Frozen in Ice

Chapter 66

Luke's POV

The draft kind of snuck of on me and I was left in a very awkward situation. Between the interviews and all the other shit I had forgotten about one of the important things about the draft. Our families were with us.

I had tried to get out of it but the official man that I was talking to wasn't having it. He knew that my Mom was still around and forcefully told me that she was going to come and he was going to talk to her himself.

I had met all the families of the other prospects as they arrived before the draft. All of them asked me why my family wasn't here yet but I just put on a smile and told them that they were coming later.

I first saw them the night before the draft. Everyone was having dinner together and I hadn't realised that Mom had arrived yet. I looked up to see not just her but Chase and the three kids as well. I froze as they crossed the room to join me.

"Luke, it's so good to see you," Mom said.

I nodded and continued to eat. I didn't want to deal with this but now I had Tom talking to me about how his hockey team went this year. I liked the kids but I really didn't want to deal with this. I was glad that I wasn't in the same room as them because I needed a break and they'd been here for five minutes.

"You excited for the draft?" Chase asked.

"Yeah, I'll be glad when we get back to playing again," I said honestly.

We didn't talk much as we finished eating. I had just finished when Harry came over.

"We are all going into Jeremy and Zach's room," he said.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow," I said as I stood up.

Mom looked like she was about to say something but I headed out with Harry before she had a chance. I wasn't going to spend more time with them than I had to. We were the last ones into the room and I took a seat on the floor.

"Is everyone else as nervous as I am?" Harry asked.

We all nodded and he collapsed on the floor.

"It's so tough. I just want to play hockey," Zach moaned.

We all nodded again and we started to talk about the draft. I could feel my eyes drooping so I headed out with Harry since he was my roommate. We both crawled into the bed and even though I was exhausted I had trouble sleeping but I knew that was going to happen.

I slept fitfully and woke a lot earlier than I needed to. I raised my head off the pillow and noticed that Harry was already up.

"I couldn't sleep," he said.

"Neither can I."

We didn't talk anymore as we both got up and started to get organised. The draft wouldn't start for hours. I started to sort through all the messages that I had just because it past the time. The day seemed so slow and finally I was in my suit and we were all heading to the arena.

Tom was sitting next to me and was chatting my ear off about something but I wasn't really listening. I was too stuck in my own thoughts. There was more media stuff before we got to sit down and wait for everything to start.

"How are you going?" Mom asked.

I shrugged because I didn't want to talk to her. She hadn't been here for a year so I wasn't going to start talking to her now. She didn't say anything else because the commissioner started talking. My hands were staking and I wasn't really taking in the words.

I was nervous waiting for the Rangers to make their pick. I would be so happy once my name was called and I knew where I was going. The whole arena was silent as soon as a man stepped up to talk.

"The New York Rangers are pleased to select from the Flint Firebirds in the OHL, Luke Crosby," he said.

I was in complete shock that that was my name. I stood up and hugged the five people with me. It took me a minute to figure out how to get down to the stage and I had to shake hands with a bunch of people.

It was amazing to pull the jersey on and know that it was my last name on the back. The next hour was a rush of media arrangements, photos and interviews. I congratulated all the rest of the draftees that I saw but it was all a bit of a blur.

I finally got back to my hotel room and for the first time in hours I was alone. Harry was out with his family and I had managed to get away from mine. The first person that I called was Mitch.

"We're going to beat you when we play in November," he started.

"I might not even make the team," I protested.

"You are going to make the team. Congrats, you are going to be amazing," he said.

"Thanks"

"I'll get to see you all the time. I think that there might be a few people complaining if we lived together."

"Just a couple. It's so cool," I said.

We talked for a couple more minutes but he realised that I had a lot of other people trying to contact me so we concluded our conversation. I was going to see him again before I headed back to Pittsburgh for a couple of weeks to keep training before I had to come back to New York in preparation for the upcoming season.

I didn't have time to call everyone so I called Justin and Dylan who I had remained close with. I then called Jamie who was with Alex.

"I'm going to have to buy a Rangers' jersey," Jamie started.

"I don't care but when you play the Penguins' I'm not cheering for you," Alex teased.

I relaxed back onto the bed and relaxed as I talked to them.

"When are you coming here?" Alex asked.

I told them what I was planning on doing and they said they were more than happy to let me stay with them.

"We'll see you then Mr 1st overall," Alex teased as the conversation ended.

I continued to lying there and I found myself drift off to sleep due to how exhausted I was.

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The Wise One