Rise Above

CHAPTER 1 THE CHAOS COLISEUM

AIFE

Soccer was a sport I fully understood because I’d played it since I was four years old.

It was my own private escape from some of the strange realities that were my world.

Soccer was one of my main loves. Soccer, I understood; soccer, I appreciated.

It was in my comfort zone. Football was also in my wheelhouse because it was the family pastime in my house.

Sunday and Monday nights were like their own separate religion in our home.

My dad had drilled the positions, names, and teams into my head.

Had I been born a boy, Dad undoubtedly would have made me play.

Track and swimming were also sports I could follow; I’d played them for nearly as long as I had soccer.

Hell, I even understood baseball and basketball to some degree.

Sports were important to my family. Mom lived and breathed baseball in the same way Dad lived for football.

Basketball was the seeming outlier, but we still watched it.

But this? Hockey? This was a sport so far out of my wheelhouse, it almost left me breathless.

In Texas, football was ubiquitous; football was king.

We had nearly every professional sports team you could think of, but we only had one hockey team.

And hockey? Not a sport I understood. What I did know about hockey was that it involved more hits than football, ice, and skates.

I couldn’t believe I had been dragged to this stadium…

arena… sports center. I didn’t even know what to call it. I just knew I was here.

Rubbing my fingers against my temples, I looked at my friends.

A smile brighter than any fluorescent light graced my friend’s beautiful face.

Andrea was gorgeous— dark, curly hair that she always wore in puffs and the most rich, beautiful dark skin.

She did not strike me as a hockey fan, mainly because I had no idea what even made someone a hockey fan, but apparently growing up in Illinois had converted her.

Next to her was my other friend, Davis. If it wasn’t for him, we would never have had these seats.

He knew the players, and I had yet to weasel it out of him how he knew them.

At one point, Davis had even introduced Dre and me to some of the players.

It was weird, but the two of them convinced me it was finally time to come and watch a game.

Dre had decided that she felt the best welcome to her home was a national hockey league game, hence why Davis got us tickets.

She’d been trying since I came, but this was the first time she was able to.

Something I never once pictured myself at, especially considering my natural-born Texan ass, was at a hockey game.

I did not handle cold well. Heat, humidity—these were my bread and butter, all things I could handle.

A freezing cold rink with thousands of screaming fans?

I was so far out of my comfort zone, I felt like I would explode… or freeze to death.

Andrea turned to me, grabbing my gray sweater and pulling me to our seats.

The energy in this place felt like any Friday night high school football game.

That was one amazing thing about sports—the energy in a sports arena was always bizarrely the same.

It did send a slight jolt through me. Sports were my first love, and if hockey made Andrea and Davis happy, I might be able to add another sport to my roster.

“What are you thinking?” Andrea plopped down into her seat. “Do you love it, or do you love it?”

Shrugging, I tried to hide my smile. “The game hasn’t even begun, Dre. I’ll let you know once I actually see the sport.”

“I still can’t believe you’ve never seen hockey in the damn near three years you’ve been here.” Davis cracked his neck and shot me a dirty look. “Three years, I’ve spent trying to convince you to come.”

“You’re going to love it,” Dre said, eyes flickering to the ice. “Trust me. There’s something about the vibe and chaos that just crashes into you and draws you in.” Her grin widened. “It’s going to be beyond fucking amazing, especially with these seats Sweaty Davis got us.”

Davis laughed and so did I. “Dre, I’m going to need you to calm down.” He paused briefly before adding, “Also don’t call me sweaty.” Davis put in his only rebuttal.

“Absolutely not to both requests! Girl, this sport has been my life since I was three. By the time we leave the Chaos Coliseum, you’re going to know everything about my beloved Hammers.” Dre adjusted her puffs and pointed a finger at me. “I will make a hockey lover out of you.”

I fought the urge to sigh, taking in the arena around me. It was truly chaos in a way the Texas stadiums were not which was saying something, as Texans were a special brand of crazy. A high school stadium in Houston had cost $84 million.

“Is it a requirement for me to continue living here?

I’ve got so many other teams to watch and cheer for, Dre.”

Her eyes never left the body-less ice. “It might be.

Just watch. If you like football, I promise you’ll love hockey.”

Davis just sent her a cocked eyebrow as he pursed his lips at me. “The sport and the team will grow on you.”

My mouth dropped as yet another body hit the boards.

Throughout the game, Dre and Davis had been teaching me a few of the basics.

