Page 86 of One Shot

“Listen, that guy, he’s not a good person. I have issues with him. Coach, you know me. I swear I am trying,” I plead.

“Nick Bellinger had issues with that Kovek bloke too and told me the same thing.” He keeps his voice low. “Just watch yourself Donato. There are reps here you want to impress and a team that needs you levelheaded.”

And a girl that won’t forgive me if I fuck this up and go after him,I think to myself.

“I know. Thanks, Coach.”

I head back to the locker room. I was so flustered about playing East today that I completely forgot I had Nick’s notebook until Coach mentioned his name. I motion for Tyler and Liam to take a look at the page against East.

#30 Victor Penn - great goalie, but can’t save a puck if it’s in the top left or right corner, send ‘em high

#8 Richard Harris - best player on their team, keep the puck away from him as much as possible. One of the fastest skaters I’ve ever seen.

#22 Nathan Kovek - decent player, fucking horrible human. biggest scum of the earth, weakest man alive. Not a fast skater at all, but decently strong and can hold his own. Biggest weakness - he gets flustered if you say her name.

Nick wrote this before he knew anything about Laur and Kovek’s relationship. He really did hate the guy before even knowing about his abuse. At least I know even without that factor in play, Nick Bellinger would think I am a much better choice for his sister.

We get back on the ice for the second period. I have a little over a minute left in the penalty box. Harris gets the puck instantly for East and scores.

Fuck. It’s now 0-1.

I skate out of the penalty box and over to the bench. I need to focus.

No less than ten minutes later, I’m sharing the ice with fuckhead again. I’m trying to keep my rage in check, so I decide to test out his biggest weakness according to Nick. Kovek has the puck, and I engage him to steal it.

“You would have never been good enough for Lauren,” I whisper quietly and steal the puck.

I’m not sure I was loud enough for him to hear me. Saying that to Kovek motivated me and gave me a tiny sense of relief I needed to make the steal. I’m on a breakaway. Nick said shoot into the top corners. Good thing I've practiced target shooting a lot of recently. I aim for the top left corner.

GOAL.

The score is 1-1.

The arena is filled with rowdy roars from the crowd. I expect my team to rush in and celebrate with me, but instead I’m thrown to the ground by Kovek. I guess I was loud enough for him to hear me.

“What did you say to me, prick?” Kovek says.

“I said you were never going to be good enough for Lauren,” I reply, getting up off the ice.

He rushes towards me and starts to throw punches. I throw them right back.

Tyler and Connor are pushing me back as refs separate Kovek and me, then try to separate the small fights that broke out around us.

“He’s right,” Tyler says. “You’re pathetic.”

He goes for Kovek this time and gets a good punch or two in before the refs break Tyler and Kovek apart.

Tyler and I each get a two-minute penalty. Kovek gets four minutes. I try to avoid looking at the bench. I don’t want to see the disappointmentand frustration in Coach’s eyes. But at least we are tied now. I glance at the bench, and that’s when I see her, sitting behind it on the far side, away from the opposing team's bench.

Lauren’s here. My heart jumps in my chest at the sight of her in my jersey. I didn’t expect to see her until after the game.

She must have read the letter and opened the package with the jersey I got for her with my name on it. I can’t tell if she’s upset, mad, disappointed, or all three. I’m too far away on the other side of the ice.

These are the longest two minutes of my life. Once I’m out of the penalty box and onto the bench, I’ll be able to see her face. I can’t believe she’s here. I also can’t believe she just witnessed her boyfriend and best guy friend fight with her ex.

The two minutes are up, the score is still 1-1. I rush over to the bench and find Laur against the glass. Her eyes are damp, but she doesn’t look angry.

“I have no regrets. He deserved much more than he got,” I shout so she can hear me.

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