Spiral (Off the Ice, #2) (83)
“She won’t just be a few hours away. She’ll be across the world for months at a time. If this year is any indication of how busy the season gets, I won’t have the luxury to go see her whenever I want.”
Aiden stands abruptly. “When you realize that one day you’ll get the chance to wake up and have your whole world right beside you, a few months or years is nothing. The distance might test your relationship—and trust me, it fucking does—but it doesn’t define your outcome. That’s up to you to decide. So, considering you’re in love with the girl, you should probably tell her before she thinks you’re not.”
When he steps away, there isn’t enough oxygen in the room. I barrel through the open doors and into the hall, wiping my face with a towel and mulling over Aiden’s words.
I spot Marcus Smith-Beaumont walking down the hall right toward me. He doesn’t speak, only tilts his head toward his office before disappearing inside. I follow, wiping the sweat beading my forehead.
“I don’t like you, Elias.”
Yeah, no shit. “That’s why you called me in here? To tell me that?”
He sits on a corner of his wooden desk. “I’m not one to mix personal and professional business, but when my niece asks to stay with me for the first time in years, I need to know what’s going on.”
My gaze snaps from the floor back to him. “She did?”
“I assume it’s worse than I thought if you don’t know.”
My exhalation is loud. Marcus Smith-Beaumont is the last person I want to admit to that I’ve done something idiotic. “She was vulnerable with me, and I choked. I disappointed her. I couldn’t say what she needed me to because I don’t know if I’m good enough for her.”
Marcus pinches the bridge of his nose like I’m a nuisance. This is going as well as I expected.
“So, out of everything I said to you, that’s what you listen to?” He mutters something to himself. “I’ve seen my niece through many phases, and she’s never been the way she is with you.”
I don’t know if that helps the pain or makes it worse.
“Sage feels the need to perform. I’ve seen her do it with her parents and her ex. But when she’s with you, she becomes the Sage I saw before her childhood was ripped away from her.” He looks at me dead on. “I don’t know you, Eli, despite thinking that I did. I’m taking a second look because of what Sage has brought out in you. This is the first time you seem like you know what you’re doing. On and off the ice.”
“Because it’s easy with her.” My mouth doesn’t get the memo to stop speaking, because I continue. “But I know she’d be a lot happier without having me as a burden.”
“You sure? Because that girl cares about you almost as much as she cares about Sean and me. I don’t see a reason for you to think that you’re bad for her, unless you don’t care about her.”
“Of course I care. I care more about her than about hockey.” I shut my trap immediately. This is the fucking general manager, and telling him hockey isn’t my priority might be the dumbest thing I’ve done all season.
“Don’t ever repeat that to anyone, but I’m glad to hear it. You take care of her, Eli.”
“It’s not like that with us. She’s leaving and I’ll be here. It ... it was never supposed to be like this.”
“Plans change when you least expect them to.” He finally motions for me to sit, and I do. “A few years back, I thought I had a beautiful fiancée, a house, and a career people dream about, but then those kids needed someone. I took a hiatus, and the woman I thought was going to be my wife said things about those kids I can never forgive. Not everything works out as planned, but as long as the people I love are with me, I don’t care about the rest.”
“You gave it all up for them?”
“It’s not giving anything up when you know what you’re gaining is much more valuable. I only made sure they knew they were my priority, even if they decided to go another route.” He taps the desk with his fingertips. “So, I won’t interfere, because you two have some things to figure out. But if you hurt her, Eli, I’ll find a way to hurt you much worse. And if you hurt yourself in the process—well, I won’t go easy on you then either.”
The weight of a decision sits on my shoulders like a bag of rocks.
And now, with the biggest game of my career about to begin, I can’t stop thinking about everything I should have said to Sage.
THIRTY-SIX
ELIAS
THERE ISN’T A single player in blue without a broken something. Broken stick, broken teeth, broken bones, and now we’re seconds away from a broken dream. There’s no words of encouragement, no optimism, and definitely no smiles.
“We’re fucked,” mutters Owen.
Though most of the shit he says is nothing I relate to, this sentiment is spot-on. Because we’re losing, and even though I’ve scored two of the five goals on the board, it doesn’t feel like an achievement. Aiden’s still on the ice and he was the reason we got our fifth goal, but Vancouver pulled through. So now we’re truly fucked.
Coach nods for me to head out as another player ends his shift. I’m set on pushing us into overtime. I glide past Aiden to make sure we’re on the same page. Years of playing together have honed our ability to synchronize.