Spare Parts

Chapter 7 - Reeve

Colby and I were sitting in my room playing Xbox. We had both been working for a couple of hours after school, and Colby came over afterward. It had just been him and I working, no Rachel.
"How was Yasmine?" Colby asked, his eyes focused on my TV. Colby was one of my closest friends, and I trusted him. We'd known each other since we were kids, and we had always been close. He was one of the first people to know about Yasmine's diagnosis outside of my family. He had always been supportive and good about it, even visiting Yasmine a couple of times.
"She was good," I replied, also focused on the TV. "She had some bloodwork done, which always sucks, but she was smiling the whole time." What I didn't mention is the fact that Rachel had been there, and everything that happened when I dropped her off. As close as Colby and I were, we didn't tell each other every little thing. That's just how it was. If I told him about Rachel, he would probably get the wrong idea and get on my ass about it. I also didn't want to move too fast, and telling Colby felt like a step that I just wasn't ready for. Colby was quiet for a moment.
"She's gonna beat it, Reeve." His eyes were still fixed on the TV, still playing. "If anyone is it's gonna be her."
"Yeah," I said softly. It meant a lot coming from Colby but as much as I wanted to believe it, I couldn't be too optimistic. The last thing I wanted was to get my hopes up and, God forbid, something happens to her. I pushed the thoughts of Yasmine out of my head and tried to focus on the game.
"Reeve!" my dad boomed from downstairs. "Get down here!" I paused the game and set my controller down as I stood up.
"Be right back," I muttered to Colby. Whatever my dad had to say, I could guarantee it wasn't good. I could count on one hand the times he had said something nice to me, and one finger the times he said he was proud of me. When I got downstairs I found him in the living room watching hockey. I sat down on the couch across from him, and he paused his game. He sat up in his chair and sighed before speaking.
"There's going to be a couple of scouts and some Krakens at the game Wednesday. You better not half-ass this game, Reeve," He said, a serious expression crossing his face. I rolled my eyes and scoffed.
"When have I ever half-assed any of my games?" He stood up and pointed at me.
"I don't want to hear your smart-ass mouth anymore, Reeve!" He screamed. "I don't need to remind you how important this game is. Fucking this game up is not an option. If you want to continue playing hockey you will play the best game of your goddamn life on Wednesday, do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, sir," I said flatly. My dad, the famous Grant Johnson, and I were extremely alike, more so than I even wanted to admit. He had played hockey his entire life like I did, even having a pretty big stint in the pros. He got drafted by a minor league team straight out of high school, and after playing for a season in the minors, the Bruins picked him up. He played for a couple of seasons there, got traded to the Sharks for a year, and finished out the rest of his career in St. Louis. He won a couple of cups and had an extremely successful career. So if I didn't perform to the golden standard of his career, he would probably disown me. And on top of that, we looked almost identical. We both had brown eyes and brown hair, but his was speckled with gray and he was more muscular and wrinkled. He looked like how I assumed I would look in about forty years. We continued to talk about my team, Utica, and the game on Wednesday for a little bit until I went back up to my room with Colby. I sat back down, picked up my controller, and resumed the game.
"What was that about?" Colby asked. I rolled my eyes.
"Just my dad getting on my ass about the game," I replied. Colby nodded. "He's all freaked out because there's gonna be a few pros and some scouts at the game. And God forbid I don't live up to Grant Johnson's legendary NHL career." He was quiet for a little bit before changing the subject.
"You brought Rachel to the hospital yesterday, didn't you?" Shit. I didn't realize he knew.
"I could hear you guys talking, Reeve. It's a tiny garage," He said, reading my mind.
"It went pretty well," I confessed. "Yasmine liked her, and they got along well. It's nothing, though."
"She's the first girl you brought to see her."
"Yeah, and it's nothing," I repeated. "She needed a ride home, and I promised Yasmine I would visit. She had to come." Colby shrugged and continued to play the game, dropping the subject. We played for a while until my phone buzzed. It was Rachel.

hey i was wondering if you wanted to hang out tomorrow. no pressure

I couldn't help it, but a huge grin broke out across my face. 'If I want to?' I always wanted to.