Page 53 of My Brother's Enemy
Now, though, knowing she wasn’t here and that according to Benny, she wouldn’t be at any of the games against her brothers, I began to question myself.
Was there something I’d missed?
35
RAIN
“GRIFFIN, YOU SUCK!”
The guy next to me was screaming, and the teams had just left the ice after warmups. The game hadn’t even started. After my debacle in the bathroom, strangely, I couldn’t bring myself to leave the rink.
I also couldn’t bring myself to be here in a work capacity. I was too strung out, too much of a mess. I knew Mal would’ve let me watch from the owner’s suite. And I could’ve gone down and watched from behind the bench, in the tunnel and out of sight, but either way, there’d still be people watching me. With Mal, there’d be pity and concern, maybe something else. With the staff, there’d be confusion. I couldn’t handle either, so I ended up purchasing a single seat, which put me in the middle of a bunch of Boston fans.
Holy shit, they hated Tyler. I’d known they did, but this seemed extra. Maybe it was because he’d left the eastern conference for Minnesota?
“Sorry,” the same fan said as he took his seat. “I just honestly hate that bastard. He’s a rat for leaving his team the way he did.”
The fan glanced my way and apparently mistook my confusion for ignorance. He grunted, shifting his popcorn aside as two of his buddies came back from getting drinks. And snacks. Their arms were full of food and beverages. As they sat, he explained, “He used to play for New York, and if you know your geometry at all, you’d know New York isn’t that far from Boston. He was basically one of us. And the way he left? Within a day? It wasn’t right. It just wasn’t right. He did New York dirty.”
The press had leaked the reason Tyler was traded. Was this guy that heartless? “He transferred because of his family.”
The guy flicked his hand in the air. “Pffft. That sad story about his niece overdosing? Fake news. His PR team made it up. The real story’s out on the blogs. He demanded more money, and his team was capped. They couldn’t give it, so he walked—like a big, dramatic baby. We should call him rat baby.”
His friends thought that was hilarious. “Right on, Bobby,” one of them said. The other laughed along with him, his mouth full of hot dog.
They fist-bumped each other before Bobby looked my way again. “Don’t be embarrassed about believing what the mainstream media is reporting. It’s all bullshit anyway. Do yourself a favor. Don’t believe it.”
With that, the lights went down and the hype video cued up. After that, the players would be back on the ice for the anthem and then puck drop.
I suddenly needed a drink. Standing, I ignored whatever Bobby was about to say and spoke over him, “Be right back.”
He leered at me.
“Little girl’s room.”
That leer intensified.
“I have my period. Need to change my tampon or we’ll have a situation here.”
The leer vanished. He looked a little green and shifted as far away from me as he could.
I tried suppressing the satisfaction that bloomed in me. Not caring if Bobby saw my grin, I headed up the aisle. Most everyone was hurrying to get to their seats now, so I hoped the concessions lines would be short.
But everyone else must’ve had the same thought because they weren’t.
I still had my employee badge, and I eyed the stairs, knowing there were better bathrooms up there. They were out of the way. I’d been lying about needing the bathroom, but now it seemed like a good idea. I decided to go for it.
I dug out my badge and flashed it when I came to the stairs that led to the suite floors. The administration offices were clear on the other side of the rink. I didn’t have enough time.
The guard let me pass, and I hurried up the stairs.
Coming to the first women’s bathroom, I ducked inside and found an empty stall. As I sat, I could hear the click of heels entering, along with some little girls giggling.
“Dylan,” a woman’s voice scolded. “Don’t do that. Here. We can wait for the next stall to open up.”
I froze.
The toilet next to me flushed, and the woman left. The little girl and her mom both entered, and the mom continued to speak to her daughter. “Go to the bathroom quickly. Then we’ll wash our hands and go see Daddy play. How’s that sound?”
