Page 21 of The Captain

I paused in my steps as I hesitated.

In general, I wasn’t a fan of hockey—I wasn’t really a fan of sports—but I had no desire to go and sit in the stands and watch it. Plus, the brutality of the sport made my stomach churn, and I’d seen Lincoln get into his fair share of fights.

I usually only went to be there with Mick so she didn’t have to sit alone, but she hadn’t told me she was going tonight, and sitting there by myself sounded less than appealing.

“Um, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

I had no refute to this when he asked, “Why not?”

“I don’t really…like hockey.”

Lincoln’s eyes narrowed; he was watching me for something I couldn’t decipher.

“I know,” he answered, surprising me. “But I was hoping you would make an exception since the only reason I get to play tonight is because of you.”

Frowning at that observation, I said, “That’s not true. You put in the work and did well.”

Lincoln shrugged, and in a rare moment, I saw him be shy. It threw me off.

“Still, I want you to come.”

I want you to come.

Those words resonated in me somewhere, and before I knew it, I was agreeing to go to a hockey game. “Okay. Will Mick be there?”

He shrugged again. “No idea. She’s been acting off for a while now. I think she has studying to do.”

Off. I knew why she was acting off, and I couldn’t say a word about it. Oh god, Tanner was going to be there tonight. I hoped I wouldn’t see him and have to pretend that everything was normal.

I would go to the game and sneak out right after, that way there was no chance of me running into him and blowing their cover.

My stomach clenched, and I laid a hand over it, my body telling me that I was doing something wrong.

But it wasn’t my secret to tell. How could I be doing something wrong?

Lincoln’s brows furrowed. “Is something wrong?” He gestured to where I was holding my stomach.

“No. Nothing’s wrong. I’m fine.” I didn’t sound convincing to my own ears, and Lincoln looked at me like he wanted to ask more.

He nodded. “Okay, so you’re coming?”

I bit my lip but nodded my head and watched as Lincoln’s eyes lit up at the thought of me coming to his game. I shouldn’t have liked that, but I did.

Hours later, I found myself navigating through the stands to my spot in the hockey arena. It was a place I’d been many, many times since meeting Mick. She didn’t love coming by herself and would drag either me or Vic along to games, sometimes both of us.

I didn’t tell Mick where I was going when I left her in our apartment studying to come to the game, giving her a simple “heading out” comment instead.

We only had three months of school left. Three months, and then she and I would be free forever. The thought actually made me sad.

Rose Hill had become such a huge part of my life. But even though I’d grown up right outside of it, I wasn’t sure that it was where I wanted to stay, and that thought scared me. The thought of finally leaving the only place I’d ever known.

But another part of me wanted to experience living somewhere else, too. We only had one life, staying stagnant in one place wasn’t what we were supposed to do. Or at least, I didn’t feel that way.

The boys on the hockey team were already warming up when I showed up. I didn’t see Tanner anywhere and hoped that I could keep a low enough profile that he wouldn’t see me and rat me out to Mick.

I wasn’t hiding that I was here, per se, but I wasn’t ready for the inquisition that came with why I was being so nice to her brother, whom I’d hated so much.

That history was so complicated that explaining it now felt silly. She knew I was tutoring him, so if she asked, I’d tell the truth.

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