Page 77 of Heart Check
“Yeah. I am.”
A long pause falls while she considers. I hold my breath as her discerning eye sweeps over my merchandise. A brow twitches as she sees the slogans, the Zamboni charm, the skates. Her mouth twists in something that mightalmostbe a smile.
And then Josie says, “Okay, so, I want to build a stack. Pay attention. One of these ombre ones, one with the skates, one—” She rolls her eyes at me. “Hello? Do you want to sell me some bracelets or not?”
I grin and get busy.
28.DAWSON
I barely breathe during theentirety of the second period. We manage to keep Northview from gaining any more ground, but we don’t score either. Sam makes some great saves, and Brady’s on fire with his passes today, but that Northview goalie’s really standing on his head. Dan doesn’t put our line back in for an eon. Giving the other guys a chance to play, I guess, and us time to rest. The tension coils in my limbs like a spring. Ready to unleash all that potential energy as soon as I get a stick in my hands.
When I finally get onto the ice at the start of the third period, the cheers are deafening. Alex, Noah, and I skate to center, Noah ready to take the face-off as usual.
I catch Alex’s eye and smile. “No one I’d rather have by my side,” I call to him. He smiles back.
Beside me, Noah’s jittery, adjusting his helmet and staring into the distance. Before I can say something to try to calm his nerves, his gaze shifts to me—and without warning, those nerves turn dark. “Where’d you get those?” he asks, nodding at my wrist. “I thought she was going to stay out of our way.”
Game forgotten, I glance down at Harper’s bracelets—and then back at Noah. “Harper? What do you mean?”
Then his words sink in.Thought she was going to stay out of our way.I knew Noah wasn’t Harper’s biggest fan, wasn’t exactly to be trusted, but…
Blood roars in my ears, even louder than the crowd, and I force my words out through clenched teeth. “What did you do?”
Noah holds my gaze. “A favor.”
And then the puck drops, but I’m not thinking about hockey anymore. Noah wins the face-off, takes off toward Northview’s side of the ice, but I’ve totally forgotten I’m in the middle of a game right now.
No wonder Harper was so distant this last week. Avoiding the diner. Not speaking to me in the halls.
Whatever Noah did, it convinced her to stay away from me for good.
I thought we’d come to an understanding. But clearly not, if he’s been sneaking around behind my back. He’s not just a bad captain—he’s a bad friend.
I race after Noah as he works the puck down the ice, all of Dan’s plays forgotten. When Noah catches a glimpse of me approaching over his shoulder, the distraction costs him possession.
He whirls on me, nostrils flaring. “Don’t tell me you actually care about her. I thought you’d thank me! She was messing with your game!”
Fury swells inside me. I’ve had enough of Noah trying to control this game, our team, my life. “How’s this for a messed-up game?”
And I throw my shoulder into his, checking him into the boards.
Taken by surprise, Noah hits hard, the impact echoing around the rink. I distantly register the shock on the faces of the spectators behind the glass—not just surprised by the check, but by the fact that one of our players is going after their own team.
If only they knew the whole story. Asshole deserves way worse.
It’s harmless enough—Noah’s been hit harder—but when he turns, pure rage stains his face.
Before I know what’s happening, he swings his fist at me, connecting with my jaw in a punch that snaps my head back and shoots off fireworks behind my eyes.
Silence for a moment from the crowd. Then a roar of noise rushes in to fill the vacuum.
The ref blows his whistle, cutting through the din. Noah’s face reddens as he argues, but there’s no use. If there’s one rule high school hockey lives and dies by, it’s the prohibition of fighting during the game. Noah’s not coming back on the ice today.
Dan throws his hands up at me from the bench, and I wince as I skate his way, “What happened out there?”
Between heaving breaths, I manage, “Noah—”
“Oh, I saw what Noah did, and he’s never playing on this team again. Not as long as I’m coach.” Dan’s cheeks are redder than I’ve ever seen them, and he takes his glasses off to pinch the bridge of his nose. “But what wereyoudoing? Why did you provoke him? Didn’t we just have a whole conversation about teamwork?”
