Page 5 of Wild Blades

And that was the last time the man left the house without a screaming match.

The last time I heard her singing.

He stopped visiting after Mom threw a glass vase at him as he was running out of the house. It smashed the driver’s side window of his new fancy black sports car.

I was fifteen.

She ignored me for weeks after.

I doubled down on my dream to become an NHL hockey player. Mom didn’t care if I wasn’t around and happily signed me up for extra hockey sessions and one-on-one training with a dedicated hockey coach. I played every game, came home, studied hard, and then studied more. Wanted to escape though. Had to.

To get away from her.

Miranda.

I sometimes wished the man would have come back. Maybe he would have made her sing again.

Smile perhaps.

I was wrong about that.

I was wrong about a lot of things.

CHAPTER ONE

Wade– Present Day

Eagles defenseman, ‘Wild’ Wade Collins punches fellow teammate, Zane Edwards in locker room incident

I almost laughed when I saw the headlines this morning. They are a far cry from when I signed with the Eagles eight years ago and the press called me the Golden Boy, about to shake up the face of hockey forever. I don’t even recognize the man I’ve become.

Too terrified to enter, I pace back and forth outside the meeting room I've only ever been in a handful of times.

One of them being the day I signed my Edmonton Eagles contract. The best day of my life.

Depending on what happens in there today, this may possibly be the worst day.

Although I have already been through one of the worst days of my life.

Nothing could top that.

A year later, my heart still feels like it’s bleeding out and raw.

I tip my head back and pull in a deep breath, then blow out the ugly thoughts that still live in my head rent free of that day.

The day that sent me spiraling down this path of self-destruction.

Not now, Wade. Pack it up, and put it beside your other emotional baggage.

I’m here because I’m an idiot and have been a thorn in the Eagles’ side for months.

An entire year of anger, pain, and heartache, which no one knows about and that has led to far too many game suspensions.

And after last night, there is most likely another one coming my way from behind this door.

Much like the last one, it’s deserved, which came after getting caught having ‘sexual relations’,with Britney from the Eagles’ marketing department.

More like I got caught with her bouncing up and down on my dick by my former coach, Ash Johansson, which was embarrassing enough, but to have his wife be there too, was simply shameful.

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