Chapter 33 Parker
“It’s game day and that’s what you’re eating for dinner?”
I happened to think it was perfectly acceptable to eat Cheerios at any time of day, so I stayed firmly focused on my cereal. “Go away, Reed.”
“You’d think he’d be a little more excited to see us,” Grayson said. “We came all this way to watch the homecoming game.”
“It’s like he doesn’t even care,” Paige chimed in cheerfully.
“Maybe the sugar’s gotten to him.” Even Violet was here, flown all the way from California just to give me shit along with everyone else.
I looked up from my bowl to see they were all smirking happily at me from the other side of the kitchen bench. Reed had an arm slung over Violet’s shoulders, while Grayson had his wrapped tightly around Paige’s waist. If I were to draw them right now, I’d call the piece, “Whipped.”
“The options were cereal or Mom’s leftover meatloaf. Clearly, I had no choice.”
“Clearly,” Reed said, coming over to swipe the cereal box and take a handful of Cheerios for himself. “You ready for tonight?”
“Yep.”
“Because, no pressure, but the losing streak ends here. You need to destroy the Saints.”
“Yeah, we hate those guys,” Gray added. “No offense, Violet…”
“None taken. Just be glad you never dated any of them.” Violet pretended to shudder but then laughed as Reed’s eyes narrowed.
“Don’t remind me,” he grumbled.
“But you have such a cute scowl,” she replied.
“Well, as fun as this is,” I interrupted, “I do have a game to go win.”
I placed my bowl in the sink, grabbed my hockey bag, and headed for the door. Reed patted my shoulder as I went past. “You’ve got this, bro.”
Grayson nodded. “Do us proud.”
“Good luck,” Violet added.
“We’ll all be cheering you on,” Paige said. “And we’re going for pizza after if you want to celebrate your win with some real food.”
“Thanks, guys.” I replied. “If we win, I’ll be there.”
“When you win,” Reed called after me.
How come every time someone said ‘no pressure’ you instantly felt like you were drowning in it? Still, after a good week of practice, I was feeling more confident. Today was the day we turned things around. It had to be. Not just for Mackenzie and not just for me, but for everyone on the team.
I’d started the season thinking that becoming captain and winning the state championship was all that mattered.
But those things didn’t seem quite so important anymore.
I was so used to being the hero, it often felt like I’d failed if I wasn’t the star of every game I played.
But, through training Mackenzie and working to improve our team, I’d realized this game wasn’t only about standing out.
There was something special about helping other people shine brighter than they thought possible.
It was raining when I left the house and downright torrential by the time I arrived at the arena. Hopefully it wasn’t a bad omen. Even though I raced across the parking lot, I was still soaked when I entered the rink.
Mackenzie better not have been lying when she’d insisted she could drive herself here every day this week.
She’d told me she would borrow her stepmom’s car for our morning trainings and get a ride with Jaz for team practices.
I figured it was because she wanted to keep as much distance between us as possible, so I didn’t question it.
Still, I wouldn’t forgive her or myself if she’d walked here in the pouring rain.
I was making good time, so I made my way to the girls’ locker room. I respected the fact Mackenzie wanted space, but there was something she needed.
When I reached the locker room, I knocked on the door. There was no immediate answer, so I cracked the door slightly. “Hello?”
Still no response. Feeling a little braver, I opened the door wider. “Mackenzie, you in here?”
“Parker?” She stuck her head around the corner, and I was instantly glad to see that her hair wasn’t wet. “What are you doing?”
“Well, I thought it was about time I got my revenge. Give me your towel and your clothes…”
She grabbed hold of my sweatshirt and yanked me into the room. Thankfully, we were alone in here, but Mackenzie glanced out the door to check we hadn’t been seen before she closed it firmly behind her.
“Seriously, do you want to get in trouble?”
“Always.” I grinned. “And I wanted to see you.”
“If you’re worried about me getting nervous, don’t. I’m planning to win today, no matter what.” Her words were determined, yet I caught a flicker of uncertainty in her tone.
“We will.” Nerves didn’t usually get to me before a game, but I could understand why she might be feeling that way. There was a lot riding on tonight. “I always heard comeback stories were exciting and romantic, but I’m a little tired of playing the underdog now.”
“Same,” she said. “So, why did you want to see me? Is something up?”
“I realized you’ve been missing something the last few games…”
Her brow creased just a fraction. “Something else I need to work on?”
