Rebound

25. Roman

TWENTY-FIVE

ROMAN

It’s been a minute since I’ve been punched. Literally, a minute, or maybe less. I straighten from where I fell back against the wall of the locker room and Drew is there again, his fist pulled back. Ford and Holden pull him back as I raise a hand to my mouth. It comes away red.

“Is this really necessary?”

“You married my sister!” Drew shouts.

“It’s not like I kidnapped her,” I say.

Drew’s green eyes spark with anger and if he could, he’d kill me. Lavinia’s text said her family took the news well, but she failed to tell me Drew’s out for blood. I’m not blaming her for it. This is my idea, and I knew this journey to fit in wasn’t going to be easy.

I’ve been alone for a long, long time. So long it’s become a part of who I am, as natural to me as breathing. I’m not sure if our plan is going to be successful, and by the way Drew is looking at me, I may as well drop any hopes of being a Titan.

“You married Lavinia?” This question comes from Kai, who’s standing by his locker, frowning at me.

I wipe the trickle of blood from my mouth and nod. “In Vegas.”

“Does she know that?” Holden asks.

“Of course, she knows. She was there.” I roll my eyes.

“And you’re not getting it annulled?” Kai again.

“We decided against it.”

Drew makes a lunge for me again.

“What the hell is going on here?” Coach Cross barks, coming into the dressing room.

His eyes bounce from player to player but none of us says anything. His eyes narrow on me and the bruise I’m sure is decorating my mouth. “What happened?”

“Bumped into my locker.”

I’m not about to tattle on my teammate. There was a time when I wouldn’t have lied because I didn’t care enough to sit through a lecture, and I didn’t care if anyone was penalized.

Today, though, the last thing I want is for Drew to get into any kind of trouble for something incredibly legitimate. Like his anger. I don’t have any siblings, but I can imagine I’d be as angry if my sister married a guy I hate.

Coach’s brown eyes flit between Drew and me. Ford still has a hand on Drew’s shoulder, ready to grab him if necessary.

“Maddox, come with me,” Coach says. Shit. Lavinia’s not going to be happy about this.

I grab my car keys and gym bag. I start to leave, and then pause to look at Drew. His jaw is hard, arms crossed as he stares at me like…well, like I got drunk and married his sister.

I look at the guys and they don’t feel like my teammates. There’s an invisible line between them and me because they think I took advantage of Lavinia. That fucking pisses me off.

“Look, I get you want to kill me and if this was a shady back alley, I’d already be dead,” I say. “But you need to give Lavinia more credit, and you should damn well respect her choices and her decision a lot more.”

I haul my gym bag over my shoulder and go find Coach. I might suck at being a team player, but the one thing I’ve never done is disrespect the choices Lavinia’s made for herself. Fuck, I had to watch her be engaged to Josh of all people. I know she never saw it, but the guy’s a real asshole.

The way he disrespected other players, talked down to the rookies, fucking screamed at our coach? Nah, he was good at hiding all that assholishness under his golden boy image, and I don’t blame Lavinia for not seeing it. No one ever saw it unless they were looking for it.

Coach is waiting in the hall for me, and I come to a stop in front of him.

“If it makes you feel any better, I’m really trying,” I say.

He sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “I was enjoying retirement. I don’t know what made me think I wanted to babysit a bunch of grown ass men.”

I scoff. “Please, there’s no way you were enjoying retirement. You once said the day you retire is the day your soul will shrivel up and die.”

He gives me a long, hard look. “That was before I had my daughters. They’re my soul and raising them is a greater joy than playing hockey. We’re going to grab a drink.”

He motions for me to follow him, and I do. Five years ago, Silas Cross was at the top of his game, until he announced his retirement after winning the Titans a Stanley Cup. His daughters are only nine and three years old, though, so I know he didn’t quit hockey for them.

“You okay to walk? There’s a bar up the street,” Coach says.

“Sure.” I put my things in my car, and we set off down the street. It’s surprisingly warm for an early November day but there’s a chill to the air. I shove my hands into the pocket of my hoodie and pull out my phone.

Roman

Coach is taking me out for a drink.

Lavinia’s message comes almost right away.

Lavinia

*gasp* you’re cheating on me with COACH? I mean, I kinda get it. He is HOT

Roman

Do you think he’s going to ask me to go steady?

Lavinia

I hope, babe. He’s been teasing you long enough.

I’m grinning at my phone like a fool and don’t realize that coach has already stopped walking. My phone bumps into his chest and I look up, seeing his raised eyebrow. Lowering my phone, I put it away and clear my throat, taking a step back.

“You’re acting like a teenager texting his crush for the first time,” he says.

“It’s Lavinia.” I shrug off his comment.

“That answers my question.”

We’re standing in front of a brick building with a wood and glass door.

Coach pulls it open and leads us in. It’s warm inside, AC/DC playing over the sound system.

There are a few old timers sitting around the tables and don’t look up when we walk in.

There’s a man in his fifties behind the bar and he looks up, grinning widely when he sees us.

“Silas!” He booms, reaching his hand over the bar top. Coach smiles and I think it’s the first time I’ve seen him do that.

“Mr. Archer, how’re you doing?”

Coach shakes his hand enthusiastically. There’s something familiar about this man, in his blue eyes and bright smile, and when Coach says his name, I realize immediately this is Holden’s father.

He looks at me and I offer him a subtle nod, not knowing how I’ll be welcomed here. His smile never wavers.

“Having another one of your talks?” He asks Coach.

“I should have stuck with psychology,” Coach says. “Turns out I’m a therapist after all.”

Mr. Archer laughs heartily. “Have a seat. I’ll bring you a menu and something to drink.”

