Page 17 of Break the Ice
Okay…
“I can’t have my players acting out, causing scenes and disruptions. Son, you’re a great player, and I would be doing you wrong if I swept this… situation under the rug. Maybe it was a lapse in judgment, or we can chalk it down to immaturity. You’re still young…”
“Is that why you want me to see the shrink?”
He chuckles, shakes his head. “No, I want you to talk to Dr. Armstrong because I fear that your perpetual silence is a lot louder in here—” He hovers a finger over my forehead, then lowers it to my mouth. “—than it is from here.”
Heat crawls up my neck.He isn’t wrong.
“That’s not me disciplining you, Eli. That’s me giving a damn about you as a person.” He scrubs both hands through his hair and breathes out a rough laugh. “I’m in half a mind to bench you for?—”
“What?” My heart drops. “Why?”
“Because your actions have shown me that you either need to watch and learn what being part of the team means, or you need to sit back and remind yourself of what being a part of this team entails.”
What the hell?
“But Coach?—”
“If you got a suit, I expect you to sit in the press box. If not, you can watch the game here.”
That’s it.
He opens his laptop and disappears behind the screen. I sit there, numb.He’s taking away the only place my head goes quiet.
I drag myself out of the suite.Fine. Then I take Finley and fly back to LA. I’m not playing anyway, so?—
“Eli,” Coach calls as I ease the door shut so it doesn’t slam.
I lean back in. He gives me a warm smile. Proud, somehow, even while he’s laying down the line. Like he knows I’ll do right.
“Discipline isn’t punishment. I’m not punishing you, Son. I’m giving you the opportunity to grow. To prove that you are the great man I know you to be. Talk to Dr. Armstrong.”
He has no idea what he’s asking.Speaking is hard. Not speaking has kept me alive.
“And Sylkes?”
“Yes, Coach?”
“See you at the arena,” he says, formal as a dismissal—and an invitation.
I don’t want to let him down more than I already have. Which means leaving Finley. There’s only one other person I trust to claw tooth and nail for her the way I will.
Christina’s thread is pinned at the top of my notifications, buzzing from the moment Finley and I were photographed at the Portland airport. The last text is the one I need.
Christina
Since you’re ignoring me, you leave me no choice, Elijah Sylkes! I’m on my way.
I breathe something close to relief as I reply. My hands shake while I walk the hall toward Jayden’s room.There’s nothing left in me. I’ve maxed out on done. All that’s left is to protect Finley. To get her the life she deserves.
Whatever it takes. However it comes.
CHAPTER 6
FINLEY
There isn’t an inch of my body that isn’t sore. Every time I move my leggings pull at the scabs on my thighs. Last time I used the bathroom, I had to peel the fabric off, leaving every lash as raw as when I received them.
