Monday's practice was pretty easy. The guys and I were able to chill after Lake Placid and Canada. Coach ran a couple of defense drills and stuff like that. Parker kept checking on me to make sure my wrist was doing okay, apparently I was favoring it. I didn't even know I could favor it.
"Alright, tomorrow five thirty, don't be late," Coach said," you're dismissed."
We all groaned and skated back to the bench to grab our things. In that moment I started thanking God that our showers were separate. The one thing I desperately needed was a long hot shower.
I groaned as the steaming hot water touched my back and began to relieve all of the tension. I stayed in the shower longer than I should've, but there was no one to stop me. I got out after a long while and got dressed. In the locker room next to me I could still hear the music. I laughed at the fact that Shawn Mendes was playing on the radio.
I packed my bag up and slung it over my shoulder. Mason and I were walking out at the same time, both laughing at Cooter's choice of music. I started fishing my keys, of my band new car, out of my bag.
"Wait you got a car?" He asked, then caught himself," YOU CAN DRIVE?"
"Yeah, got my license this morning," I laughed," You want a ride home?"
He smiled and walked over to a shinny new motorcycle," I got my own baby," he said patting it.
"No way, Mase that thing is awesome!" I smiled," just be careful yeah?"
"Always," he replied climbing on.
I got into the front seat of the car and turned it on. I plugged my phone into the aux cord and stated my hockey playlist. The drive home was pretty easy, aside from all of the idiots who decided to forget how to signal.
When I got home Jared was already pigging out on whatever Charlie had managed to make. Judging by the two boxes of Kraft, it must have been macaroni. I grabbed an extra fork out of the drawer and scooped some out of Jared's bowl. It took him a few minutes to realize what had just happened, but he soon turned into my devilish brother.
"Don't eat my mac Callahan," he yelled, "you remember what happened last time don't you?"
I laughed and ate some more," You bite me again Jared, and you won't live to tell the story."
I smiled at him before messing up his hair and running upstairs. We'd managed to fix the holes in my wall with the help of Mason, Cooter, and Parker. So at least that wasn't a problem anymore. We'd repainted while we were at it too, so now my room was a light blue, although I still had all of my hockey posters hanging up.
Don't ask me how, but my mom had even gotten my room to stop smelling like a locker room. Granted, she also put all of my gear that I used to have in my room, in the garage. I smiled at the sight of the welcome home card that the girls had gotten me. I was home, two weeks was a long time for me to be away from this place.
I flopped down on my bed and sighed. My muscles aches from practice, but it was a good kind of ache, the type of ache that fueled me and pushed me to keep going. I smiled at the picture of my boys and I. There was one of Cooter and I at the dance. That all seemed like a world away now. Every thing was different now, we didn't have the luxury of being kids anymore.
My eyes wondered to old pictures of Mason and I as kids, and I mean little kids. We were maybe six or seven, it was before my dad left. I only knew that because I'd covered him up with another picture. My life was told in all of the pictures on the ceiling over my bed. At some point I'd add the pictures from Canada and Lake Placid. And when I went off to college, I'd take the paper, that all of the pictures were taped on, off and move it to my dorm room. There was no way I'd leave my memories of this place behind.
I tried not to think about the future anymore, even though the end of high school was only a few years away. The future scared me. I knew deep down, that Cooter would be leaving, and I wasn't ready to face that. The team would never be the same, since we were losing more than half of the boys. Every thing was changing and I wasn't ready for it too. I had just started getting used to the way things were.
My phone started buzzing at my feet. I blindly reached for it. I smiled seeing Cooter's face on the screen.
"You just saw me an hour ago," I laughed picking up.
"What? I'm now allowed to see if my girlfriend wants to go get ice cream?" He questioned.
"You shouldn't have to ask," I said getting up," Meet me outside yeah?"
He agreed and hung up. I quickly changed out of my post practice sweats, into something more feminine. For once in my life, I was choosing to wear something other than sports shirts and jean shorts. I grabbed a blue blouse my mom has gotten me for Christmas, and one of my newer pair of jeans.
I ran downstairs as fast as I could. Coote had already honked his horn, letting me know he was here.
"I'm going out with Cooter!" I yelled.
"If you're going to do anything use protection okay? I don't want to be an uncle yet!"Jared yelled.
"Jared, as the older brother that's supposed to be my job. What you should've said is this," he corrected," If he tries to go anything, kick him in the balls, and let me know so I can kill him."
"CHALRIE!" I yelled stopping at the door," Not cool! And Jared, you're too young to even know about that yet."
"Callahan, I'm fourteen," Jared pointed out," learned about it in health two years ago."
"Don't have sex," Charlie laughed.
"You'll get pregnant and die," Jared finished.
Before they could say anything else I ran out and slammed the door. I didn't stop running until I reached Cooter's car. I got in and took a deep breath, trying not to laugh.
"What'd they do now?"Cooter asked referring to my brothers.
"Jared just tried to give me the talk," I laughed.
"That's quite unfortunate," he replied starting the car,"C'mon if we hurry, we can make it before all the guys get there."
"Of course the guys are going to be there," I groaned.
"Hey, not my fault I mentioned that I was taking you to get ice cream and suddenly they were all coming,"
He said trying to defend himself.
"Well then, better hurry. Nothing kills the mood more than the team trying to go on a date with us," I joked kissing his cheek.
A smile spread across his face. I couldn't help but think back to the pictures of the two of us in my room. My heart seemed to break a little when I thought about that fact that it could all be over soon. Just four more games left in the season, and then... Then he would be free.
YOU ARE READING
The Penalty Box
Teen Fiction"Why do you play hockey?" He asked with a sense of urgency to his voice," Callahan why do you play hockey?" She shook her head, not able to find the right words," The box," She finally forced out," I used to play for the box." "Why do you play now?"...
