Chapter Seventeen September
did i do something wrong??
it’s just i haven’t heard from you in a while, kinda getting worried…
no you didn’t do anything wrong
i’m fine don’t worry
Brady (9:29 p.m.)
sorry
And that was it. Nick’s been staring at his phone for the past ten minutes, waiting, hoping, and nothing.
Fuck.
He squeezed his phone tightly and ignored the temptation to throw it against the wall.
“What happened?” Gail asked. When he looked up, he saw her frown and genuine concern. It didn’t make him feel better.
Nick gulped. He tossed his phone in his bag and looked away. “What do you mean?”
“I’ve been on the same team as Jens for like four years. He’s missed a grand total of four games, minus the suspension. Two in a row once when he had the flu. Once when his sister got married. Once in June that I’m pretty sure was a booty call with you. And now…”
And now it’d been three games in a row. No injuries or weddings to speak of, and since Nick was clearly present at those very same games, it wasn’t them playing hooky together.
Brady had offered a flimsy excuse for the first one, no excuse for the second, and then he hadn’t even warned them he wouldn’t show up for this one.
“Crap.” Nick deflated, shoulders falling and head drooping until his chin met his chest.
She sat next to Nick on the bench, nudging aside his water bottle. “I’ve heard rumors about the picnic,” she said with more delicacy than she usually bothered with. “You guys fighting? Broken up?”
“You have to be together to break up,” Nick mumbled and pulled on his jersey to hide his face. Once he’d gotten it on, he realized it was backward, cursed, and started over.
“You were together,” Gail said matter-of-factly. “Whether all parties were willing to admit it seems to be more the issue.”
“Well, we’re not together right now. I haven’t seen him since that night, and he barely talks to me when I text him.”
“So you’re saying you broke our star player. Again.”
“Not intentionally,” he muttered. Quite the opposite, actually. Not that his intentions seemed to matter.
“No, not intentionally,” she agreed. “You gotta figure this shit out, though.”
“For the team?”
Gail rolled her eyes. “For yourselves, you idiot. We’re a beer-league hockey team; no one gives a shit if we win or lose.
Yeah, winning’s nice but we lost like every game one season, and we all came back for the next one anyway.
You two had a good thing going, and I think for your own sakes you should try to fix it. ”
Nick gestured wildly at the nearly empty locker room. “Look at me, here, ready to fix it. I can’t fix shit if he won’t talk to me.”
“So make him talk,” Gail said like it was the simplest thing in the world.
“How do I make him talk if he ignores me?”
Gail stood up and put on her helmet. “If you care, you’ll figure it out. Go to his house. Leave him a million messages. Find him at some rando stick-and-puck. You shouldn’t be whining that the easy way isn’t working; you should be trying to find a harder one that works.”
And with that, she left him alone to think it over.
Step one was simple enough.
He dug through his bag until he found his phone.
Nick (9:47 p.m.)
well i’m here if you wanna talk or hang out
i’ve missed seeing you the past couple days…
Weeks, his brain helpfully supplied. It’s been almost two whole weeks. Ugh. He needed to get on the ice, score some goals, maybe check some people, and work off some energy so he’d pass out tonight when he got home. No moping allowed.
Not until tomorrow anyway.
*
Mykala (2:45 p.m.)
Hey guys I’m hosting a game night next weekend and you guys are all invited!! I didn’t get to meet Terry’s gf at the picnic so I wanted to put together an event :)))
Jenna May (2:46 p.m.)
LOL so we should thank Terry’s gf for having another cousin get together so soon??
Mykala (2:52 p.m.)
I’m hurt. Hurt and shocked that you think that’s the only reason
Sean (2:53 p.m.)
You literally just said it’s b/c you wanted to meet his girlfriend
Mykala (2:55 p.m.)
I try to plan mom’s birthday party and you’re MIA and NOW you’re ready to text???
ANYWAY… Friday Brookeville beer farm @ 6pm k?
Nick you can bring ur cute bf too I wouldn’t mind beating him at games other than volleyball ;)
Nick (3:06 p.m.)
i’ll be there but brady prbly won’t
not my boyfriend btw
Mykala (3:08 p.m.)
!!!!!!
Jess (3:11 p.m.)
WTF he sure looked like your bf
U break up???
Nick (3:12 p.m.)
wasn’t my boyfriend to begin with so no didn’t break up
Nick was unsurprised to have the group text interrupted by an incoming call from Jenna. He didn’t even bother with a greeting when he answered, fully expecting Jenna to start talking and cut him off if he tried to talk first.
“He still ghosting you?” she said as soon as the call connected.
Glad they weren’t talking in person, he didn’t need to bother stopping the grimace that spread over his face. “Yeah, kind of.”
