Chapter 44
CHAPTER 44
L ater that night, we all sat in the kitchen of Hockey House. The empty barstool at the island sat as a constant reminder of Cooper’s absence. Axel handed out glasses of whiskey to each of us. The room was melancholy, all of us silent while he bustled around the small space. Crew barely held it together, his face a myriad of emotions.
“Drink up, dickheads,” Axel grunted before slamming back his drink. I played with my glass, sloshing it around.
Jackson followed Axel's lead, chucking his drink back. He dismissed himself from the table, muttering about checking in with a girl. Hunter leaned over and took my drink from my hand and poured it into his own glass. “Don’t feel obligated,” he whispered.
Crew took the bottle from Axel, ignoring his glass completely. Axel slapped his back comfortingly, “Don’t blame yourself, man, you didn’t know.”
Crew took a long pull from the bottle of whiskey. I didn’t know the exact range of his emotions, but I understood what it felt like to want to dull your senses and drown out the world. We let him nurse the bottle, the three of us sitting in moral support. My eyes drooped from fatigue and Hunter tried to get me to go to bed. I shook my head at him. Crew needed us. This wasn’t the time to leave him alone.
Eventually, he surprised us all by opening up, “I always knew a day would come when I didn’t play hockey with my brother. I never imagined it would be because he’s in a jail cell instead of a different city. Maci, I am so fucking sorry. I should’ve realized it was him. I thought his schedule was just hectic with hockey and his course load.” Crew dropped his head in his hands, his shoulders hitching. He gasped a few times, swatting the tears from his cheeks. I placed my hand on his shoulder, comforting him.
“Crew, you are not your brother’s actions. No one blames you for his mistakes.”
His watery eyes broke my heart. The feeling of carrying someone else's actions as your own was a heavy cross to bear. Crew would let this moment define him, just like I let my father’s car accident define me. It might take months, or it might take years, but I knew in my heart that eventually he would move past this. The future was uncertain for Hunter and the Hockey House boys, but undoubtedly, they would stay in contact and support Crew no matter what he needed.
“Fuck, Maci, I don’t know what to do. My mom’s devastated, my Dad’s pissed, he thinks my chances at the draft are fucked,” He scrubbed his hair and took another drink from the bottle, “I don’t even care about the fucking draft, it’s nothing without Coop. It’s been our dream since the first time Dad laced our skates. We were supposed to be the Kelce brothers of hockey.”
Hunter pushed off his seat and crouched so that he was level with Crew. He placed his hand on the back of his neck, forcing him to look at him. “Fuck being the Kelce brothers of hockey. Be the next Gretsky or Crosby, but do it for you and do it for us. The Hockey House boys need you too. I won’t enter the draft if you don’t. ”
“Me either. I’ll go model underwear or some shit,” Axel added.
Crew furrowed his brows. “Are you two fucking insane?”
Hunter smiled. “I’ve been told so from time to time.”
“You’re entering the draft, you idiots,” Crew pushed Hunter’s arm off of him and stood from his seat. “Coach Grimes told us all after our last practice that we’re eligible. Shit. You and Jackson will probably be in the first round!”
Hunter smirked, “So are you? Don’t forget you were included in that conversation.”
Crew took a step back. “I don’t know if I want to get on the ice again.”
“That would be a damn shame, but if you’re done, that’s your decision to make, not grief’s,” I narrowed my eyes at Crew before continuing, “because right now, you are mourning your brother. It’s not the same capacity as death, but you still lost him.”
Crew hiccuped, “Fuck me.”
Axel took the bottle from Crew’s hands. “I’m not good with words, but fuck man, you’re a great winger. Don’t leave me hanging next year. Bash bros dude.”
Hunter chuckled, “Did you just reference the fucking Mighty Ducks ?”
Axel shrugged. “I said I’m not good with words!”
The tension in the room dissipated and Crew busted out laughing, “Fuck, fine. I won’t drop out. Bash bros…fucking A, you could’ve gone for Miracle or something.”
The group laughed, and Axel shrugged. “You get what you get.”
Hunter stood and stretched. “Alright, I think I’m going to call it a night, you good Crew?”
Crew nodded, and Hunter grabbed my hand. We made our way through the house and up into his bedroom. A thought hit me as we settled in for the night.
