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“Let me come with you. We can stay at my place in the city and go to the sentencing together on Tuesday.”
I nod. Part of me wants to be alone, but I think a bigger part of me maybe doesn’t.
We find a flight that works, book two seats, finish packing, and head back to Everleigh’s house. I figure out what I need for a few days in Chicago, and before I know it, I’m leaving town.
I stare out the tiny airplane window at the Las Vegas Strip as the plane moves toward the runway for takeoff. It wasn’t so long ago that I stared out the window watching the same hotels as we landed here. Excitement was in my blood, and I was ready for my life to change.
Well, it did.
Not for the better.
Be careful what you wish for, I guess.
I swipe at a tear that rushes down my cheek, and I close the shade on the window, lean back, and close my eyes for the rest of the flight.
CHAPTER 41: Cash Maddox
Drills
The vibe in the locker room is weird.
Everyone is avoiding eye contact with me.
Everyone saw what went down last night. Everyone in this locker room, barring the coaches, was there. They all saw my wife walk out on me. They all watched as Kellan chased after her and as I ran out my front door and around the block, only to find her already gone.
They all saw me yelling at West for fucking it up when I walked back into my house.
There were murmurs and whispers, but the news is out now. Everyone knows that I married her on a bet. Everyone knows West didn’t pay up. It’s only a matter of time before someone talks to the media, and once they grab hold of the news, my sponsors will drop me like a fucking hot potato.
I hate how it makes me feel. All of it—from losing the best thing that ever happened to me to also potentially losing my friendship with West.
I can’t even look at him knowing that this is all his fault, and even as I think it, I know that I’m the one responsible for it. I can’t blame him, but I am. It’s a vicious circle, and honestly, it’s affecting me even in practice.
It’s the one reason I never wanted to get into something serious, and I was right not to. It fucks with my head and messes everything up.
They didn’t know what to do when I shut off the music and announced that the party was over and then ran out the door to chase down my wife.
It wasn’t how a captain should treat his teammates, but the bet wasn’t how a man should treat a woman, either.
And I’m not quite sure how to fix any of it.
I arrange to send flowers to her at Everleigh’s house, and I schedule some for a delivery Monday morning at her office. Flowers won’t fix it, but I’m hopeful the notes I included with the arrangement would speak to her since she won’t let me do the talking.
I labored for hours over what to say. I’m sorry didn’t seem like enough, and I landed on a longer note for the one going to Everleigh’s house.
No matter how it started, you and I are meant for each other. I love you, and I’ll never stop regretting what I did. Please let me see you.
For the one going to the office, I simply wrote, All my love.
It’s time to get on the ice to run some drills, but I don’t particularly want to get on the ice with West right now.
The problem is that our rhythm is instinctual. We’ve worked on it for years now, and when you play with a guy that long, you get to know each other’s thought processes. You know every move he’s going to make before he makes it.
But there’s a different sort of pressure dividing us right now, and I find that for the first time, I don’t want to get out on the ice with him.
Our first preseason game is tomorrow night. We’re playing seven games over the next thirteen days, but West, Kellan, and I won’t be playing every game. Our typical days will be drills in the morning and games in the evening with traveling and video review in between. It’s exhausting, and it also means I’m going to be spending a shitload of time with West.
We’re working on neutral zone counterattack drills first today. Coach drops a puck into the neutral zone, and I blast toward it first. Kellan and West sprint up their boards, and I pass to Kellan.
