Page 115 of Puck with Karma
At some point, Van snaps. “How is he gonna go there, Chlo? His teeth are all fucked up. Her parents are going to be horrified.”
I about start laughing at that when my eyes focus on the text on my phone.
“Oh no,” I cry out.
“Fuck, is she gonna lose her shit again?” Van whines to his fiancée. “I don’t wanna deal with this shit, Chlo!”
“The airport is shut down,” I explain. “There are no flights from New York to Minnesota. Everything that way is cancelled.”
The room gets quiet as the three of us stare at each other while my brother is packing a bag in the room down the hall.
“Fuck,” Van finally mutters. “I’ll go tell him.”
He walks toward where Bran is and informs him that there’s no way he can get to Mallory. Not today at least. I can hear the frustration in my brother’s voice at hearing the news. There’s a loud ding interrupting his rant, and my heart stops in my chest at what Van says next.
“Xander Hamilton got placed on waivers.”
Chapter 33
Xander
Getting my nose reset didn’t hurt as much as I thought it would.
“It’s because of the medication,” Bridget assures me, amusement lacing her tone. “Give it a few hours, and you’ll be crying even when you blink.”
“I’ve had worse,” I shrug in self-deprecation. In all honesty, I haven’t had my nose broken in many years. Yeah, I had injuries, and it bled a time or two when I got my face smashed into the glass. But an actual broken nose, it’s been a while.
“Your phone has been going crazy with messages.”
Bridget places my cell phone on my chest. I muted it when the doctor walked in, not wanting the pressure of having to ignore it while they were fixing my face.
“Interesting,” I mutter to myself when I see a few missed calls from the Cats headquarters.
“We are going to discharge you now,” Bridget informs me. “Do you have a place to stay while in New York?”
I eye her up and down. “Are you offering to take me in? Because I have a girlfriend, I’ll have you know. And I love her.”I’m not sure why I add that last part. It just feels important. I want everyone to know, despite the fact I haven’t told Abby yet.
“No,” Bridget snorts. “I’m offering to call you a cab, though.”
I have a smartass remark on the tip of my tongue but my cell phone rings again. When I look at the screen, I see the same number as before. This time, I answer it.
“Mr. Hamilton, this is Laura Cantor.”
I roll my eyes toward the ceiling. They are all so damn predictable, and this woman’s voice is obnoxious.
“What can I do for you?” My voice still sounds off thanks to the meds and work I just got done.
“Mr. Hamilton, I believe we can drop the formalities at this point. I am going to get straight to the point,” she declares, sounding very sure of herself. “I am in the room with the Minnesota Cats organization legal team, as well as Coach Harris.”
“Cozy,” I snort.
There is some background noise at the other end of the call, making me wonder what their deal is.
“Mr. Hamilton,” Laura Cantor clears her voice. “Before we proceed, do you have any questions for us?” I remain silent, knowing I’m getting under her skin. “It has come to our attention that you traveled to New York City earlier today.”
I don’t even breathe into the phone, knowing where she’s going with this, but refusing to react.
A sound echoes in my ear, like she dropped both hands on the table in frustration, but she recovers quickly and pretends to continue with her spiel.
