Love For A Game

Chapter 21

Nicole and I hang out after school the next day. We play ball hockey in my driveway, practice our shots, and our passing skills. We also practice our deking on each other. We play for roughly two hours, and before we know it, it's past five o'clock.

We go into my house, and make sandwiches for us. We sit in the living room, watching television as we eat.

"Ready for the game tomorrow?" I say.

"I think so," she replies. "What's all the animosity between you and Darren about, anyway?"

"It started last year, when we met in the finals. The amount of dirty play that was a part of that series was astronomical. It wasn't coming from us, either."

"You guys lost, right?"

"Yes, in five games."

"And that sparked all of this?"

"Not just that. Since then, Darren has always found a way to get under my skin. He will stop at nothing, that guy will."

"I think this is our year. The other guys know where you're going next year. They know you want it. They want it too. We have a very determined team. I think we can do it, Jordan."

"I think so, too," I say. I put my arm around her, and we sit in silence for a few minutes.

Finally, we hug and kiss goodbye, and she leaves around seven. My parents are off at my brother's hockey tournament in Port Perry, so I am home alone for a few days. I go up to my room.

I turn on my radio and lay on my bed. A song by Steppenwolf is playing, "Born to be Wild".  I close my eyes, and let the music fill my head.

I think about the game tomorrow. I feel that Nicole was right, that it is our year to win the championship. I also feel that the animosity between us is kind of paltry, because all of it is because of a game in the past.

It doesn't matter what happened in the past. All that matters is the playoff series that begins tomorrow. A best of seven series that will be a battle until the end.

I'm ready for it. Bring it on.

***

I don't realize that I have fallen asleep until the ringing of the phone jolts me awake. I look at the clock. It is nine-thirty.

I jump up and race to the phone downstairs. I grab it off the hook, out of breath.

"Hello?" I pant.

"Jordan?" A voice says. I realize that it is Coach Bennington.

"Coach? Is that you?"

"Yes," he replies. "Jordan, something terrible has happened. Nicole has been raped."

***

Coach picks me up five minutes later. He drives me to Kline Hospital on Rizzo Street. Once we park, I jump out of the car, and race into the hospital.

I ask the receptionist where the room for Nicole is. She tells me, and I race up to where she is, worried as all hell. I find the room, and I burst in, Coach Bennington behind me.

"Nic!" I shout when I see her. She sees me and smiles. Her face is bruised up, and so are her arms. I can't believe what I am seeing. How could someone do this to her?

"Jordan!" She says back.

"What happened to you?" I say, tears starting to form in my eyes.