“You text him?”
“Yes. And called. And left messages. Even stopped by his place but his car wasn’t there.”
“Well shit.” He heard her hiss through her teeth. “I don’t get it; he clearly adores you. Do you think this is a sexuality crisis?”
“What, you don’t think he knows he’s queer?”
“Knowing he’s bi or gay or whatever is completely different with being comfortable with it, Nick. What if he’s never had a boyfriend before?”
Nick didn’t know what to say. Brady clearly had experience with men, and maybe Nick had made one too many assumptions about the nature of that experience.
Jenna sighed. “This is why I wanted you two to talk in private so you could figure this shit out without all this mess.”
“Right.” A pause as his brain refused to cooperate. “Ugh, why am I so bad at dating?”
“Hey, you’re not terrible at dating—”
“I didn’t say terrible. I said bad.”
“You’re just scared because you like him more than I’ve seen you like most people. Except when you had that crush on what’s-his-face from Star Wars and then met him at a convention and acted like an idiot. That’s actually pretty similar.”
“I’m not sure how offended to be that you can’t remember Mark Hamill’s name. And you say you love movies.”
“Hey, who’s the one helping you out right now?”
“Thank you. Still offended.”
She snorted. “You want my help, or you want me to pass you off to Terry?” Terry who was happily dating Gail and whose happiness made Nick’s current misery that much harder to bear? No thanks. “Or Mykala and Jess, I’m sure they’d love to get the dirt on this whole—”
“Nope. No way. I’ve heard enough. You’re the best. I’m sorry. Please continue helping me.”
This time Jenna sighed. “I’m trying, I promise. But I’m honestly stumped. If he’s avoiding you, there’s not a whole lot you can do until he decides to change his mind. I thought for sure you’d still see him at your games, but if he’s not even going to those anymore…”
“He’s not.”
“Then yeah, I’ve got nothing.”
“Me neither,” he grumbled. “I’ll keep you updated.”
“You better. Good luck.”
*
It was obvious he was desperate when he started scoping out Facebook for news on Brady.
He was fairly certain Brady only logged on to check the team chat and certainly never posted anything himself.
Still, Nick couldn’t help it. There was the inevitable disappointment when he found nothing new, but it gave him the excuse to thumb through what little was there.
Brady as a kid, proud of his medal.
The team at a Caps game.
Pictures from the championship and their drunken celebration afterward.
A few shots from their Canada tournament.
A picture of Brady, looking miserable on a couch.
Wait, what?
Nick scrolled back to the image, and his eyes instantly flew to the timestamp. This was posted today.
Lucy J J Rhodes: Look who decided to show up out of the blue ?? looks like Brady Derek Jensen is here for a surprise visit - hope he doesn’t mind the couch ?? (Pittsburgh, PA)
Nick read the caption a couple times before he clicked on the picture, zooming in on Brady’s face.
Brady was wearing a navy-blue hat, backward but still clearly the one Nick had given him for his birthday, and a faded Pens shirt.
He had a beer in hand, a brand Nick couldn’t recognize but assumed was from Pittsburgh.
He looked like he’d fused with the couch a good day or two before the picture was taken.
His beard was longer than usual and made him look like a lumberjack.
Brady really did look miserable; Nick hoped it wasn’t just his own wounded pride making the call.
He took a screenshot and sent it to Jenna, Terry, and Gail. He maybe added a comment, maybe he didn’t, but in his mind he was screaming I found him!!!!
He read the comments.
27 ?????? 5 comments
Margery Williams: He looks sick!! Want me to bring over some soup?
Lucy J J Rhodes: I don’t think he’s sick Aunt Madge but thank you ??
Aimes Landry: Get that boy to a stick and puck!!!! He needs some hockey if he’s feeling under the weather
Lucy J J Rhodes: I don’t think he even brought any hockey gear ??????
Aimes Landry: You sure he’s not sick lmao I thought your bro was born in hockey gear
Despite his better judgment, Nick liked the post. He didn’t in any way, shape, or form like that Brady was out of town pouting on his sister’s couch while he ignored Nick’s messages, but he wanted to communicate that he’d seen the post, that if Brady wanted to reach out, Nick was still there.
Commenting was out of the question, and any of the more “expressive” emoji reactions didn’t seem appropriate, so he settled for the generic thumbs up.
He wanted to acknowledge he’d seen the picture without committing to too much of an opinion.
He spent the next few minutes burning the picture into his brain. When his phone buzzed and a message notification popped up, he assumed it was Jenna or Gail offering insights about what to do.
Unknown Number (6:04 p.m.)
Hi this is really awkward but are you Nick??
Intrigued, he replied. He could always block the number later if he needed to.