Fire & Ice

twentythree

When I woke up the next morning it was to mom making a big breakfast. I could smell it all the way from my room and it got my excited. It felt like one of the old days. Just as I was about to get out of bed I heard my phone going off. I picked it up and saw it was blowing up with messages from the team and I knew I was in deep shit for my comments yesterday. Why did I open my big mouth.

I tried to ignore it and focused on the messages that mattered. I had a few from Cassie and I answered those before getting up out of bed to join my mom at the table. When I got into the kitchen, mom was in front of the stove cooking up some eggs. While I waited for her to join me I took a look at the paper and saw I was on the front page. I smiled and opened the paper up to take a look at the article. Just as I finished mom sat down at the table with two plates stacked with eggs, bacon and hash browns.

"Need to make sure the number one recruit is fed before the game." Mom said and took a sip of her coffee.

"God, I sounded like an ass last night didn't I?" I asked and pushed the paper away to tuck into my food.

"A little, you are going to have to grovel with you coach to get into his good graces McKenna. He's not going to like you mouthing off like this." Mom said.

"I know but I was still pissed about not going to Dartmouth last weekend and I was still high off the win and all those goals." I said in between bites of my food.

"Just try to be nice to him McKenna because he does control your playing time." Mom warned and went back to eating her own breakfast.

"Hey I wanted to ask you something." I said.

"What's on your mind superstar?" Mom asked.

"When I came to the hospital yesterday, I actually got there in time to see you being hugged by a red headed woman. Was that the woman you uhm hooked up with?" I asked not knowing how to ease into this subject.

I heard mom cough and I looked up to find her reaching for her water. She took a few sips before putting it back down and took a breath and looked at me.

"Yea, that's Alyssa. We uhm things." Mom stopped talking for a few seconds and she looked nervous. I gave her a few more seconds to collect herself before I reach out over the table and took her hand in mine.

"You don't have to explain it to me if you don't want too, it's okay. I just wanted I say I saw the way she comforted you in the hall way. I get it and I'm sorry it took this long for you to find someone that treats you like this. You deserve to be loved without the fear of being assaulted and I can see just in those few moments shared between you too in the hallway that she cares about you mom." I said and gave mom a smile.

"She's pretty great" Mom said with tears in her eyes.

"Well she better be otherwise I have some really big hockey player friends who can knock some sense into her." I said.

"Thank you McKenna." Mom said trying to control her emotions.

"Invite her to thanksgiving, I want to get to know her." I said.

Mom just nodded and pulled me over to her for a hug. We didn't get a chance to hug for long when I heard my phone start to ring. When I broke away from mom I saw it was Toni. When it comes to time away from each other we operate on a no news is good news system. So I quickly answered the phone and sighed.

"Yea?" I answered.

"Coach is on a war path; you need to get back here now McKenna. I can't stall him for long." Toni said.