“More like something you need to wear.” I placed my gear bag on the ground and pulled out a brand-new Devils jersey. “Here.”
Her expression softened as she took it from me.
“You’re an important member of this team, Mackenzie, and, whatever happens today, as far as I’m concerned, you always will be. It’s only fair you have your own official Ransom Devils jersey.”
She stared silently at the jersey for what seemed like minutes. When she finally glanced up at me, her eyes were filled with emotion.
She cleared her throat. “You got me my own jersey?”
“Look at the back.”
When she turned it over and saw her name printed across the top and the number below, she went still.
“Thirty-three,” she whispered. “My mom’s number.”
“I hope that’s okay.”
“Of course it is.” Tears were starting to gather in her eyes, and I stepped forward. I longed to reach out and comfort her, but I knew I shouldn’t.
“We can’t change what happened in the past. But you belong out there on the ice, and it sounds like she did, too. Maybe we can give this number a new chapter? Write the kind of story your mom deserved.”
“I like the sound of that.” Mackenzie was still staring at the jersey, and as she looked up a tear escaped and fell down her cheek. I gave into my urges and reached across the gap between us to wipe it away with my thumb. She tensed for a split second but then closed her eyes and sighed.
“Thank you, Parker,” she whispered. “For everything.”
The tremor in her voice struck me deep inside.
“I should leave you to get ready,” I said, dropping my hand.
She nodded. “I’ll see you out there.”
As I made for the door, I glanced back at Mackenzie one last time.
Her eyes were still wet with tears, but joy sparkled through them as she lifted her jersey to admire it.
The sight only intensified the warmth in my chest. Just a few weeks ago I craved her scowls and her anger, but now I knew there would never be anything more addictive than watching her smile because of me.
It felt like I could spend a lifetime doing small things to make her happy and never grow tired of it.
Once I’d finally dragged myself out the door, I hurried to the boys’ locker room to get ready. I greeted my teammates before sitting next to Seth. He was eating a very suspect-looking burrito.
“Where the hell did you get that?” I asked as I unzipped my bag.
“Gas station on the way here. You want some?”
“I think I’m okay.” And Reed had thought my pregame meal was bad. I was usually down to eat just about anything, but even I knew there were limits.
“You sure? I already had two.”
“Nope. All yours.” It wasn’t often that I felt smart, but sometimes Seth made me feel like a genius.
“Suit yourself.” He shrugged. “Your brothers back for the game?”
“Yep. They’ve been making sure I remember just how important it is to win tonight—like I could forget.”
“Pfft. We don’t need reminding. We’ll get this done.”
“Yeah, we will.”
I heard the door swing open and frowned when Elliot entered the room. “Ford, what are you doing back here?”
“I’ve got good news.” He held his arms wide and raised his voice so everyone could hear. “Doc says I’m cleared to play. Isn’t that great?”
The room went quiet. No one seemed relieved or excited; instead, they all looked confused. Elliot hadn’t practiced with us for a month, and I knew everyone had noticed how he’d mostly avoided our team bonding efforts.
“You’re really back?” Owen asked.
“Yep.”
“I thought you were out for a couple more weeks at least,” I said.
“I’m obviously a medical marvel,” Elliot said with a smirk.
“Maybe so, but you don’t just front up to a game after weeks without practice and expect time on the ice.”
“Why not?” he scoffed. “It’s not like you want the girl out there. I’d be a better bet even if I was still injured. Right, guys?” Elliot looked around the room for support, but it was severely lacking.
The team had finally started to accept Mackenzie as one of us.
We knew how hard she’d been working to level up, and in the last few practices it was plain to see how much her skills had improved.
I’d always thought she was better than Ford, and it seemed the other players on the team were beginning to realize that too.
When Elliot didn’t get the response he was looking for, he simply shrugged and a smug smile returned to his lips. “Guess we’ll just see what Coach Foster has to say.”
He had me there. Coach Foster had never wanted Mackenzie to play, and with Ford back, I knew he’d be more than happy to swap her out.
There was a knock on the door before Mackenzie entered the room, shielding her eyes with her arm. “You guys better all be dressed. I do not want to see your ass again, Seth.”
No one responded and Mackenzie lowered her arm to reveal a concerned look on her face.
“What’s going on?” She glanced around, her eyes finally landing on the smirking Elliot.
Mackenzie stepped close enough to mutter to me, “Parker, what’s going on?”