Rolling my eyes, I glance over at Hutch, who’s still looking shellshocked. “You okay?”
He nods and without a word, takes my hand and pulls me out the back door to the deck. No one else is out here and he takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly.
“I…I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t seem happy.”
“Good God, no, I’m extremely happy, I just…” He sits down in one of the Adirondack chairs. “It’s surreal.”
“I bet.” I lean against the railing next to him.
He pulls me down to sit in his lap and I go stiff, not expecting it. He doesn’t seem to even realize what he’s done. He’s simply staring out into the darkness and blinking.
“I’ve worked for as long as I can remember to get here. I thought I lost my chance when I turned down two offers in my sophomore year and an invite to the NHL draft. This year was my only chance left to get back the attention I had.”
“Why did you turn it all down before?”
“My mom wants me to graduate. It’s all she’s ever asked of me in return for her busting her ass to get me an education and making sure my hockey dreams come true. I turned down offers to make sure I could do that for her.”
“What about now? Do they want you to play now or do you wait for the new season?”
“No, they lost two players to injuries and they need me and Collin now. We’d be starting as soon as we sign our contracts.”
“That’s…how is that going to work with school?”
“Jay, Mr. McClare, said he’d help us work with the school so we could do remote learning and take our tests when we’re back in the city. I don’t think the dean will say no to having two Raptors’ players on the enrollment list. At least I hope he’ll agree. I’ll figure it out, though.”
“I don’t think your mom is going to tell you to turn this down and graduate. She’ll be extremely happy for you. I have a feeling she’d be the first person in the dean’s office threatening him if he tried to block you from remote learning. And if you have to graduate late, like during the summer or even next semester, I think she’d be fine with that too.”
“Ya think?”
“I do. Your mom’s pretty great from everything you’ve told me.”
“She’s the best mom in the world.”
I wish I could say the same for mine.
He leans his head back and tucks me into his side. “I think I’ve gone numb.”
“Numb?”
“It’s like my emotions are so high right now, it’s hard to feel anything.”
That’s not the reaction I was expecting.
“This means I’m no longer a part of the school’s team.” He sits up, the reality finally hitting him. “Damn.”
“You can think about that tomorrow. Tonight, just bask in the knowledge that you did what you set out to do and that’s amazing.”
He sighs, but before he can say anything, my phone rings and I go completely still. It’s a ringtone I haven’t heard in months. One I never wanted to ever hear again. Slowly, I reach into my back pocket and pull out my phone. His face is smiling at me and everything inside of me shrivels up and all my anxiety rushes back. My hands shake.
“What’s wrong?” Hutch is instantly alert.
“Why is he calling me?”
“Who?”
I turn the phone so he can see it.
