Page 83 of Dreams
Sarah laughed and jumped onto the bed, jostling Taylor. She bit back a chastisement for making her smudge the image.
“He asked about you,” she said.
Taylor’s mouth grew dry. She grabbed her water and chugged it back.
Sarah took the sketchbook off Taylor’s lap and closed it, putting up a finger to stop her from protesting.
“We need to talk about this,” she said. “Josh is in a pretty bad place right now.”
Taylor held her breath but didn’t say anything, so Sarah continued.
“I am so happy to see you, and you can stay as long as you like, but I want to make something clear. I don’t think you should be here.”
The sternness is her voice was very un-Sarah like. Taylor couldn’t meet her eyes for fear of the disappointment she’d see there.
She knew she was doing the wrong thing by running away, but she’d done it anyway. It was different hearing someone else say it was wrong.
“Look at me, Tay.” Sarah put her hands on the sides of Taylor’s head and stared at her. “This is not what happened before. Josh is not Danny. When I watched it on TV, I probably had the same scare as you. That day was the worst of both our lives. But Josh woke up. And he’s going to be okay.”
“How do you know that?” Taylor whispered, fighting back tears. “How do you know that next time won’t be different?”
“Because there won’t be a next time. They think he has to hang up his skates.”
“Oh my God.” She collapsed back against the pillows. “He’s done?”
“He’s done.” Sarah sat back on her heels, still regarding her friend coolly.
“And I left.”
“You did.”
“I think I’m in love with him, Sarah.” Taylor buried her face in her arms.
“Wait, that’s a good thing, isn’t it?”
“Not when I’m a selfish bitch who’s still in love with someone else.”
“Danny’s dead, Tay.”
“I know that,” Taylor bit off her words. “Doesn’t make it not true.”
Sarah leaned forward and gathered her in her arms without another word. Both exhausted from the emotional day, they went to bed. Despite the extra bed in the room, they shared Sarah’s just like old times. Taylor fell asleep with her head on her best friend’s shoulder and two boys on her mind.
* * *
“Shoot the damn puck,” the coach yelled, skating towards his two players that just finished the drill. “When you hit this point, I want that puck leaving your stick. Got it?” He had them run it again as he watched closely.
Taylor used to laugh about how the sound carried across the old practice rink. When she watched the Winterhawks practice, she could hear every frustrated word her dad directed at Danny.
Now it was different, but it felt oddly the same. Most of the guys on the ice were ones she didn’t recognize, as was the nature of junior hockey. Players moved on once they reached a certain age. They’d either go pro, head to play in Europe, or quit altogether.
The seat creaked beneath her as she shifted towards the glass. There were only a few people around her. Practices were open, but not many people came. She didn’t know why she was there. When Sarah left for class this morning, she figured maybe it was time.
This was the place it happened.
Taylor looked up when she heard heavy feet on the concrete steps and found a familiar face looking down at her. Garret grinned as he dropped into the seat beside her.
“Thought my mind was playing a trick on me when I saw you,” he said.
