Page 95 of The Alternate Captain
Great.
“Your dad?” Bettsy says. “Shit, how did it go last night?”
“Don’t ask,” I say, slipping past him half-dressed.
Dad is waiting for me in the tunnel. He doesn’t even bother saying hi.
“Have you asked Coach if Cody can join in on your skate?”
Last night, Dad asked me if Jayne’s son could join in morning skate, so it doesn’t surprise me that is what he’s leading with.
“Really?” I ask. “Nothing to say about last night?”
“Come on, son. It was embarrassing for me. How do you think I felt seeing my kids react like that in front of Jayne?”
I can’t believe this is the avenue he’s taking after the way he reacted to Vicky’s upset.
“You need to apologise to Vicky,” I say.
“Yeah. Sure. Now, Cody—come on, son. Be a champ and ask.” He pats my shoulder, and like a puppy, I chase after the ball he pretended to throw.
I head towards Coach’s office to find it already occupied.
Matt Rodgers’ voice slips through the crack underneath the door, and I strain to listen; it sounds like an argument. But before I can actually hear anything, he comes bounding out and pushes right past me, veering straight for the dressing room.
“Koenig. In you come,” Coach says, gesturing for me to step into his office.
“I need to talk with you,” I say, disregarding the Cody conversation for a moment. “I had a call from Wes Jones—about Rodgers. Something about him offering supplements before. He warned me to keep my ear out.”
“Thanks, Johnny. I appreciate that because I’ve heard whisperings myself. Can’t find anything amiss though, so I guess he’s innocent for now.” He takes his cap off and places it on his desk. “Anyway, things okay? All good with—”
Therapy. He’s going to ask me about therapy. But since I know how easy it is to eavesdrop, I cut him off.
“Yeah, all good, thanks.”
I keep the conversation going for a little, assuring him that I’m doing all I need to be doing, then I ask him for a favour.
“Cody? Sorry, Johnny. We’re not insured, anyway.” He winks.
I head out to break the news to my dad, only to find he’s gone—probably back to Jayne and Cody. So, I call him and tellhim it’s a no, as my sister powers past me, a smug look on her face.
I want to ask her how she is, but she makes a beeline for a reporter and slips into conversation with him.
I return to the dressing room and finish getting myself ready, but my mood is already sour as hell, and when I finally catch up with Vicky, I’m snappy and irritable. The conversation is one I’m not overly proud of, because all my frustration turns into a lecture on how she needs to stay away from Liam.
To make matters worse, Coach yells out that today we’ll be bag skating. Basically, a puck-less practice where we skate back and forth until we’re ready to collapse.
At first, I’m hoping it will be an ideal opportunity to work out my frustration, but of course, the universe has other plans today.
One minute, I’m skating towards Hutch, the next, I’m flat on my ass with Liam towering over me.
He tosses his gloves to the side as if he’s ready to fight.
“What the fuck, man?” I say.
“Get up!” He grabs my jersey, pulling me to my skates, then he takes a swing at me, but I duck, avoiding the blow.
“Fucking fight back, you fucking...”
