Page 26 of Offside for Christmas
"I know."
"And stretch when you wake up tomorrow."
"I know."
"And—"
"Ellie." Cole couldn't help the faint smile. "I know. You told me yesterday. And probably the day before that."
She huffed, crossing her arms. "I'm just making sure—"
"You care about your patients. I get it."
The words came out softer than he'd intended, almost genuine, and Ellie went still.
"I..." She blinked. "Yeah. I do."
For a moment, neither of them said anything. The training room felt smaller somehow. Warmer.
Then Ellie cleared her throat. "Right. Well. Good session today. Same time tomorrow?"
"Same time tomorrow," Cole agreed.
She left quickly, and Cole was absolutely certain she was blushing.
His phone buzzed. Another email from Sarah Chen. The third one in three weeks.
Subject:Please read this - it's important
This time, Cole opened it.
Cole,
I know you probably don't want to hear from me. I know what happened that night cost you everything, and I'll never be able to repay that debt. But I wanted you to know that the fullvideo has been circulating online. My name is out there now. People know what happened.
I'm tired of hiding. I'm tired of letting those men control the narrative.
I want to tell my story. The real story. But I won't do it without talking to you first. Please call me.
- Sarah
Cole read it three times, then closed his phone.
He wasn't ready. Wasn't ready to dig up that night, to relive it, to risk everything he was building here.
He'd deal with it later.
Maybe.
That evening, Cole sat on the floor of his apartment—still no furniture beyond the bed, two folding chair, a dresser with half-empty drawers, and a small closet he hadn't bothered to use. A lone shelf on the wall held nothing but his phone charger and some mail he hadn't opened—and scrolled through his phone while his shoulder iced under a makeshift ice pack. Frozen peas.
Three new texts.
MAC:Cabin directions for Saturday!!! Bring warm clothes and your A-game for board games because Ellie is WEIRDLY competitive about Monopoly. Like scary competitive. She made Luke cry last year. CANNOT WAIT!!!! ????
LUKE:Hansen - Stick preference for practice? I've got extra Bauer Vapor and CCM Ribcor if you need to borrow when Ellie clears you. Also reviewed your last game footage from Chicago. We should discuss defensive zone positioning.
JAMIE:yo new guy mac says ur coming to cabin good we need someone new to destroy at poker. btw im the redhead who took ur stick tape earlier (its behind the vending machine).
