Thin Ice

Chapter 4

"What the hell was that? You've gotten sloppy Cous." Addison ducked her head as her cousin questioned her with folded arms. "And you're wanting to run a team with technique like that?" Bucky rolled his eyes with an irritated sigh.

"Well, this was kinda, ya know, on the fly. I wasn't really performing at top notch." She defended timidly. "I was just having some, um, fun." The last word coming out quiet and fearful of his rebuttal. He laughed heartily in response.

"Fun. That's rich. I'll be here tomorrow morning at 5 AM sharp. Don't be late." He ordered, walking back to his car before she could even respond. Addison sighed and went to her parent's waiting in the car a few feet away, climbing in the back.

"Your routine was great tonight honey!" Her dad praised.

"Yes! What made you decide to perform?" Her mom asked.

"The mascot got sick so I was helping out my, um, friend." She muttered. Dale and Missy exchanged a glance.

"A friend, huh?" Her mother mused. "Your friend wouldn't happen to be that star hockey player, would it?" Addison slid down in her seat with red cheeks and didn't respond, giving them her answer.

"Well I thought his playing was phenomenal!" Her dad diverted the conversation, not really wanting to go into a crush talk with his teenage daughter. As he continued into a story about his hockey glory days, she watched the cityscape through the window and tuned it all out. Her mind was too lost in thought to care what her parents were saying anymore.

XxX

After pictures for that paper and a couple interviews, Zed was finally free. His first instinct was to look around for Addison, to which he found no trace. He sighed and followed his teammates to the locker room.

"Great game tonight Zed!" Daniel, one of his goalies, praised as he patted his shoulder pads when he passed to get to his locker.

"Yeah! Good job bud!" Sawyer, a forward, agreed. Zed laughed.

"Thanks guys, but we won as a team! I couldn't do it all myself!" He humbly disagreed. Their faces lit up.

"That's right!" Ziryan's voice bellowed in the echoing showers on the other side of the locker room. "If it weren't for my assists, he wouldn't make half the goals he does!" He added with a hearty laugh. Zed rolled his eyes but saw how his other teammates seemed to deflate. His brows knitted together before he leaned forward.

"Don't listen to him guys. All of us work together as a team and win these games." Zed assures them more quietly so Ziryan wouldn't interrupt again. They smiled at him then turned back to their lockers to get out of their uniforms.

Zed also turned and got into his locker, pulling out his phone and half expecting a text from Addison but was severely disappointed that his phone was empty. He sighed to himself and opened her contact, sending her a quick 'Hey just got off the ice. Can I call you when I get home?' message before putting it back in his bag to get cleaned up.

XxX

He immediately checked his phone for a reply after he was done showering but still no reply. His brain started to race with worried thoughts that maybe she was mad at him, or. His heart stopped. Ziryan's threat flashed across his mind. But he quickly shook it off. No. Ziryan's been here with the team the whole time. He wouldn't hurt someone like that anyways. It didn't stop the sick feeling in the pit of his stomach from growing since she hadn't replied like she normally would.

He grabbed his bag and hurried to get out of there. He pushed out of the locker room doors only to nearly jump out of his skin when Eliza was leaned against the far wall.