Page 89 of O Goalie Night
The moment the doors close, Ben turns on me. “I fucking trusted you.”
“Ben–”
“You’re going to end it.” He pushes the elevator button, not looking at me. “You’re going to end it now. Do you understand me?”
“No.”
His eyes swing to mine. “What did you just say?”
“I’m not going to do that.” He’s talked me into a lot of things over the years, but this one is non-negotiable. “I’m not giving up Beth.”
He stares at me with more contempt than I ever thought he was capable of, and memories of Cody from years ago seep in, making me feel sick.
The next elevator arrives silently and Ben stalks on. “Then I’ll end it for you. From now on, you only talk to me when we’re on the ice. I don’t want you near me or my family. I don’t know you and I don’t fucking want to.”
The doors close, and I’m once again alone.
CHAPTER 35
FOSTER
Time flies when you’re having fun.
That would explain why the last two days have crawled by. Every miserable minute dragged out as long as possible.
We were supposed to fly out of Chicago last night, heading home after the game, but a snowstorm had other plans. Thick flakes started falling in the afternoon as the winds picked up, and by the time we were ready to leave, the city was blanketed in white. All flights grounded indefinitely. We were storm-stayed, forced to hunker down in the hotel for another night.
Will tried to get a game of poker going, but no one was in the mood. Ben didn’t want to see me, Austin didn’t want to see Ben, and the only person I wanted to see was eight hundred miles away.
Twenty-four hours later, when the worst of the storm passed, we finally boarded our flight and made it out of the snow-covered city.
True to his word, Ben hasn’t spoken to me. I’m tryingto give him his space and let him process the idea of Beth and I, but it’s hard.
It’s like I’ve lost a brother all over again.
I’ve been in constant contact with Beth. She says she’s okay, but I can tell Ben’s reaction to learning about us is stressing her out. Her voice sounds strained when we talk.
What if he never gets on board with it? Never accepts the two of us together?
The thought of causing a rift in Beth’s close-knit family has been keeping me awake at night.
It’s after midnight when the car drops me off at home. I enter the house quietly, even though I don’t think for a minute she’ll be asleep.
My suspicions are confirmed when she barrels into my chest before I even take off my coat. I wrap my arms around her and bury my face in her hair, savouring the feel of her.
“I missed you,” she mumbles into my chest. Despite how warm she feels in my arms, she’s trembling like a leaf.
“I missed you, too.”
She pulls away just enough to give me a smile, but I don’t miss the sadness on her face. Worry lines etch her forehead and her tired eyes tell me I’m not the only one losing sleep.
And I feel responsible. For all of it. Her sadness, her worry, her exhaustion.
I thought everything would become clear once I saw her, but seeing the toll this has taken on her makes me more confused than ever.
“Let’s get some sleep.” I smooth her hair away fromher face and bring my lips to her forehead. “You’ve got work in the morning.”
She nods sleepily, and we walk hand in hand to my bedroom. Once in bed, she curls into me, and within minutes she’s fast asleep in my arms. I hold her like I’m scared I might lose her.
