Epilogue—The Has-Been
LIAM
ONE YEAR LATER
The arena is empty.
Well, apart from me and my skates, that is.
The lights overhead are low, and the electric buzz is the only humming I feel in my bones. I take another lap around the ice, my leg protesting as I attempt a few poor shots on goal.
God, I’m happy I did this alone. If Reid or Brennan had seen that last shot, they’d disown me as their best friend.
I try again, not wanting to leave on a poor shot.
The puck slides across the ice. I push it along, positioning it in the middle of my blade.
I bend my knees, the motion engraved in my head.
My weight shifts on my back leg, the one screaming at me to stop.
I lower my hand, sliding it down the shaft.
My stick makes contact as I use my core and wrist to rotate it, driving it forward.
I watch as the puck whistles into the top corner of the net.
Thunk.
I smile. Because I don’t hear the sound of my leg snapping. I don’t hear fans scream with excitement.
I only hear my heartbeat.
My chest vibrates as I chuckle.
I don’t feel a thing. The rush of emotion that it used to bring me. It’s all gone.
The noise behind me, though, is something that does cause my pulse to race. When I turn to meet the face of the voice, a smile spreads wide across my features.
Aubrey’s holding my cap and gown as she says, “‘Has-been’ my ass. That was a perfect shot!” She giggles, winking at me. “But we have to go, you’re gonna be late if we don’t leave now.”
I make my way over to the bench, pulling my skates free.
She approaches behind me, wrapping her arms around my center. I lean my back into her chest, savoring the embrace.
“You okay?” she asks.
“Yeah,” I answer, my chest still panting from excretion. I turn back to glance at her. “But I didn’t get it.”
“Get what?”
“The rush. The thrum of adrenaline. It’s gone.” I finish pulling on my dress shoes, taking my cap and gown from Aubrey’s hands. “The only thing I could think of was biomechanics. I think I’m turning into a nerd.”
“Fine by me, I love when you talk med school,” Aubrey winks as I take her hand and we start our way out.
“I don’t think you’ll love it next semester.” I eye her. “It’s going to be brutal. Long days. Clinicals. Board exams.”
I shake my head, my chest feeling tight when Aubrey suggests, “We can make it through anything—together. But I do think we should probably talk about all that with Jasmine tonight, about how we can manage the stress.”
Aubrey started joining me in my weekly therapy sessions after she told me about her miscarriage. Now, we attend them together every week, something that has been more than beneficial to our relationship.
I didn’t think I could love Aubrey Vaughn more than I did—but this past year has been the best one of my life.
I pause, a slow smile spreading across my face. My heart races, the anticipation of what I’m about to say urging it to beat faster. “So…” I drawl out on purpose, fighting my grin, “how are you going to feel about being neighbors with your cousins?”
Aubrey stops walking.
I take a few steps, then turn around.
She squeaks with excitement as I pull our condo’s keys from my pocket. Then, she runs little circles around me.
“Wait! WHAT?! We got it?”
“Yeah!” I grin, every muscle pulling tight in my face. “We have to sign the paperwork tomorrow, but it’s ours.”
Aubrey and I started looking for a place of our own near campus, as I still have several years of school ahead of me, and since Aubrey secured a full-time, paid position working with the team.
We looked at several apartments, but there was really only one place we both wanted to be: next to her family.
Our family.
She rises on her tiptoes, planting a kiss on my lips, “Oh, this is going to be interesting.”
“For the love of God,” I murmur against her lips as I kiss her back. “Don’t tell your cousins where we plan to hide the key.”
Aubrey smiles, and my heart flips in my chest whenever she looks at me that way.
“Oh, it’s game over for you. They are going to drive you nuts!”
We walk out of the arena, passing by the light pole. Aubrey keeps strolling, skipping along as she talks about her plans to decorate our new place.
But I hesitate for a second, looking up.
Above me, a glowing light shines bright. My fingers briefly brush the metal before I run to catch up with her.
Aubrey’s right. The game is over for me.
I’m the has-been.
Aubrey’s has-been, Aubrey’s right-now, Aubrey’s always-will-be.
Life isn’t meant to be lived in silence; it isn’t supposed to be pushed off until tomorrow.
Life is messy and loud—meant for today.
And I’ve never cherished the noise more.
THE END