Page 39 of Bar Down

Robbie rolls his eyes, but smiles and Olivia says, “We love you too.” She hesitates for a moment, but then asks, “How is Eli doing?”

My eyes dart to the side, towards the window of his bedroom. What is he doing right now? Is he still angry?

I swallow and say, “He’s fine. The airline lost his luggage in Chicago so he had to buy some stuff from Meijer. We drove to practice together, then went to the store before coming back. Now I’m getting started on dinner.”

“Is he joining you for dinner? Have you talked at all?” she prods.

I sigh. “I don’t know if he’ll join. He was kind of mad at me earlier,” I say, thinking about how angry he looked. Did I mess this up beyond repair? “We haven’t talked about Finland yet, but I tried bringing it up.”

“But you will, right?” Robbie asks in a hard tone.

“I’ll try,” I relent and he nods in understanding.

“Well, if you need us, we’re a phone call away,” Olivia says, giving me a soft smile.

“Tell him I say hello,” Robbie says and I nod, eager to change the subject.

“How’s it going with the Blue Line Brigade?” I ask.

“Really good, we’ve had a few events already and met some of the kids that signed up. They won’t get to start training until October, so we’re finalizing things now, getting them fitted for gear and stuff.” Robbie could talk for days about his non-profit and it makes me happy that he found something to love just as much as playing hockey.

“That sounds awesome. Let me know if I can help in any way.”

“I will, thanks. Olive and I need to get ready for a fund-raiser, so we’ll catch you later?”

“Yeah, have a good time. Miss you guys.”

“Miss you too. See you soon,” Olivia says with a wave goodbye before ending the call.

I don’t know what I would do without the support of my best friends. I sit outside for another moment, pondering everything good that I have in my life—a job I love, friends that I adore—and, Eli. I hope he still wants to be in my life.

When I’m done contemplating, I grab the food from inside the cabin and get the grill started.

Eli

The conversationfrom the car is still on my mind. Maybe I shouldn’t have lost my shit on Ash, but it pisses me off when he puts himself down like that. I genuinely wanted to talk aboutwhat happened in Finland, but after the way I reacted, I feel like I shut down any conversation between us.

I get an email from the airline that my luggage was found in Chicago and is being shipped to me in Traverse City. Sounds like I’ll be without it for a couple more days, but at least I got some essentials from the store. A few pairs of shorts, some athletic, some more decent for going out, some T-shirts, and toiletries.

I’ve stubbornly closed myself in my bedroom, a combination of modern and rustic style, with a queen size bed taking up most of the room. All my belongings are tucked away in the small dresser. I grab the book I bought while at the store and sit in the rocking chair by the window, hoping to relax and let go of the lingering anger before going out there and facing Ash again.

Even sitting down, the window gives me a perfect view of the back of the house—the fire pit where Robbie would have bonfires for us every year at training camp, where he and Jordan would give Ash advice and talk excitedly about the new season and how we were going to crush it.

I miss that the most. Our tight knit group of friends. All of which are scattered now.

Maybe it’s time to open up to new things, new friendships, and move on. I’ve never been a fan of change, and taking this step seems impossible. But I promised myself I would work on my issues and face my fears head on this season.

My pocket buzzes and I take it out way too fast, hoping for a text from one of my friends. Instead, it’s a message from Juuse.

Great job today at training. I watched some of your drills from the gym, you’re improving a lot!

Thanks, I’m ready to give it my all this season.

I’m sure you will ;)

If you have any advice for me, it’s greatly appreciated.

Of course. We’ll chat more at breakfast.

---