Page 33 of Call the Shots
June, shocked in the bleachers.
I let go of Elijah.
“Oh…shit,” I whispered.
CHAPTER 13
JUNE
LAST-DITCH EFFORT
Trailing after Cleo,I staggered through the inner maze-like hallways of the Colo until I found her in a meeting room, screaming into a purple throw pillow withbelieve in yourself!stitched on the fabric.
She froze when she saw me, caught.
I held out a hand and she passed over the pillow. I flipped it to thebelieve in yourself!side and belted a screech from deep in my throat because I had no idea what else to do.
Cleo sank into the couch. “The footage…we’re bound to go viral.”
“No doubt,” I replied, listless.
Denali burst in, covered in fresh bruises, Bear right behind him, looking even worse. Blood was smeared from his mouth and the bruises up his jaw looked horrific. His knuckles were bloody but none of that compared to the furious look on Denali’s face when he whirled around.
“You were supposed to be watchingElijah!”
Bear jabbed a finger in Denali’s chest. “Why am I a babysitter? I told you he’s a liability!”
While they argued, Cleo pushed herself from the couch and closed the door. Something new crossed her face, some kind ofresignation, and she cleared her throat. “We need to talk. I’m not here to get the hockey team together.”
That quieted the three of us and I stared at her, confused. What was she talking about?
“My job is to see whether or not the team is…salvageable.”
“You’re…?” Denali drew in a shaky breath. “They’re cutting the Gladiators.”
Cleo nodded and my stomach dropped.
“They brought us to this shit hole to close the park?” Bear said incredulously. “That’s why we’re here?”
“This is a last-ditch effort to get donor money, and you can see how well that paid off.” Cleo rubbed her temples. “If it’s deemed impossible, they’ll cut the team and with that goes the Colo itself. Both the hockey team and the figure skating teams are on the line. I thought Vernon would…”
“That’s why he doesn’t care,” I realized. “He knows what’s coming.”
Suddenly, it made sense. Why their coach was so hard to get a hold of, why the assistant coaches barely showed up, why Marrs stopped maintaining the arena. Why they seemed so resistant when it came to marketing. We were tied to a dying whale, sinking to the bottom of the ocean.
This was it. I didn’t have a place with the Romans, the housing department, and I certainly didn’t have a place with my organizations because my ex was with them. It wasn’t like I expected the Gladiators to randomly punch through their crappy past, but they were my last path to normalcy.
“I’m not getting my house back,” I mumbled.
“Who gives ashitabout your house?” Bear shook his head. “Where does this leave me?”
“This won’t affect your draft status,” Cleo assured him.
“Draft status.” Denali rolled his eyes. “Boston would have to want him first—no good team will take him after North Dakota.”
Bear shot him a murderous look. “Shut the fuck up, Denali.”
The more I watched the three of them spiral, the more I saw us from an outside perspective. Alright, this was bad. Really, really bad. Yet the longer I let the failure settle, the more I felt something else. Kind of pissed off that it took one exhibition practice for us to succumb.
