Chapter 17
We’d won the first game of our road trip in LA, but I couldn’t help but notice the boos every time I touched the puck. Even out here, people cared? I had taken Jill’s advice and stayed away from all social media. In an added move, all media was told that no one from the Kodiaks would be answering questions about Lex and his suspension. So far, that was holding up.
We lost our game in San Jose and lost again in Anaheim, and we were feeling shitty about it, so heading into our last game in Vegas, the mood was sour. We were staying in a hotel off the strip, but my stomach still managed to do somersaults at the thought of being here. I didn’t normally need anything to help me sleep, but was I grateful that my road-trip roommate, one of the young kids on the team, Bryce, had a bottle of melatonin. He gave me a couple of pills and told me to let them dissolve under my tongue. I thanked the kid who was one day going to be a superstar.
While he was fast asleep and softly snoring, I waited for the pills to kick in. I checked my texts, and I smiled when I saw one from Jill that she’d sent a few hours ago.
Do you like dogs?
She always asked the oddest questions. I replied, not expecting a response since it was almost midnight.
I have them back home. Never got one here because someone else would need to take care of it.
Okay. Let’s get a dog. I don’t know the first thing about taking care of one, but you can teach me. Do I need to dog-proof? How will I know it needs to do its business? I’ll check online. And maybe buy a book or two tomorrow.
This was the oddest text exchange, and if Bryce hadn’t been sleeping, I would have called her.
We are getting a dog?
Yes. Good PR. People love dogs. You take care of it when you’re in town, and I’ll take care of it when you’re gone. We can also get dog walkers.
For someone who knew nothing about dogs, she’d already been doing some research.
Do you think a dog is going to solve all my problems?
It’s better than Tangi’s idea of getting engaged. I’m sending you some dogs. See if you like any of them.
I wanted to explain that dogs were not the same thing as a pair of shoes, but I let her send through the pictures. I did think the medium-sized one that was white with hints of black specks on her was cute. Her name was Chloe, and she was about three years old. Friendly and potty trained. Good news for Jill. She’d probably get frustrated trying to house-train a dog. Then I stopped. Why was I doing this? First of all, Jill knew nothing about dogs. Second, dogs were a responsibility, and right now, I was pretty sure she viewed them as an accessory, and dogs were not an accessory.
Let’s talk about this when I get home.
Okay. In the meantime, I’ll send more dog pics.
The pills must have kicked in while I was looking at dog pictures, because I woke up with my phone on my chest. I was a little groggy, but some coffee would help with that. I stumbled out of bed while Bryce kept sleeping, and took a long shower. I picked up my phone to see a missed call from Orla. She’d called the night before, but my phone had gone on Do Not Disturb.
What the fuck?! The last person in the world I wanted to hear from was Orla. She hadn’t left a message, and I should have just ignored it, but curiosity got the better of me. I quickly changed and headed down to the lobby which was quiet for seven in the morning. I didn’t care if she was sleeping, and when she answered on the fourth ring, she sounded tired. Too bad for her.
“I thought we weren’t going to contact each other ever again. Wasn’t that the plan?” I couldn’t hide the disdain from my voice. She’d been the one calling all the shots, and now she was calling me?
“That was the plan,” Orla said, then sighed. “In case you hadn’t noticed, a lot is going on.”
“Right, and now is the wrong time to call.”
“Consider it a courtesy call. I’m leaving Lex.”
Words escaped me. She’d stuck it out with Lex for so long, and now he’d gotten himself in trouble, and she was bolting? And then a worse thought hit me. Would people think she was leaving him for me? “Why are you suggesting this is a courtesy call? Why should I care?”
“I’m moving back to Vancouver. I’m packing up as we speak. That’s where my family is, and I want to be with them right now. I’m moving on from this. I’ve got irons in the fire, and now is the time to set myself free.”
Right. Lex had met her in Vancouver. I’d forgotten about that, but what were these irons in the fire? What did she have planned next to ruin my life? This was getting worse and worse. “Is now the best time? People are blaming us for Lex’s gambling, and you want to move back to Vancouver? Don’t you think that will make the situation worse?”
“I don’t care what people think. This is about me, and I need support. I don’t have friends here. I barely know anyone.”
I covered my phone and growled so she wouldn’t hear it. Did she have any concern for Lex?
“And what about Lex? You’re going to abandon him?”
“He screwed up his life. I’m not going to let him screw up mine. Anyway, thought you should know. I’m packing up what little I have here and leaving next week.”
She hung up, leaving me standing in the lobby staring at my phone. I swallowed the lump in my throat and tried not to panic. If she moved back to Vancouver, everyone would be gossiping about this, expecting me and her to hook up. No, I couldn’t let that happen, but I had no way to stop it. And worse, I didn’t even have the chance to ask her what her new plans were, and I certainly wasn’t calling her back.
I headed straight to Ethan’s room and knocked until he answered. He was rubbing the sleep from his eyes and asking what the emergency was. I stormed into his room and woke up his roommate, another kid on the team. Nilsson was from Sweden and on his own for the first time in his life. Coach Anthony had picked a good person to pair him with. Ethan was going to be a big brother, someone to keep him out of trouble, but right now, I needed Nilsson to fuck off.
I shook the kid awake. He jumped out of his bed when he saw me. The kid was dressed in only boxers, and I told him to get dressed and buzz off for fifteen minutes. A few minutes later, he was out the door.
“What is the emergency?” Ethan asked, heading for the bathroom. While he took a piss, I told him the story.
“What am I going to do? People will assume we are getting back together. I’m going to let Jill know and catch up with Dave today to tell him. As if the gossip wasn’t bad enough.”
Ethan sat on his bed and rubbed his eyes again. “This does suck.”
“How do I distance myself from Orla when all this shit is happening?”
“I don’t have an answer for you, but I’m sure you have a few days.”
“She’s packing as we speak.”
Ethan groaned, and I knew I was fucked. Getting nowhere with him, I headed back to my room to get ready. When we got to the rink for practice, I asked Coach Anthony if I could talk to Dave for a minute. The request was unusual, but given my shitty situation recently, he didn’t seem to care. I texted Dave, and he met me outside of one of the offices designated for the away team. His stern brown eyes were staring at me as we both took seats.
“I got a call from Orla Donnelly. I wasn’t going to talk to her, but ended up doing it anyway. I wish I hadn’t, but she does have news. She’s leaving Lex and moving back to Vancouver.”
Dave closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. “For fuck’s sake. Please tell me you aren’t still fooling around with her.”
“I haven’t spoken to her at all. As she said, it was a courtesy call.”
“I’ll talk to Jill.”
“I was going to do that.”
“No. You focus on the game tonight. You’re going to have enough on your plate. I’ll deal with this.”
If looks could kill, I’d be dead by a thousand cuts. And if I didn’t stay out of trouble, I had a feeling I was next to go on the trading block.