. Cleared my throat. Swallowed the part of me that wanted to stall.
"I think I need to ask for a trade."
Ryan didn’t speak right away. He set the pen down slowly. It clipped the edge of a folder and skittered an inch before stopping. Then he leaned back, studying me.
"Didn’t see that coming," he said finally.
I shifted my weight, thumb dragging across my glove seam.
"I think I’m just a distraction."
Ryan’s brow barely moved, but I felt his attention lock in.
"I think it’s better for everyone if I leave."
Ryan sat back, one hand resting on the arm of his chair. "Huh," he said. "I thought maybe you'd come in here asking what the brass has been saying. About your chances of getting called back up."
My jaw tightened. I hadn’t expected that. Not from him.
I shifted my weight, "Didn’t think there was much to say."
