Page 77 of Slapshot
“You didn’t know, I take it?” Tate asks.
All I can do is shake my head.
“Too bad. I’m gonna miss the way she laced my skates.”
“There goes my good smelling jersey,” Patrick says, holding the fabric up to his nose and inhaling. “Way to screw it up for us, Rookie.”
I’m still staring at the ground when Paxton starts handing me gear. “Get dressed. With Coach’s mood, there’s no telling what he’ll make you do if you’re late getting out there.”
“Thanks.” I start removing clothes and putting on whatever Pax hands me. I’m in a daze, not really seeing or feeling anything.
“Which skates?” he asks.
“What?” I look up at the two pairs of skates in my stall. My old skates, the ones I thought Kaitlyn had thrown away are tucked nicely next to the new skates. They’ve got fresh laces and they look as good as you could expect a pair of overused skates to look.
She hadn’t thrown them away at all. She held on to them. Not just held on to them, fixed them up the best she could in case I decided to use them again.
“Lex?” Pax says my name.
I snap out of it and reach for the newer skates. “I got it. Go ahead. I’ll be there in a minute.”
“All right.” He takes a step to the door. “But hurry.”
When I’m dressed, I take one last look at the old skates on my way out the door. She held onto them. I don’t know what it means, but it has to mean something.
23
Kaitlyn
Listening to Chastity have sex with Dylan is awful, but the sounds coming from her room right now are even worse.
They’re laughing. I can’t make out their words, but I can tell he’s teasing her and she’s responding with lighthearted sass. Then more laughing.
I lay on my bed and listen. I don’t even try to drown them out. I’m a glutton for punishment. Am I ever going to have that with someone again?
Their laughter stops and a few minutes later Chastity’s door opens and shuts. I pull myself upright and let out a sigh. It’s practice time and I hate that I’m not at the rink. And I really hate that I hate it.
Two months ago, I would have laughed in my face. Sad about missing hockey practice? Sad about no longer having a job? Ha! Yet here I am wishing things were different and wondering how long it’ll be until I stop hurting. Moving on has never been a problem for me before, but I’ve never let myself get this invested.
I trudge into the bathroom. Maybe a shower and a fresh face of makeup will help. When you feel like crap, look like you don’t, as Vivian says.
Chastity is in our shared bathroom. The smile on her face falls when she sees me.
“I didn’t realize you were here,” I say.
“Same. You’re not usually here in the afternoons anymore.”
“Well, I am now,” I snap and then feel like an asshole. “Are you going to be long? I want to shower.”
“Five minutes.”
The Chastity I met at the beginning of the school year would have given me the bathroom and scampered off scared. Dylan’s been good for her self-esteem.
I start out of the bathroom and then pause. “Take your time. I’m not in a hurry.”
A confused expression crosses her face. I’m never polite to Chastity. She stole my boyfriend. Even if I no longer want him, I can’t forget the way they went behind my back. I think a peace treaty is in order, though. We have an entire semester left and I don’t want to feel like an asshole every time I run into her in the bathroom.
She looks around. “Is everything okay?”