“Hey Hunt?” I called as he changed .
“What’s up, Sunshine?”
“How did you find me?”
Once Jackson and Hunter showed up earlier, everything happenedquickly, and I barely had time to think. I couldn’t wrap my mind around it. Jackson made a joke about an air tag. Was Hunter tracking me?
His frame froze mid t-shirt change. He took his time responding, his back muscles rippling as he continued to pull on a fresh shirt.
“Do you want the truth or the half-truth?”
The fuck was he talking about? A half-truth?
“Is that even a serious question?” I responded.
He turned and leaned against his dresser. His eyes evaluated me, deciding what to say. Hunter wasn’t a liar, at least not to me. If there was one thing I didn’t question in our relationship, it was his honesty. Morals, yes, those were questionable, but never his honesty.
“I have a tracker in you.”
“You have a tracker…. on me?” I said slowly, taking in his words.
“In. You.” Hunter’s eyes darkened.
“What the actual fuck?!” I shrieked.
Hunter smirked, shrugging his shoulders. He came over to where I sat on his bed and kissed my cheek. “I like to know you’re safe.”
I spluttered, “How the fuck…oh my god…not during..sex?!” The pitch of my voice rivaled Tiffany’s at this point.
He laughed, “Fuck, I wish I would’ve thought about that…no, just a little prick,” He reached for the back of my neck and rubbed, “right here.”
I swatted his hand away. “I should castrate you with a rusty spoon!”
“But you won’t. It’s hot. Admit it.”
“You and your fucking kinks,” I shook my head in disbelief before adding, “You’re so lucky it saved my life, Hunter St. James.”
He smiled cheekily before stealing a kiss from my lips, “Come on Sunshine, let’s call it a night. We need to see if you can skate tomorrow. At least the swelling is coming down on your eye.”
Tenderly, I probed my right eye. He was right, the swelling was going down. I had an ice compress on it on and off since the EMT checked me out.
“Oh my god, the game!” I exclaimed.
Hunter pushed me to lie down. “We will get it all figured out tomorrow. I’m confident you’ll be good to go next week.”
Grumbling, I made myself comfortable on his bed. “Doesn’t matter. I’m playing either way. There is no way Tiffany will be the reason I don’t skate.”
“That’s the spirit, Sunshine.”
Hunter turned off the lights and crawled into bed with me. Wrapping his hands around my middle, he pulled me into his chest. Hunter’s body heat melted into my own, the warmth reminding me I’m alive.
“Turn off your brain.” Hunter mumbled into my ear.
I patted his hand in response. His breathing was already evening out, the events of the day making sleep come easy for him. I lay awake for hours, listening to his breathing. I almost lost this. If it weren’t for a few lucky hits, Cooper and Tiffany could have succeeded in their plan to kill me. Never again would I take life for granted. Now more than ever, I want to live and to live well.
My phone vibrated on Hunter’s nightstand. Without waking Hunter, I twisted my arm to grab it. Kennedy’s name filled my screen, causing me to smile.
Kennedy:
BITCH! YOU ALMOST DIED AND DIDN’T TEXT TO TELL ME YOU LIVED? YOU’RE NOT HARRY POTTER! STOP ACTING LIKE IT!
I bit my hand, trying to stifle my laughter. The Harry Potter reference was far-fetched, but Kennedy’s sentiment came across.
Maci:
Harry Potter lived. Are you saying I should’ve pulled a Snape? ALWAYS.
Kennedy:
Whatever. ARE YOU OKAY?
Maci:
Fit as a broken fiddle!
She didn’t like my joke nearly as much as I did. We exchanged a few more messages, where I detailed what happened and how I was faring. We promised to meet up sometime this week before ending our conversation for the night.
Hunter nearly made me jump out of my skin when he whispered in my ear, “Who are you texting, baby?”
“Ken, she wanted to make sure I was alive.”
He mumbled something unintelligible before grabbing one of my hands and squeezed three times.
“What does that mean?”
Hunter didn’t respond, and I looked at his face over my shoulder. His eyes were closed, his face serene with sleep. I squeezed his hand back, drifting off to sleep, thinking about what the gesture meant.