Frozen in Ice

Chapter 54

Luke's POV

I talked to Jamie and Alex about it before I decided to contact my Mom and try and talk to her again. It took another day before she responded to me and we agreed to meet up. I decided to go for dinner with them at their house. I don't know exactly when but Mom moved out of the apartment and just lives with Chase now.

I had to leave in ten minutes and I was extremely nervous. I hadn't bothered to dress up much so I was wearing jeans and a Firebirds shirt as well as a hoodie. I was sitting on my bed and I could feel my knee bouncing.

At last I pocketed my phone and headed out. It wasn't a long walk but it didn't help my nerves. I knew where I was going and it gave me time to think. I ended up knocking on the door not long later and Tom opened the door.

"Luke, it's cool to see you," he smiled.

I nodded and gave him a half hug. He was quite a bit taller than when I last saw him and I couldn't help but smile at him.

"It's good to see you. Are you still playing hockey?" I asked.

"Of course, Coach David is really cool," he said and I followed him inside.

I found the other four in the kitchen. I listened to Tom continue to talk to me about hockey and how their team went after I left. It gave me something to do without talking to either of the adults in the room.

The adults were cooking dinner and it looked like it was pasta with meatballs. I spent the time talking to the three kids instead about what they were doing. Tom loved to talk to me about the hockey team and I was fine to talk to him.

Dinner was finished and we moved to the table. I felt out of place as Mom and Chase talked to the kids about what they had done today. I sat there and just listened to the conversation and ate the food on my plate.

I didn't say much as we ate and Katie suggested that we play a game. That was how I ended up playing, and losing, Candyland. Katie was extremely happy to win both games that we played. She headed to bed not long later and she wanted me to read to her.

I settled down on her bed as she changed and brushed her teeth and then handed me a book to read her.

"Are you going to live with us too?" she asked before I could start to read.

"No, I don't live in Pittsburgh most of the time," I told her.

"How come?"

"I live in Michigan for hockey."

"Oh, you could stay here while you are in Pittsburgh," she continued.

"I don't think that I could."

"How come? It would be fun."

"I don't think that I could."

"Is it about your Dad? He could live here too," Katie said innocently.

"I don't think so. You can ask your Dad about it later," I said and started to read to her.

She didn't ask anything more as I read and I could feel her drifting off to sleep beside me. I finished the page that I was reading before adding it to the pile on the floor and turning the light off. She was already asleep so I quietly shut the door.

Tom and Brandon were in the process of going to bed as well at that left me with Mom and Chase. At first none of us said anything, instead watching the news on the TV.

"How long are you in Pittsburgh for?" Chase asked.

"We start camp at the end of August. I'll probably go back a week or so before that," I said.

He nodded because it meant that I was going to be here for another month or so. No one talked again for a few minutes as the TV continued to play.

"I was surprised that you wanted to meet. Was there something that you wanted to say?" Mom asked.

"There are quite a few things that I want to say and I want to say it all without being interrupted," I said.

They both nodded and I took a breath before starting.

"I love playing hockey and when we moved it was a good way to make friends. Or at least a way to spend the time. You started to spend more time out of the apartment and it gave me something to do as well. Every time that we moved I hated it because I had to start in a new place and try and make new friends but not everyone is nice."

"When we moved to Pittsburgh I made the school hockey team. I didn't even bother mentioning it to you because by this point you hadn't been to a game in at least two years. The captain hated me and was completely jealous and made it so hard for me. He got pretty much the whole team to tease me about my last name and mock me."

"I wanted to tell you but you weren't there for me to talk to. You were never there for me to talk to. I joined the rec team and got a job so I could spend even more time out and busy. It became too much and I quit the team and you still weren't there to talk to."

"I had friends that were good enough influences on me to show me how much I loved hockey but you still weren't there. Eventually I found a reason to leave and I knew that it was right. I was so angry at you because you made us move and you weren't there for me. That's why I was angry."

"You had dragged me across the country and you just gave up on me. You found someone else and I felt so let down. For ages I just didn't want to talk to you. That's everything that I wanted to say for now," I finished.

No one said anything again and I wasn't sure what Mom was thinking.

"I don't know what to say to you. I thought you wanted me to be happy," she said.

"I do but I didn't want you to shove me out of your life to do it," I countered.

"I didn't. You weren't there for me," Mom continued.

"Weren't you listening? I wasn't there because you weren't either. I don't know why I'm here because it's clear that you aren't going to realise that you have to talk at least some of the blame so I'm going to head out," I said.

Neither of them said anything to me as I stood up and I did leave. There wasn't any point hanging around anymore because it was clear that we weren't ever going to get anywhere. I didn't feel like going back to Jamie's yet so I headed to a nearby park.

It was dark and late so it was pretty much empty. I took a seat on one of the bench and just sat there with my head in my hands. It was silent and I appreciated it. I liked the silence and how it didn't pressure you.

It gave me time to think and I knew that Mom wasn't going to change. I liked Tom and Katie and I didn't really know Brandon but I don't think that I could spend a lot of time with them. It would be hard to know that they are who my Mom left me for.

Eventually I stood up and headed back. I didn't need my Mom anymore. Between the guys here and the team in Flint and Richard and Belinda I have who I need.

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The Wise One