CHAPTER 10
KIERAN
They won the game against Chicago. It was tight, and Kieran got a new bruise on his ribs, but they made it.
It was still the second month of the season, but they were crushing their opponents and stuck in a series of consecutive victories. They trained like maniacs for that and it was so fucking good to see the results coming.
— We're gonna win this shit this year — Adrian spoke beside him, full of contentment and confidence.
They were returning to Boston on the team's jet and, as always, he was in the seat next to Kieran. He and Adrian met in kindergarten and never left each other's side. He stopped being his friend many years ago and became his brother, they did absolutely everything for each other.
The fact that he was as passionate about hockey as Kieran was a bonus that allowed them to work together.
They were drafted by the Montreal Canadiens at university — where they already played for the college team — and stayed on the same team for six NHL seasons, Kieran on defense and Adrian on attack.
Then, the defenseman was signed by the Bruins two years ago, and they were forced to play against each other. But that only lasted one season because Adrian was traded and now also played for Boston.
— I'm gonna hold the cup in the photo so you can hold your girl, because that's another thing that's gonna work for you this year — his friend winked one eye at him and opened a smile full of white, perfectly aligned teeth.
— Hell yeah, I'm betting everything I got on this — Kieran sighed and relaxed his body against the pale leather.
The plane was luxurious, all in shades of cream and brown.
They, the players, occupied the back while the technical team sat in the front seats.
There were just two rows of seats with a small aisle in between, some seats facing each other with a folding table between them.
Kieran and Adrian were usually in the last seats, sitting behind the goalkeeper and the other defender.
— I always liked Rila — Adrian spoke nonchalantly as he took a sip of the water the flight attendant had brought a few minutes after they took off.
— What? — Kieran straightened up in the armchair.
He has never said that before, nor has even shown a shred of interest in Rila over all these years.
They never fought over women, they had too different tastes for that to happen — Adrian liked perky blondes like princesses, while Kieran liked, specifically, a temperamental Japanese-American named Rila.
— Not like that, asshole, relax — Adrian rolled his eyes and reached out to give a small slap on the back of the defender's head — I always liked her as a friend. Remember the year I bleached my hair? She was the one who told me to my face how ridiculous I looked and then helped me paint it back.
— You looked like a walking cotton with that hair — he laughed at the memory of his friend with deliberately white hair.
They were sixteen and he said he saw a famous actor with this look and he was sure the girls would love it. They didn't.
— And I'll never forget how she yelled at her neighbor when he said that people like me degraded the country and that I should go back to where I came from — the memory made a mocking smile hang on his lips.
Adrian's parents were Mexican and migrated to Canada ten years before he was born. The winger was born on Canadian soil, but his dark skin, face with rounded features, wide brown curls all over his head and eyes of the same color made his Latin heritage very clear.
— Yeah, we had to stop her from attacking him. I remember her saying she wanted to scratch his eyes out of his face.
Kieran wanted to beat the boy until he spit out all his teeth, but he knew that would result in too much trouble, more than that idiot was worth.
Everyone who lived in that neighborhood in Vancouver had money and influence, so he was certainly a daddy's boy who would arm himself with a line of expensive lawyers.
And he and Adrian were just two lower-middle-class kids who couldn't give their parents one more thing to worry about.
Kieran's family wasn't poor, but money was tight, especially with his expenses on equipment and training. He knew his dream wasn't cheap, so he did his best to help his parents and not give them any more problems. They already had so many things to worry about, so he made sure not to be one more.
— She sent flowers when my mother died — his friend began to recline the seat in order to prepare for sleep, as if what he had just said hadn't made Kieran's brain freeze.
— But that was three years ago — he frowned and copied the movement, arranging his seat.
They were at the end of the playoffs and still playing for Montreal when Ms. Garcia passed away from an aneurysm that ruptured in her brain. It was sudden and shocking. She was the only family Adrian had, as his father abandoned them when he was three.
— Yep — he said it like it was no big deal.
— How did she find you?
— I don't know, probably the same way some crazy fans do — Adrian stretched out in the armchair and placed an arm behind his head — I never said anything because I didn't want you to go after her. She was dating a guy, Victor something, I think. You didn't need to see that.
— And you knew that… how? — Kieran's voice was calm as always, but he was bubbling inside.
— I followed her again on Instagram to send a message thanking her for the flower and saw the photos — he yawned, and the Bruins defensemen wanted to punch him.
Was this asshole hiding her from him this whole time?
She blocked Kieran on all social media after that night, and Adrian stopped following her when he started taking his friend's phone to look at her profile, saying it wasn't healthy and wouldn't help him become a stalker.
Not that it did much good, because he went to Boston for her birthday the following year to try to talk, but that only served to discover that Rila had traveled to Aspen with some friends from college.
He also took advantage of the games they had in Boston to look for her again in the second year without her.
That's when he ended up seeing that she had moved on with someone else.
Kieran hated what he saw, he wanted to punch the guy away from her, throw her over his shoulders like a damn caveman and never leave her side again.
But he couldn't. Not when he had hurt her. Rila had every right to let go, forget him, and move on with someone new.
— The pictures are no longer there — Adrian's words came out provocatively —And I didn't see a ring that day in the hospital.
— Yeah, I noticed that the first time we met.
And damn, he was happy when he saw that. The thought of someday finding out that Rila had gotten married has crossed his mind a few times over the last few years. And every time it happened, a bitter taste filled his mouth at the same time his heart twisted.
He always knew he would never forget her and that it was inevitable to look for her, it happened before and it would happen again. So some dark nights made him wonder what it would be like when he did that and found out that the love of his life had exchanged vows with another man.
Until, by accident, Kieran found her. In fact, she had found him. Rila went to that hospital room, and had gone to him when, somehow, she discovered he was there. And no matter how stubborn she was, that was enough to let Kieran know that she still cared.
— You've been waiting for this moment since that night, and it's finally here — the winger placed his palms on his chest and smiled — I already have my suit to be the best man, we're all ready for this.
— It won't be that easy, Adrian.
— Of course not, we're talking about Rila. She'll kick your ass and make you crawl, man — he laughed — But then again, we're talking about Rila. Which means you're gonna accept whatever she throws at you and do everything you can to get her back.
— You bet I will.
She was stubborn, but Kieran was persistent. And she might not want to fight for them now, but he had no problem fighting twice as hard to make up for her part. He'd been waiting for this for almost six years and he wasn't going to miss this chance.
Rila was yours once and would be again. But this time, he wouldn't let her go again.