Page 117 of Voices

Matt and Ryder sit on either side of me, placing their hands on my shoulders. Asher walks to the opposite side of the island so he’s in front of me, looking me in the eye and giving a single nod, showing his silent support.

“So how are we going to do this with Benji? Corner him after the game tomorrow when everyone else leaves and refuse to let him go until he tells us what happened?” Anger still radiates from Ryder as his serious voice comes out.

“I’m down,” Matt says from my left.

A deep growl comes from Asher, having the three of us look over at him. I see him fighting himself, wanting to speak as his lips bunch together repeatedly.

He shakes his head as he starts signing. ‘We can’t do it on school property. All of us will lose our spots on the team. No NHL.’

“Shit. I didn’t think of that.” Ryder looks over at me. “But a little friendly chat won’t break any rules, right?”

“Nope!” Matt high-fives Ryder over my head.

“How am I supposed to leave Charlie tomorrow? What if he wakes up and has a panic attack and I’m not here? Or he’s in a lot of pain and can’t stop crying?”

“I’m sure Lily won’t mind being here with him. We can show her where we keep the pain pills and how often he needs to keep icing his injuries. He’ll be alright.” Ryder squeezes my forearm.

“Yeah, we’ll help make sure he’s all set before we head out tomorrow. I’ll even turn on the Gannon U Sports channel on your TV so he can watch us kick Hamilton State’s ass.” Matt chimes in.

I couldn’t be more thankful for our friendship than I am right now. “Thanks guys.”

A painful cry comes from my room followed by my name.

I jump out of my chair and hurry to my room. Charlie has tossed the ice packs to the floor and is writhing in pain, hugging his ribs. A whimper leaves him followed by a few tears. I rush to his side and get down on my knees.

“You’re okay, baby. I’m here.” I brush his hair out of his good eye and see the pain in it. “I have some medicine for the pain.”

I pop open the ibuprofen I had left over from when I had my wisdom teeth pulled and pour one out into my palm. I shove a few more pillows under his head to prop him up without causing him more pain. Cracking open the bottle of water, I bring the pill to his lips. His half-open eye looks at me as his lips slightly part. I put the pill in his mouth followed by some water. He closes his eye as he swallows.

“Do you need me to get you anything?” I gently run my fingers through his hair, careful to avoid the cut.

He shakes his head, keeping his eye closed. I continue running my hand through his hair until he’s fallen back asleep. I stand up and kiss the top of his head before closing the curtains, making my room darker for him. I turn on my TV and start an Avatar movie, turning the volume low. Walking back to Charlie, I slowly pull the extra pillows out from behind his head and adjust the blanket before placing a light kiss on his forehead.

“I love you,” I whisper against his warm skin.

When I step out of my room only Ryder is sitting in the living room. I sit in my normal spot on the couch letting out a whoosh of air.

“Where’d Ash and Matt go?”

He finishes his text before looking up. “Matt said he had something to do at eleven and Ash wanted to finish a project for one of his classes so he doesn’t have to rush to finish it on Sunday.”

“Do you know what’s going on with Matt? He keeps avoiding me and I haven’t had the chance to ask him about the whole job thing and why he was so pissed that day.”

Ryder shrugs. “I asked him if he needed help with money and that we’d help, no questions asked. But he said that he was good and had to take care of something back home. Ash is keeping an eye on him.”

Still doesn’t explain why he was so mad. Hopefully he isn’t lying about the money thing. He knows Ryder and I come from families with money and wouldn’t hesitate to help him.

“He fall back to sleep?” Ryder nods towards my door.

“Yeah, but I’m not sure how long he’ll stay out for. Those bruises looked brutal, and I can’t imagine the pain all those cuts on his back could be causing.”

My heart clenches at the pain I saw in his dimmed brown eye. A wave of hatred for anyone who’s ever touched Charlie and caused him any amount of pain washes over me. I ball my fists in my lap and squeeze my molars together when Benji’s face flashes across my vision.

“I feel the same way, man. But we have to go about it the smart way.”

Sometimes I forget how well Ryder knows me. We’ve known each other since Juniors and have been playing on the same D line together for years. He knows my tells better than anyone.

I relax my fists and take a deep breath to calm my rising anger.

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