Page 32 of Unbreakable
This game, we were at least playing someone evenly matched. Montreal was the lowest-ranked team. But that also meant they had a decent chance with us.
Not on my watch.
When Dottie went in for a shift, I pulled in Leroy and Korowski. “Remember what we did Sunday?”
They both nodded.
“We’re doing that as soon as we get the puck. Got it?”
Dottie’s line was headed back after doing (surprise) jackshit again, so we went over the wall. I moved in quick, trying to swipe the puck before Montreal crossed the blue line. Unfortunately, I was unsuccessful and our d-men were fighting to keep Montreal out of our goal.
After a glove save, we had a faceoff in front of our goal. This was our shot. Leroy won the puck and passed it to me. I pushed it Korowski as he entered the neutral zone. I caught up to him as we crossed the blue line, and it was time to hit our play.
We passed it around like we were a clock, three, twelve, nine, twelve. Leroy clapped it from the line and we netted a goal.
Fucking finally.
As it turns out, cellies feel better when you’re up against a lot.
It was a hard-fought game,and even though we won, it left me physically and emotionally drained. All I wanted was Jeanine—my person. I craved her touch, her scent, and the way her soft hair fell against my neck when she hugged me. She seemed to be pulling away, and all I wanted was to connect with her.
I found her in the middle of the living room floor when I got home, taking the vacuum apart. She looked upset already, so it wasn’t the time to ask for the comfort I needed.
I crouched to give her a kiss. “Hi, baby. What’s this?”
“Girl hair,” she sighed. “These are the moments I debate shaving their cute little heads.”
I settled next to her, taking the knife from her hands and kissing her temple.
“You don’t have to,” she said.
“No, let me do it, babe. This falls under my umbrella. Knife stuff.”
“I’m used to doing it,” she mumbled. “You need to eat. Your snack is on the counter.”
“If you insist.” I grinned. “You’re the best.”
She gave me a small smile, but it didn’t seem genuine. That’s how it had been lately with Jeannie. She was physically there just as much as always, but it was like she was underwater and I was on land. I could see her, but couldn’t quite reach her, her image distorted by the moving water.
All I wanted was to pull her out. Well, I really wanted it to not be happening at all. The longer it went on, the more I was afraid to bring up the growing space between us.
And I was even more afraid that she might be falling into one of her depressive episodes again. Everything was so tentative that I was scared to bring it up.
“So we actually won this one,” I said as I dug into the bento box she’d set out for me. All healthy stuff: nuts, fruit, beef jerky bits, and my favorite chocolate-covered banana chips.
“I saw,” she said, pausing to look up at me. “Nice assist.”
Then she cursed under her breath and hissed. She rushed past me for the kitchen sink.
“You cut yourself, babe?”
She nodded, grabbing a paper towel and holding it to the cut. Red poked through the fabric quickly.
“You should have let me take over,” I said, my chair scraping as I got up to look at her hand.
“I can do it myself,” she huffed.
“Clearly not,” I said, now at her side and gently lifting her hand across my palm. “Let me see.”
