30. Derek
My skin feels like it’s crawling as I walk the halls of the arena toward the locker room. It’s been ages since we’ve had a game this huge, and since half of our starting lineup is graduating, everyone is in the building tonight to see us off.
I got to the arena early, around one p.m., to get my mind settled and have a small workout before warm-ups. Even while the team and I were warming up, people began to fill the seats surrounding us.
Coach Jones warned us that tonight’s game was sold out, which isn’t abnormal for our school, but on an important night like this one, it sure is nerve-wracking.
I had to tell the girls to leave home an extra hour or two earlier than usual to get the seats that they liked near the home bench.
I’m on high alert tonight, even though I’ve been trying my hardest not to show it for the past week, but I can’t help it.
I can’t stop seeing her. It’s like everywhere I go, no matter where I turn—Rosemary haunts me.
She’s everywhere.
At the mall, on campus… You name it, I’ve most likely seen a glimpse of her in there, and it’s fucking scary.
Rubbing a hand over my face, I mutter, “Get it together, man,” as I trek down the halls toward the locker room, only to come to a halt immediately as a voice responds.
“What’s the matter, baby? You look like you’ve been put through the wringer.”
Rosemary Stone is shameless as she saunters toward me from God knows where, her walk resembling a slow sultry strut—or, at least that's what I think she’s trying to portray. Instead, she reminds me of a newborn giraffe learning how to stand for the first time.
She grins up at me, taking a step closer as I step backwards.
“C’mon, Derek… I miss you—I miss us. We were magical together and—”
“We were kids. Kids who did something irresponsible and then got the best consequence for their actions. However, where you thought that our daughter was a mistake, I saw her as a miracle. Now, if you’ll excuse me—” I try cutting her off and walking away, but she stomps her foot and moves in front of me again.
“Goddamn it, Derek! I’m trying here. I want us! I want you! Can’t you see that I’d do anything for you? For us?” she pleads, her greasy finger on my chest as she squeezes my workout shirt, stepping in closer to me.
I look down my nose at her, eyeing the pitiful excuse of a woman, and scoff. She hasn’t changed and she never will…
“You know, with all of your begging and pleading, I never once heard you mention our daughter… Y’know that same daughter that you left a seventeen-year-old boy alone to raise? You didn’t mention her once, Rosemary,” I spit, stepping closer to her as she flinches from the use of her real name.
She takes a deep breath, a single tear falling from her eyes as she looks up at me. “So, what does this—”
“Rosemary, I’m married. Cut this shit out or else I’ll have to get my wife, and I’d hate for her to ruin that new Russian manicure I paid for,” I say, walking two steps away, only to pause.
My mind soars back to my “lunch” with Sienna and the mildly unhappy look on Georgia’s face a few days ago. Whirling back around, I take one long stride toward Rosemary and corner her between myself and the wall.
I’m not done with her yet.
“And if you ever so much as fucking think about spitting at my wife again, you’ll wish that you never stepped foot out of Texas, Rosemary.
I mean that with all my heart. If I ever catch wind of you trying to pull some shit that endangers my family, you’ll see why no one on the ice fucks with me.
You’ll regret the day you met me, Rosemary—believe that. ”
“All I ever wanted was you, Derek,” she says, voice trembling as a salty tear springs into her tear duct.
Give me a fucking break… The crocodile tears. Really?
Scoffing, I tilt my head. “You left our newborn on my porch. You left me, and you left our baby. Fuck you,” I spit, leaning in closer, relishing in the way she flinches. “I don’t care about your wants and your needs. You're lucky I didn’t get you arrested for child endangerment.”
She lets out a shaky breath before clenching her jaw. The look she gives me is one of pure hatred, but she nods, looking away from me. I take it as a dismissal and leave her there in the hall.
When I enter the chaos that is our locker room, three things are apparent.
My locker is completely decked out in kitchen supplies and aprons.
The room is empty.
It’s quiet… Too quiet for game day.
“If you assholes are trying to play a prank on me, I’ll give you to the count of three to come out.” I chuckle, looking around the nearly empty room, just as someone laughs, the sound resembling an injured horse.
Charlie Tyson…
Turning to my left, I’m about to call out Charlie as the lights in the locker room flicker on and all of the guys come out of their hiding spots, cheering.
“Happy last game, Mama Bear!” they cheer, confetti poppers going off as the guys crowd me, jumping and laughing as a team.
My heart is full as all of the guys—my family, cheer for me.
It feels surreal knowing that this is my last ever game as a goalie for Summerfield.
It feels like it was just yesterday that I was waltzing my ass onto the ice for my first ever game, and now, over a hundred games later, I’m playing one last time with my team.
Coach claps a hand on my shoulder, a gleam in his eyes as he says, “I’m proud of you, kid.”
And I truly believe him.
He’s been there for me since Delilah was one year old and has helped me every step of the way. This team has become the people I depend on, no matter what. It’s bittersweet that tonight is my last game with them before the playoffs and the Frozen Four.
Charlie and Braxton clap hands on my shoulders, grinning at me like madmen. I chuckle as Braxton wiggles his brows at me, pinching my cheek.
“Let’s win this shit.”
Nodding, I tap their backs. “Let’s win this shit.”
I’m locked in, my mind solely on the game and how I can keep our opponents’ pucks from our goal. Nothing, and I mean nothing, can break my focus.
The announcer for tonight's game begins by announcing each graduating player to the ice along with their families.
Senior night typically begins with the players walking on the ice with their families as the crowd cheers.
We announce our future plans to the audience and watch a slideshow on the Jumbotron of our baby photos before the face-off.
Braxton is announced first. His older sister and father escort him out onto the ice, a barrage of bouquets in their arms as they walk their son to center ice to be cheered for. Braxton’s smile is brighter than the sun, his eyes gleaming under the rink lights as he looks up at the cheering crowd.
Pride soars from my chest as I watch my friend get everything he deserves, bowing to the crowd.
Charlie is next, following Brax in the same manner. The long-haired blonde is stocky and awkward as he walks with his grandma toward Braxton, the two of them beaming with pride. I grin as Charlie’s laugh echoes throughout the place, causing the rest of the crowd to laugh with him.
“Derek Esteban Perez, our team's goalie, will be accompanied by his mother, Lidia, his daughter, Delilah, and his wife, Georgia. Derek plans to…” The announcer's voice trails off, becoming static in my ears as my mother approaches me with a bright smile.
Mamá wraps an arm around my bicep, grinning up at me with pride, and I can’t help but feel cold from her touch.
My eyes trail behind her, and when I don’t find who I’m looking for, I frown, and my mother’s smile tightens.
“Where are they?” I ask, whispering as Mamá squeezes my bicep.
“We have to walk now, Derek… Look forward,” she says through gritted teeth, her smile still in place.
Straightening my back, I take in a sharp inhale, proceeding as the crowd cheers. My mother is stiff beside me, her smile tighter than plastic as she walks with me to center ice.
“Where is she?” I ask again, facing forward as Mamá sighs.
She doesn’t make a move to look up at me; instead, she continues to face the adoring crowd, her smile bright as she says, “I have no idea.”
My heart free-falls as I register her words. Georgia wouldn’t miss this for the world… Or would she? Would she really leave me on a day like this? Delilah could just as easily be with Sienna as she could be with Georgia. Georgia wouldn’t miss this, she said she wouldn’t…
But why isn’t she here?
Where the hell is my wife?