To You, With Love

Chapter Ten: The Kids Aren't Alright

Misty's POV

I awoke in a flash.

My heart was racing and there was sweat pouring off my forehead. I looked over at the clock.

3:46.

I reached over and patted the empty space beside me. Every time I had a dream about what happened between Jiri and I, I'd always reach over to check if he was with me; if it was all a nightmare.

Sadly, it was all too real.

It had been three months since Jiri and I had gotten into that fight.

There were some days I wanted him more than anything, and there were others I couldn't stand the thought of him. I know what I did was completely wrong, but he had no right to go through my phone like that.

"Wake up, sleeping beauty," My father shouted as he poked his head into my room, "Practice in an hour."

I shook my head no and pulled the covers up above my shoulders.

"What do you mean, 'no'?" He asked sadly, sitting down on the edge of my bed.

"I'm not feeling good, dad." I coughed.

"Darling," he frowned, pressing the back of his hand on my forehead, "You're burning up."

"I'll stay home from practice and--"

"No." I interrupted louder than I expected.

"You have to go to practice. I'm 16-years-old. I can take care of myself."
He seemed to be taken back slightly by my comment, but thanked me for being so understanding.

I nodded my head and watched as he left my room.

"That was close." I whispered to myself.

There was no way I could go to practice and face Jiri. Even though it's been three months, I still couldn't gather the courage to be around him.

Faking sick was the only way I could dodge practice without making my dad upset or suspicious.

---

Jiri's POV

"Hey, Jiri, do you know where Misty is?" James approached my stall, "She hasn't been here in months, and I know you and her were--"

"I don't know." I interrupted before he could finish his sentence.

"I haven't talked to her in three months."

James' eyes widened.

"What happened to you guys? You were inseparable." He raised his eyebrow at me.

"Things change, people change. You know..." I lied.

I never did tell anyone what really happened between her and I. It was personal, and I didn't want to make her look like the bad guy.

"Are you sure?" He kept pushing the issue.

"Can we just stop talking about her?" I said loudly.

I stopped in my tracks when coach walked in.

"Let's get out there, boys." I nodded and swallowed hard.

Hopefully he didn't overhear our conversation...

As I skated onto the ice, I got a few looks from some of the coaching staff and a few teammates. I shook it off and continued to skate towards the pucks sprawled across the rink. I placed one on my stick and began skating towards the net with a few guys got on my tail.

They caught up to me and forced me to take a wrap-around shot, which I completely nailed. I raised my arms in the air and shouted, just to rub it in.

"Alright, gather 'round." Coach called us in.

We made a circle at centre ice and awaited further instructions.

"I'd like you guys to focus on penalty kills," he started, "I want a 4-on-5 with Reimer in net. Got it?"

All the guys nodded and awaited to get chosen. I was placed on the 4-man defence.

"Go, go, go!" He shouted at us as the puck carrier raced towards us and towards the net.

Myself and three other guys began to skate backwards while we had five guys coming towards us. For some reason, I decided not to look behind me, which turned out to be a bad decision.

I ended up skating directly into the net and falling hard onto my back.

"Umph." I winced. The air was knocked directly out of me as I struggled to breathe.

Moments later, I rose from the ice and regained my balance. I skated over to the net and smashed my stick against the post, breaking it in the process.

Turning around, I saw all eyes on me.

First exercise and I was already fed up with it all.

I dropped the other half of my stick onto the ice and skated towards the locker rooms.

My body felt like Jell-o. It felt like I was just beaten like a punching bag. My body ached as I let the hot water of the shower run down my back.

By the time I emerged from the showers, the guys returned from the ice and began to strip off their gear.

Man, I must've been in there awhile.

"Jiri, man!" Tomas Kaberle called from across the dressing room.

"What happened out there, buddy?"

Suddenly, the conversations stopped. They all wanted to know what was going on.

"Shh," I growled, "Keep it down. I'm fine--"

"Jiri," coach cleared his throat, "Can I see you in my office? Now!"

The anger in his voice was hard to miss.

I followed him down the hallway and took a seat in the chair across from his desk. He slowly closed the office door, peering down each end of the hallway quickly before shutting it completely.

"What's wrong, coach?" I asked cautiously.

"You." He snarled.

"There's been something wrong with you for the past few months, and I want to get to the bottom of it."

I leaned back in my chair and swallowed hard. My mouth went dry as the thought of admitting what had happened between Misty and I to her father had crossed my mind.

I quickly shook that thought out of my head.

"Spill." He shouted, slamming his hands onto the desk.

"Okay," I started, "Please don't be mad."

He nodded intently as I carried on.

"So, it all started back in June when I was drafted. When you introduced me to your daughter, Misty. The first time I laid eyes on her, next to me in the stands, I knew I had to get to know her. There was just something about your daughter that made me want to be with her. And one day, I had my chance to ask her out, so I did. Obviously, it didn't end well. Though, it was a mutual decision to end the relationship." I took a deep breath and looked down at the ground.

The last part was a complete lie, but I couldn't tell her father; my coach, that she cheated. That's just wrong. So, I stuck with my story.

"I'm so sorry, coach."

"It's okay," he smirked, "I'm sending you back to the Marlies for the rest of the year, anyways."