Coach leads us to a booth near the back, by the window. A server brings us a menu right away and Mr. Archer drops off two draft beers. I set mine aside while Coach takes a sip. Sitting back, he crosses his arms and stares me down.

“You’ve been playing well with the team, lately. Surprisingly well.”

“Is that why you brought me here? Next time, maybe say that in front of the team so they get off my back.”

Coach rubs a hand along his jaw. “We used to respect our coach when I played. There wasn’t any back talk.”

“Yeah? Did your coach also play favorites?” I mirror his image, sitting back and crossing my arms, raising an eyebrow.

“I don’t play favorites,” he says. “You’re all talented athletes and I know what happens when a team isn’t working well together because certain players are favored. You’re not going to get that from me. You want to be someone’s favorite, you’re not playing on the right team.”

I shrug. “Just making sure I have a fighting chance of being equal to the others.”

His eyebrows go up. “You want a fighting chance, Maddox?”

I remind myself of the promise I made myself this past summer. If this doesn’t work out, then I’m done. No more hockey. I’m tired of moving around and for the first time in my life, I want a home. I can’t have that if I’m constantly being traded.

“Yes, sir,” I reply.

Coach nods, picking up his menu. When I think he’s not going to say any more, I pick up my own menu and look it over.

Everything on it is something I can’t eat because the trainers will lose their mind.

The players are on a strict dietary plan, and I see that Mr. Archer has accounted for that when I flip the page and there’s a player’s special menu.

“If you wanted a fighting chance, maybe you shouldn’t have married your captain’s sister.” Coach looks at me over the top of his menu.

I cross my arms on the table. “Coach, no offense, but I’m not comfortable talking about Lavinia. If you or the team has any concerns, you should talk to her. I’m not going to speak for her.”

Coach’s eyebrows go up and surprise registers on his face.

It’s actually a little insulting. What kind of vibe do I give off that he thinks I’ll speak for a woman?

Especially one as head strong as Lavinia.

It takes a lot of strength to get to where she is, and her head might have been filled with nonsense, but I’m going to take great pleasure in getting it out.

“Didn’t your goalie marry your sister?” I ask. I remember hearing about it when I was a rookie.

Coach taps his fingers on the table, his eyes shifting over my shoulder for a second and then back to me. “As someone who helped raise my sister, I can guarantee Alex was the innocent one. My sister probably stalked him and gave him no choice other than to fall in love with her. She’s a monster.”

A whirlwind of color drops down next to him before I can react, and the woman punches Coach in the arm lightly.

She has long hair that’s colored a vibrant purple with a halo of rainbow highlights, and she’s wearing a bright pink sweatshirt that clashes horribly with her hair.

She’s so bright she can probably be seen from space.

“Silas, how dare you? I didn’t stalk Alex,” the woman says. Ah, this must be Coach’s sister.

Coach sighs and gives me a pained smile. “Anna, what are you doing here?”

“Picking up lunch, and then I heard you disparaging me, so I had to defend myself.” Anna looks at me. “I didn’t stalk my husband, and he married me willingly. Anna Cross.”

She offers me her hand and I take it.

“Roman Maddox. I play for the Titans.”

“What did you do that my brother is having a private conversation with you?”

I glance at Coach, who shakes his head. Anna looks at him, narrowing her eyes in suspicion, and then back at me. “Don’t listen to him. I can help.”

“I married my captain’s sister.”

I’m not sure how I expect her to react to that news or how aware she is of hockey. I definitely don’t expect the excited gleam which enters her eyes and the way she bounces in her seat, tapping Coach’s arm repeatedly. I look at Coach for help and he rolls his eyes.

“I told you I’m psychic,” Anna says.

“You’re not psychic.” Coach shakes his head in exasperation.

“I told you I had a dream in which Lavinia marries a dark-haired man.” Anna points a finger at my hair. “Look, dark hair.”

I smile at her because this is the best thing I’ve heard all day. “I believe her. What else have you predicted, Anna?”

“Do not encourage her,” Coach warns.

Anna doesn’t get the chance to tell me more because a server arrives with her order. She hugs Coach, wishes me good luck, and leaves. Coach and I place our orders. Coach eyes me carefully, and sighs deeply, running a hand through his hair.

“Look, Maddox, I can’t tell you how to live your life.

Lavinia has a relationship with every single one of your teammates because that’s the kind of person she is.

This isn’t a Josh situation where they only have to see him during games.

” The server brings him another beer and Coach gives him a nod of thanks.

“But you walk into their house, you act like they don’t matter, and you end up marrying the captain’s sister? If you hurt her, whatever they do to you will be on your head.”

The server comes back to drop off our plates and I pick up my fork.

I consider Coach’s words and from his point of view, this whole thing looks pretty fucked.

He, and probably the rest of the team, think exactly what I want them to think, what I have spent years letting people think of me.

I’m careless, I’m untrustworthy, I’m a loner, I’ve anger issues.

I’m broken in ways which can’t be fixed.

“Coach, I’ve known Lavinia since we were kids so I know exactly why everyone around her is drawn into her gravitational pull. I’m never going to hurt her. In fact, I’ll be the first person to fight the person who does.” I set my fork down and pick my beer.

“I know I have a long way to go before I can earn the team’s trust and my relationship with Lavinia isn’t going to help. But I’m not going to give her up for the team. It doesn’t need to be that hard.”

It might be a fake marriage, but nothing I said to Coach is a lie.

Lavinia is loved by everyone because she’s the friendliest person and everyone wants to be her friend.

That also makes her susceptible to people like Josh because she always wants to see the good in people.

I, on the other hand, know good people are few and far between and most of them are hiding their evil.

“I’ve warned you. The rest is on you.”

The warning is unnecessary, but appreciated. I pick my fork back up and dig into my lunch.