Chapter Twelve #3
She glanced at the number of people now filling every available space around my bed and sighed with the unmistakable resignation of someone who already knew she'd lost the argument.
"Five minutes."
"We promise."
Nobody believed that promise.
Ryan immediately claimed the chair beside my bed that Coach had vacated, Ben deposited an enormous gift bag on the table before announcing half of it had come from the freshmen because they were terrified Coach would make them do drills until graduation if they forgot me, and Caleb apologized profusely after accidentally bumping the side of my bed as he squeezed past.
"I'm fine."
"You definitely aren't."
"I will be."
"You look awful."
"So I've been told."
Oscar folded his arms.
"At least your face is still recognizable."
"Thanks...I think."
"I wasn't complimenting you."
"I know."
The conversation bounced from one subject to another with the effortless rhythm that only existed inside a hockey locker room.
Somebody described Ryan's spectacular attempt to motivate everyone during practice that morning, Ben claimed the freshmen had somehow managed to tape two sticks together by accident, and Graham swore he'd found three pairs of gloves abandoned in places they had absolutely no business being.
Graham complained. "I still don't understand how a skate ended up in the video room."
Ryan spread his hands.
"Don't ask me. I gave up trying to understand this team a long time ago."
Ben grinned.
"I blame Oscar."
Oscar looked genuinely offended.
"I wasn't even in the building."
"Exactly."
Everyone laughed and Cameron slapped Oscar’s shoulder.
For a little while it felt less like a hospital room and more like the locker room after practice. Nobody tiptoed around me. Nobody spoke in hushed voices or treated me as though I might break if they joked too loudly. They just carried on being exactly who they always were.
Somewhere in the middle of the chaos Jack wandered across to refill my water before returning to my bedside. Without giving the movement any thought, he reached down and slipped his fingers through mine exactly as he'd done dozens of times over the previous weeks.
The conversation continued uninterrupted until Oscar's attention dropped toward our joined hands and he stopped in the middle of whatever he was saying.
"...Hang on."
Every conversation in the room faded when Oscar pointed directly at us.
"Does that mean you two are together?"
The silence lasted all of two seconds before Ryan rolled his eyes so dramatically I thought they might disappear into the back of his head.
"Of course they're together, dumbass." Ryan replied.
Oscar frowned.
"They are?"
Ryan shrugged.
"I wasn't completely sure until last night. Looking back, though, there were plenty of clues."
"What changed?"
Oscar looked even more confused.
"The second Mason hit the ice, Jack was over the boards before half the medical staff reached him. He never left his side and was holding his hand."
Ben nodded slowly.
"I noticed that too."
"So did I," Caleb admitted. "I figured there had to be more going on than friendship."
Harvey rubbed the back of his neck.
"I wasn't sure what I was seeing."
"Neither was I," Ethan added.
Oscar looked from one face to another.
"So...none of you actually knew?"
Ryan shook his head.
"Not for sure."
"We suspected from the way they looked at each other," Ben clarified. "Big difference."
Ryan glanced toward me.
"We weren't about to ask."
Caleb nodded.
"It wasn't any of our business."
Hunter folded his arms.
"We all knew if you wanted us to know, you'd tell us."
"And if you didn't," Luca added, "that was fine too."
Oscar looked back at Jack.
"I honestly thought you were just reacting the same way as the rest of us."
I wasn't.
Ryan laughed.
"I don’t usually hold a teammates hand if they’re hurt."
I wasn't thinking about who was watching, I just needed to hold him.
The room became noticeably quieter.
Nobody joked.
Nobody laughed.
For a moment every one of them simply absorbed what Jack had admitted.
Ben finally broke the silence.
"Well..."
He glanced between us.
"I'm happy for you both."
"So am I," Caleb said.
Hunter nodded.
"About time one of us found somebody worth keeping."
Harvey chuckled.
"I was beginning to think hockey was the only relationship any of us were ever going to have."
I glanced toward Mom and Dad who gave me a slight nod of support.
Oscar stepped closer to the bed.
"So..."
He scratched the back of his neck.
"I've got one question."
"Only one?" Ryan muttered.
Oscar ignored him.
"Does Coach know?"
"We told him a few weeks ago."
"Does anyone have a problem with us being together?" I asked.
Ryan looked at me as though I'd lost my mind.
"Seriously?"
I shrugged.
"I'm just asking."
Caleb answered first.
"Why would we?"
Hunter spread his hands.
"As long as you two are happy, that's all that matters."
Ethan nodded.
"Doesn't change a thing."
Harvey grinned.
"Except now we know why you two kept watching each other every time you thought nobody noticed."
That earned a laugh around the room.
Ryan folded his arms.
"You're still one of us."
He glanced toward Jack.
"Both of you."