It was fast paced in a way football and baseball weren’t, and it was also aggressive and crazy and totally enthralling.

My eyes hadn’t left the rink once. However, any time a player hit the boards, I winced.

It always looked extremely painful, but they seemingly always shook off being hit and then chased after the puck.

And I also quickly learned why it was called the Chaos Coliseum after the Warhammers had scored in the first period.

A large piece of me thought my eardrums would never recover.

I bit down on my lip hard to stop a scream as a fight broke out on the ice.

Gloves and sticks were thrown shortly before the punches were.

The refs waited a few beats before blowing their whistles and awarding penalties.

I looked over at Dre in confusion. No one got ejected?

In any other sport, someone would be tossed on their ass and be getting reamed by their coach later.

“Fights are basically encouraged in hockey, Aife.”

Dre wore a proud smile. “Especially after that little bitch, Gregor, hooked Walker like that.”

“Yeah, that was a dick move.” Davis grumbled.

“Hooking is like face-masking a player.”

Raking a hand through my hair, I could only nod.

Watching sports injuries sky-rocketed my anxiety.

Any time a player got hurt, it felt like I could feel it too.

Hockey would surely make my anxiety and PTSD worse, and yet, Dre, was right—it pulled me in.

The skating was unbelievable. These guys had to have such amazing coordination to skate and handle the puck like they did.

It boggled my mind a little, and I came from a family filled with athletes.

The buzzer sounded signaling the end of the second period. The Hammers—as Dre lovingly called them—were up 2-1 but still had another twenty minutes to go. I turned to Dre; my brain filled with questions.

“Can you tell me names and positions?” She smirked. “Only if I can quiz you later.” She took sports just as seriously as my dad did.

“Just like Dad,” I said on a laugh. “Go on then.”

Dre sat and cracked her knuckles. It was a habit of hers and one of the few that got on my nerves.

I let it slide as she began her lecture.

“So, you’ve got Nicholas Blighten, number 74, who plays defense. Then you’ve got Ryan Craigson who plays center and totally kicked ass against the Kodiaks. Fuck the Kodiaks as an aside…”

She continued on for a bit. “Lastly, you’ve got TJ Walker, number 15, who is a right winger and one of the best enforcers in the game.”

I nodded along until that last part. My brow lowered in confusion. “Enforcer?”

The buzzer sounded again to signal the final period.

Dre let out a whoop of excitement. “Yeah, Aife. Look, it’s not really an official position in hockey. It used to be a bigger role, but times do change. Essentially, an enforcer prevents dirty plays like that hook earlier from Gregor. That’s why we saw a fight. Walker is smart and massive.

He rarely has to be an enforcer because he’s got great stick skills, but he’s protective of his team.”

She let out a holler as the center headed to goal on a breakaway. Damn, those guys were fast. The center, Carpenter I think, did some crazy back hand and scored. I released a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. The Hammers had won, and hockey had found its way into my heart.

“So, be honest. What did you think?” Dre gently pulled me toward her car, guiding me through the throngs of people. Davis had left to meet up with his hockey friends. “Did you love it, or did you really love it?”

I smiled. “I still don’t understand it, but I did enjoy myself.”

Dre whooped as she unlocked her car. She shimmied into the driver’s seat and held her hand out for a fist bump. “Hell yeah! You down for another game?”

“Only on a weekend. I don’t think I’d be able to sleep after that,” I said, laughing at her antics. “You certainly don’t seem like you’re going to sleep any time soon.”

“No ma’am. Ask Davis! There is like a sports high after a win. I am dropping you off and Ubering to a bar.” Dre slowly backed out of her parking space. “I’d invite you, but I know you and bars don’t really mix.”

“More like me and vodka.” Gagging at the name of the liquor, I held back my disgust. Or tried to. “Plus, I absolutely have to finish the intro to my dissertation.”

“Jeez.” Dre groaned. “Why—oh why—did you think working full time and returning to get a PhD was a good idea?”

The lights of Chicago whizzed by as we finally made it out of the Chaos Coliseum parking lot.

Davis got us great tickets, not great parking.

Chicago was such a beautiful city, and it reminded me a little bit of Houston but with way better public transportation.

There were lots of buildings and lights and bustling people.

It didn’t quite feel like home, but I’m sure it would, even though it had been three years at this point.

I missed humidity. Texas would always hold my heart though.

Texas was my home state, where I grew up, where I was born—a home when other places never felt like it.