Chapter 10
Willow Rogers
E verything hurts. My head, muscles I didn’t even know existed, but most of all my heart.
Jayden’s word slipped underneath my defences, ramming into me without a care in the world. I don’t want to get up today, however, I will feel worse if I lie in bed all day.
It takes a hot shower, lathering products on my skin, and aspirin to ease the pit inside my stomach and the pounding headache that had taken up residence in my brain. I enter the kitchen, nearly moaning at the smell. Cinnamon and maple syrup; two of my favourite things on the planet.
What I thought was going to be a shit day has taken a turn for the better when I open the fridge to find a container of blueberry pancakes with my name on it.
I’m so confused. I’ve never told anyone in the house this is my favourite breakfast, yet here it sits. I’m not going to complain, that’s for sure.
I don’t waste a moment, placing the pancakes in a stack on a plate. Aiden and Hayes enter the kitchen while I stuff my face.
“Enjoying the food?” Aiden asks with raised eyebrows.
I hum, swallowing the food in my mouth. “Yes. Thanks for breakfast. Did you know blueberry pancakes are my favourite?”
Hayes scrunches his brows, tilting his head. “What? I didn’t make you breakfast.”
“Then who did?”
Aiden chuckles, his voice low, yet I still hear the humour in it. I narrow my eyes. “What do you know?”
He scrubs one of the plates in the sink, then places it onto the drying rack before facing me. “Jayden.”
One word. He doesn’t say anything else, leaving me looking like an idiot with my jaw open. Aiden continues to wash up like he didn’t just drop the biggest bomb.
Why would Jayden do that? Better yet, how did he know blueberry pancakes are my comfort food?
The question plagues my brain until a message from Jazmine brings my focus elsewhere.
Jazmine Allen:
Hey! Do you want to come to mini golf?
Me:
YES! Get ready to be CRUSHED
Jazmine Allen:
That’s not happening. I will be winning.
I smile. Although I would like an answer to the questions running amuck in my thoughts, it will have to wait.
A day out with my best friend is the perfect distraction.
***
“ T his is not fair,” I whine, as I collect my ball from the sixth hole.
Somehow, I’m losing by a ridiculous number of shots. Honestly, I swear my stick is cursed. Why can I hit a puck across the ice with men charging at me, but can’t putt a golf ball into a hole five feet away from me?
Jaz and Theo laugh, relishing in my pain. The two of them are neck and neck, with one three shots separating them. Jaz, ever the competitor, is on top and isn’t afraid to trash-talk her boyfriend.
We follow the lights on the barriers separating each hole, so we know we are going the correct way. Golf Galaxy is an indoor mini-golf course, with a twist–it’s a glow-in-the-dark course. A hidden gem amongst other activities that people gravitate toward in Phoenix.
The walls are painted, the bright colours creating constellations and aligned planets. The course has different nods to space as well with a spinning star the object to get the ball passed before taking a shot for the hole.
This is the next hole the three of us are onto and the seventh overall.
“Thank God, we decided to only play nine holes. I can’t handle losing any longer.” I say, gripping my stick.
My competitive streak can be too much when it comes to activities that are meant to be a bit of fun. I look up to the spinning star, trying to figure out the best time to hit my ball. After taking a deep breath, I tap the ball and it rolls along the green, entering the gap at the perfect time.
“Yes!”
I walk around the spinning star, to see my ball is close to two feet away from the hole. Dammit. I was so close to a hole-in-one. I’m yet to do it, unlike Theo and Jaz, who clearly practiced before inviting me.
I putt it into the hole without trouble and Theo writes me down for a two. We return to the start, switching turns.
“So,” I begin. “Did you tell Jayden what my favourite breakfast is?”
Jesus. That doesn’t sound suspicious at all.
“No, why’s that?”
“No reason.”
Jaz raises her eyebrows, but thankfully, doesn't ask a follow-up question. Now, I really need to know how he found out.
