A wide grin spreads on Hollands lips. "Are you telling us you need help to win your man back?"
I nod, biting my lip. "I think so. I don't know if it'll work, or if he'll forgive me, but I have to try. Like you said, I have to fight for him, for our family. I love him, and I want more than anything to fix this."
Emery smirks, a twinkle in her eyes as she leans forward, placing her chin in her hands anxiously. "Now, this is something I’m good at. Let’s do this."
Thirty Three
Sitting back against the couch, I exhale the breath I had been holding for what seems like the entire time I was reading the post. My eyes are already scanning the screen again to reread.
My name is Maddison Thorne, and I'm the voice behind The Puck Bunny. For the past three years, I've reported on all things hockey. Stats and Scandals.
I want to give you a little backstory and explain why, after all of this time, I'm no longer going to be anonymous. When I started The Puck Bunny, my entire goal was to report on hockey, and stay true to who I am. Honest, empathetic and kind. Somewhere along the way, I lost sight of that.
I reported on things that, while still involving hockey, inadvertently hurt people. And that's not the person I am. While I've only reported the truth and hard facts, I didn't realize that in doing so, I was hurting people. I recognize that while most news outlets are intrusive, all I did was make things more difficult for the people I was reporting on.
My headlines went from something I was proud of, to something I could no longer stand to look at.
I'd like to think that over time, I changed, and that's why I stopped reporting on the scandals, and focused more on stats, until I stopped all together.
This post is about responsibility. It’s about owning up to my mistakes and trying to make them right. It’s taking action instead of just writing about it, like I should have done a lot earlier, and honestly, this post is for you, the reader.
This is what you deserve.
I'm writing this post to let you know that from this point forward, I will only be reporting on the positive, encouraging, meaningful things that take place in the hockey community. Not only that, I'm working with a few people who I am so glad to call my friends, even after everything, to make the stigma around social media…different. Better.
From this moment on, I'm going to take responsibility for any hurt that I've caused, and I want to apologize.
I'm sorry. No one can change the past; we can only move forward from the things we’ve done wrong. Myself, along with several others, will be working within Chicago's sports community to spread positivity, and offer guidance to young players who are struggling. We want to support and encourage, that's our top priority.
I'm ending this message with a public apology to someone who deserves it most of all. Briggs Wilson.
Not only because I'm hopelessly in love with him and I need the world to know it, but because he is the one that my reporting hurt most of all. He’s the one who deserves this apology, and I want the whole world to hear it. To know how deeply sorry I am.
He's the coach to an amazing youth hockey team that just won their first championship cup. Go Mighty Pucks. He's dedicated countless hours with these wonderful children who look up and admire him. Check out the next page to see a video from some of his players as they explain some of the things they've learned from him this year.
Not only has he coached youth hockey, he's volunteered at countless charity functions and donated his entire salary to a charity that supports battered women.
I'm not telling you all of this to brag, I'm telling you this because, instead of the headlines that I published, these are things that I should've been reporting on. I'm forever sorry.
Briggs is kind, compassionate, selfless, and the most amazing man I've ever met, and I hope that if he's reading this, he can find it in his heart to forgive me for not being honest with him sooner. But, even if he doesn’t, you deserve the whole truth. The story of this man that I haven’t told.
With all of that being said, it feels good to be honest with you.
Next week, I'm going to be featuring a few players who have done so much good in our community, and I hope you'll join my live next week with Chicago's favorite captain, Reed Davidson, as he talks about the effects of social media in both a professional and personal stance.
I hope that in the coming days, you help me by showing up for Chicago’s favorite guys, and by helping to make the news a more positive place, one report at a time.
Sincerely,
The Puck Bunny XOXO
Holy shit.
I can't believe that she came forward and told the world who she is. I didn't expect it, and I would’ve never asked her to reveal her identity, no matter the cost.
She’s changing everything about The Puck Bunny?
My mind is spinning in circles, desperately trying to hold on to something after the whiplash from the past week and a half.
I’ve gone through so many different emotions; hurt, anger, the feeling of being betrayed again, questioning not only Maddison, but myself and my own choices.
Wondering how the fuck we ended up here, and then just like she said… she took responsibility and told the entire damn world who she was.
The doorbell rings just as I close the laptop and set it on the coffee table. I've only been back home for a few days. After having to listen to Reed and Holland all night, I was ready to beat my head into the wall…but, it's their house.
Swinging the door open, I'm shocked to see Maddison standing on the other side. She's wearing her hair down today in loose curls, and the only makeup she has on is gloss over her plump lips. I can't help but still notice those things about her. The pink shirt she has on dips modestly on her chest, revealing her cleavage that I desperately try not to notice, paired with dark jeans and sandals.
I drag my eyes back up to hers and say, "Hi."
"Hi," a small smile graces her lips, "Uh, I was wondering if we could talk for a minute?"
I nod, opening the door farther for her to step inside.
"Where's Olive?" I ask.
"She's with Ty and Kyle for an uncle date. I figured that we should talk alone, and they wanted to take her to the park."
Side by side, we walk over to the couch and sit. More than ever, I wish things weren't like this, so I could wrap her in my arms.
"I saw your post," I say before she can speak.
Her throat bobs as she swallows, and like always when she's nervous, she picks at the polish on her nails. "I was hoping that you would."
I nod. "Reed sent it to me this morning."
"Briggs…I don't know where to start. I feel like nothing I say is adequate, but I need to say it anyway." She takes a deep breath, glancing down at her hands before her eyes meet mine again. "I didn't mean to fall in love with you. It was an accident, and even though I told myself I wouldn't, I did anyway. I had no choice in the matter, honestly, my heart was yours long before I even realized it. At first, I wasn't going to tell you. What was the point? We were just co-parenting, and we made the decision not to have a romantic relationship, so I didn't want to bring up the past. At that point, I had taken a step back from The Puck Bunny because I was a new mama, and the last thing I wanted to do was rock the boat between us."
She pauses, swiping away a tear before continuing, "Then, the next thing I knew, we were on this slippery slope of more, and I knew that I would have to tell you. Once we decided to explore things between us, there was no doubt that I was going to be honest with you, but I was scared. I made excuses about timing and interruptions, our relationship being new because I was terrified to lose you, and part of me didn’t even want to admit that to myself. I was a coward, and that’s the truth.” I watch as her throat bobs, and she speaks again. “I should have known your heart, but I was so afraid to lose you that I put off telling you, thinking there would be a perfect time, that I could figure out how to make this hurt less and in the end, all I did was hurt you more, and for that, I’m so unbelievably sorry. I love you, Briggs, I love you so much, and the thought of hurting you makes my stomach twist into knots. I thought you would hate me and never be able to forgive what I had done. "