Page 85 of Hitting the Goal Line
I hurriedly take off my jacket, my Jacobi jersey, and my long sleeve, before looking down at my arms.
I had hoped that I just imagined it, that Elijah hadn’t grabbed me as hard as he did and there was no way that there was going to be any marks on my skin.
But I was wrong.
Even through the fabric the jersey that I was wearing and my long sleeve, his grip made it through to my skin and now I have two distinct bands on both of my upper arms that will no doubt be bruises in a few hours.
Tears start to run down my face the longer I look at myself in the mirror.
It won’t happen again.
This won’t happen again.
I’ll do everything that I can to make sure it doesn’t and if that means not cheering on my best friend, then so be it.
Elijah apologized.
And it won’t happen again.
CHAPTER THIRTY
BLAKE
Two months from present day
Christmas break.
The time during the hockey season that players look forward to. Three days of no hockey. No thinking about the next practice, the next game, absolutely nothing about the sport. Three glorious days where the only thing that matters is taking a small break and spending time with friends and family.
I’ve been looking forward to this break. This season has been kicking my ass, physically, mentally and everything in between. Winning a championship the previous season pushes you to a limit you aren’t sure you are able to recover from. So when the three-day break came around, I was hoping that I would get at least one full day on the couch just vegetating, before jumping back into the grind of hockey season. Doing absolutely nothing for a full twenty-four hours sounds amazing, but of course, that isn’t going to happen.
Because not only is it Christmas, but there is also a damn football game in San Francisco that I have to attend. So myday of doing absolutely nothing is now filled with travel and spending time with family.
The second that I got the Gold’s schedule for the season, I should have thought of an excuse to get out of this game, but of course I didn’t.
Now I’m having another California Christmas.
I can’t really complain, though. Not only do I get to see my brother play, live and in person, something that I don’t really get to do all that often, but I also get to see my mom and sister and eat good food. All of that makes up for me not having one day on the couch.
Well, almost makes up for it.
If Sophia was here, I wouldn’t even be thinking about vegetating on my couch.
For the first time since we were teenagers, Sophia and I are spending Christmas apart. Ever since that Christmas when we were fifteen, we have tried everything to not spend the holiday in different parts of the country. Football game, family dinners, whatever it may be, we have always been together. For the last few years in high school, college and when we moved to Chicago. It didn’t matter what we had going on in our lives, we continued the tradition from when we were kids into adulthood.
But this year, she’s back in Illinois and I’m in California. She’s spending the holiday with Elijah and his family, with her parents flying in, and I’m spending it with my family. What kind of fucked up shit is that?
Her spending a Christmas with her boyfriend shouldn’t bother me. I should be happy that she is happy and in a serious relationship, where she is introducing her parents to her boyfriend. I should be fucking ecstatic that their families are going to come together and probably have a great time. But I am bothered and I’m not happy about it one bit.
And it has everything to do with her fucking douchebag of a boyfriend.
He seems nice and whatever, but there is something about the guy that rubs me the wrong way. Ever since I met the dude and he didn’t bother to shake my hand, I haven’t liked him. I thought maybe that was going to change in the two months since, but that dislike has only gotten stronger.
Granted, I haven’t spent a whole lot of time with him, just a few quick meet ups at the apartment whenever he is picking up Sophia, but even spending a few minutes with him isn’t all that pleasant.
Add on that I’ve barely seen or talked to Sophia these last few weeks, what with her spending almost every single night over at his place, barely coming home, makes me dislike him even more. She hasn’t even gone to one of my games since October. I was looking to spending a least one full day with her, and now I’m not getting that.
Or a chance to give her a Christmas gift. Something that I’ve been planning for weeks.