We continue the course, finally finishing thirty minutes later. And to no one’s surprise, I lost. Theo drives me back to the hockey house, my phone buzzing the entire way.
Hockey Heroes – Group Chat
Aiden Carter:
Dinner will be ready at six.
As requested, it is butter chicken.
Be there.
Cooper Powell:
YES CHEF!
A laugh bursts from my chest as I climb out of the backseat in Theo’s car. This group chat is the funniest thing I’ve been a part of. The topics range from dinner and hockey to how stupid politicians are.
“Thanks for coming along today,” Jaz says after winding her window down.
I smile. “Thanks for inviting me. Though I swear I was third wheeling the entire time.”
“No, you weren’t.” Jaz protests. “If anything, Theo here was third wheeling on our girl time.”
I shake my head, the corner of my lips pulling up. “I’ll see you soon,”
They drive off once I enter the house, inhaling the scent that has travelled from the kitchen. Everyone is at the dining table, waiting for me to take my place. Jayden tenses, his shoulders rising and fists clenching. He moves them under the table.
“Okay, you can dig in now,” Hayes says.
My brows scrunch together, watching as everyone passes dishes between each other. “You guys didn’t have to wait for me.”
Sam glares at me. “Of course, we did.”
“Well, thank you. I appreciate it.”
Dinner is as tense as the first time we ate together. Jayden and I don’t speak, listening to the others’ conversation. I dip my pita bread into the leftover sauce on my plate, keeping my gaze down.
I’m not looking forward to the end of dinner because it is my turn to wash the dishes, which I’m fine with, it’s the person I’m doing it with that is worrying me.
Jayden has barely offered me a glance at dinner, and I don’t know whether we are about to have another fight or ignore what went down. One by one, my teammates finish their plates and take them to the sink until Jayden and I are the only ones left.
That was the quickest I’ve seen those boys disappear, which makes me think they did it on purpose. My heart races and I ignore the butterflies swarming in my stomach as I enter the kitchen.
Jayden is already there, his sleeves rolled up while he fills the sink with soapy water.
I stand beside him, grabbing a cloth to dry the plates after he washes them. We fall into rhythm quickly, the clatter of plates and cutlery filling the silence. My heart rate rises every second that the awkward silence continues. Eventually, Jayden clears his throat.
Here we go.
“Willow, I’m sorry for last night.”
I falter, nearly dropping the plate onto the floor. “I–”
“–Wait. Sorry,” Jayden interrupts, shaking his head. “Just let me say something before you reply.”
I watch him steady himself, his hands remaining submerged under the water.
“Last night, I took it too far, and I’m sorry.
Whenever I see someone over-consuming alcohol, it reminds me of Al–” He pauses before saying her name.
“I took my fears out on you and I felt terrible that I caused you to have a panic att–”
“–I did not have a panic attack.”
Jayden passes me a plate, his eyes boring into mine. “You did. I know the signs. They’re practically engrained in my mind, but you don’t have to tell me anything. I know I’m the last person you’d want to talk to about it.”
He swallows the lump in his throat. “But if you ever need a listener, I’ve been told I’m pretty good at it.”
I can’t help it, I laugh. “Thinking pretty highly of yourself there,”
Jayden’s lips begin to curve but he stops before it becomes a smile.
“Thank you for apologising. I understand why you were frustrated–”
“–That doesn’t excuse it.”
I place the final plate away and turn back to him. “I know, but I'm sorry too. I realised when I woke up this morning, I went a little overboard.”
Jayden nods, acknowledging my answer.
A yawn escapes me. “I better get to bed. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Jayden nods. “Goodnight, Red.”
I glare at him. “I still hate that nickname,”
He smirks. “Sure, you do,”
I walk away from him, sticking my middle finger up at him. Jayden’s laugh follows me into my room, and it’s only then that I realise I forgot to ask him about the pancakes.
A small smile pulls on my lips. Maybe some things should remain unknown.