Chapter 51 Fletcher
fifty-one
Fletcher
It’s weird to know Tate won’t be around this summer. The whole crew went to the airport to say goodbye to her. Honestly, everyone in the airport probably thought we were sending her off for years, and not just for the summer.
There were many tears, endless hugs, and a multitude of emotions.
But we couldn’t be prouder of her.
She’s worked so hard for this. She deserves it.
And it’s because of Tate that I’m running severely behind for breakfast with the guys and Coach.
Thankfully, when I arrive, Jeremy and Coach are nowhere to be found.
"Get lost or something?” Zeke raises a teasing eyebrow.
“I lost track of time. I was talking to Tate, and she was telling me all about rehearsals, and before I knew it, I was supposed to be here but was still sitting in my room.”
“How’s she doing it?” Declan asks.
“She’s doing well.” I beam.
“Absolutely hating it, right?” Jax jokes.
“Oh, one hundred percent.”
The waitress comes over to our table and pours me a coffee.
“What do you think Coach wants to talk about?” I take a sip of my coffee. It’s not as good as the coffee at the coffee shop Becca and I frequent, but it is not bad for a small-town diner.
“I think he’s cutting us all from the team, and he wanted to tell us in person.” Brooks crosses his arms. “I mean, that’s typically what happens after you win a championship, right?”
“Oh, one hundred percent.” Zeke nods. “Coach wants to keep the team fresh.”
“I know you guys are joking,” Cam chimes in, “but if we were getting cut from the team, it’s quite the way to go out.”
“Yeah, but back-to-back wins will be even sweeter.” I wink.
“All jokes aside, I think the news is that Jere isn’t playing with us next year. I think he’s going into his Panthers contract a year early.” Declan butters one of the rolls on the table and shoves half of it in his mouth.
It’s weird to be here and not at Greystone since that’s become kind of the unofficial hangout for the team, aside from Cam, who we all try to make sure never finds out about the place.
It does feel like a betrayal, though.
“We’ve only got one more year. Why wouldn’t Jere finish out his degree and then go play?” Brooks sits up.
“He’s going to finish his degree, but all the classes he needs to graduate, he can take online,” Declan continues. “He’s worked so hard to make it to the NHL, and I know recently he’s been worried about wasting his best years playing for the NCAA.”
“You’re right. Jere’s back isn’t getting any better.” I sigh. “It hasn’t gotten any worse, but every game strains his back a little bit more.”
“And he was sure that the Panthers would give him his contract at the end of this year,” Zeke adds. “He’d be a fool not to take it now. Especially, like we said, with his back. It’s a wild card for him.”
“Actually, Coach said his back is better than ever. The experimental therapy they’re doing is doing wonders for him.
” Jax leans back into the booth. “But I also know Jere is practical. He won’t risk everything he worked so hard for to play one more year with us.
As much as he’d love us to go out the way we came in, together, he knows we’d want this for him more.
“I definitely think that’s the news,” Cam says. “What other good news would Coach want to get us together for?”
Cam’s right about that.
It would’ve been one thing if Coach had asked the whole team to be here. If that were the case, I’d assume it was a post-championship celebration since we didn’t properly celebrate with him.
But he didn’t ask the whole team to be here.
Just the juniors.
Just us, the guys who have played this sport together since the very beginning.
“Looks like we can ask him ourselves.” Jaxon points toward the door as Coach walks in. He spots our table almost immediately and makes his way over.
“What’s going on, Coach?” Zeke twists over the back of his chair to see him.
“Jere’s going pro, isn’t he?” I ask. “We’re losing our guy next year.”
“He’s been working for this forever. The countless hours of PT have led to this. I think he deserves to ditch us in our senior year if it means having his dreams come true,” Declan adds.
“Easy for you to say; you know you have a contract waiting for you after we finish next season,” Jaxon begins. “Without Jere, who knows if you’ll carry the team to another championship. I’m really banking on that to look good for my free agency.”
Declan flips him off.
“If we let the man talk, we’ll find out what’s happening.” Cam points out, and we all look over to him.
He’s still standing at the end of the table, just staring at all of us. He looks tired, which is a new look for him. Coach has always been the kind of guy who could sleep for thirty minutes and look like he got the most restful night of sleep in his life.
Something is going on.
My eyes leave Coach, and then it hits me.
“Wait, where is Jere?” I glance around Coach toward the front door.
Jeremy’s not the type of person to be late. And with as late as I was getting here, Jeremy’s even later.
Coach’s hand lands on my shoulder.
“I’m afraid I have some bad news,” he begins.
“I thought we were coming here to celebrate, the texts said—” Brooks is cut off by a single hand raise from Coach.
“It was but…”
His eyes drift away from us. There’s an emptiness in them I’ve never seen before.
“Coach?” Declan stands up, folding his arms across his chest. “What’s going on?”
“It’s Jeremy.”
It’s like the world stops. I can feel the frantic pounding of my heart all the way into my ears.
My eyes bounce around the table, waiting for anybody to say something.
To ask the one question resting on the tip of all of our tongues.
But no one is brave enough to actually ask it.
No one’s ready to hear the rest of his sentence.
But we don’t have a choice because Coach fills in the blank for us anyway:
“There’s been an accident.”