When The Whistle Blows

Chapter 13

Astrid

Of course, the bliss of the Saturday afternoon couldn't last forever.

Coach decided at the last minute to make a Saturday night practice since there were no games this weekend.

The guys tried to talk me out of going but I ignored their protests. I didn't plan on skating, I just wanted to watch practice. But according to them that might be 'too stressful for me'. As if I've never been injured before.

The guys did bring up a good point though. I had little choice but to tell the team the truth. There was no way I could wear a wrap to watch or practice and a thick sweatshirt was just out of the question because any sort of weight on my shoulders hurt my ribs.

After much debate, I finally came to my decision. It's my senior year and we are already halfway through the season, there's no better time to tell them than the present.

The guys seemed happy when I told them my decision.

Thirty minutes later I found myself staring into my closet wondering what to wear.

Henrik suddenly appeared and casually leaned against my door frame, arms crossed. "What are you doing?" He asked as he stared, confused, at me.

"I don't know what to wear." My shoulders sagged and I frowned at him.

He suddenly straightened and approached me.

He barely even glanced in my closet before he grabbed a pair of tight-fitting jeans and a navy blue blouse that flowed beautifully down from my shoulders. How did he even find those?

I gawked at his choosings.

I don't even remember that last time I wore anything girly.

I didn't even remember I had girly clothes in this closet, to begin with.

He walked over and set the clothes down on my bed.

"Do you need help getting dressed?" I expected to see judgment in his brown eyes for some reason, but instead, I saw compassion and caring.

"I should be good?" I said unsurely.

"I'll be outside your door then. Holler if you need help." Henrik turned to walk away, but as I looked at the clothing he picked, a little bit of sass bubbled up in me and I couldn't help but poke the bear.

"What no lacy underthings and high heels?" I tried to cross my arms but pain immediately stopped that action.

Henrik paused and turned around. I sucked in a harsh breath at the expression on his face. "If you weren't currently handicapped, I would probably punish you for that mouth of yours because now I get to go through practice picturing you in lace." A deadly smile crossed his perfect face as his eyes darkened slightly.

A deep blush suddenly rolled up my cheeks and I immediately regretted sassing him.

"Get dressed." Henrik smiled as he turned and shut my door.

I released the breath I had been holding and took some more deep breaths in an attempt to steady myself.

About fifteen minutes later I finally managed to get dressed, it took me a while to get the blouse over my head as my ribs protested every move, but did it with no help. To which I was proud of. 

Another fifteen minutes found me in Lukas truck with Bentley and Henrik in the back seat. They all conversed, but I found it hard to focus on all the nerves running through me.

I'm really about to tell the team one of my biggest secrets.

"Ash," Luka's warm voice washed over me. He reached his hand over the center console and grabbed mine inside of his. "Breathe. You're fine. We three will make sure of it. They may not be able to get off the ice, but if at any point you feel uncomfortable or scared, I will take you home immediately. Got it?"

I nodded. And they all went back to talking.

I found my eyes wandering down to where Luka's hand held mine. My traitorous body warmed at the feel of just holding his hand.

Jeez, how affection-deprived are you? I mentally went back and forth with myself. Half scolding, half trying to figure out what was going on. I've never reacted to any guys like this before.

Soon, we were at the rink and we began our torturous trek inside. Luka held my hand as we walked inside. Bentley and Henrik walked to my right with their bags over their shoulders. Bentley had the foresight to bring his hockey bag to my apartment while Henrik only had to run over to his and grab his bag.

Once we passed the training room, Luka regrettably had to branch off and go prep the room while Bentley and Henrik moved to flank each side of me as we approached the locker room.

Bentley stepped forward and opened the locker room door for me while Henrik rested his hand on the small of my back and guided me through the door.

No going back now.

I was not surprised to see Ryder in his cubby, staring at his phone. He didn't even glance up at us once.

"Hey Cap." Bentley greeted him with the usual smile, though it was wasted on Ryder as he still hadn't looked up from his phone.

"Hey, Ben." Ryder returned the greeting.

Henrik rolled his eyes at his roommate/best friend's behavior. He guided me over to my cubby, instructed me to sit then set his bag down next to me. Bentley copied the move by putting his bag on the other side of me.

"Okay, I'm going to go get my shoulder wrapped real quick, are you good here?" Henrik asked, his eyebrows rising for emphasis.

"I'll be fine," I said, though my attention was on our captain.

He tensed slightly when he heard my voice, then he still had yet to look at me.

Henrik seemed reluctant to leave.

Bentley bent down next to me and started digging through his bag, he retrieved what he was looking for-a water bottle-and looked over at me.

"Are you good if I go fill this real quick?" I rolled my eyes at both of their protectiveness.

"Go." I made a shooing motion then looked down at my shoes.

I heard Bentley leave, but before the door could even shut more people walked in.

I groaned internally when I heard their voices. The Ülf twins. The best defensive pair this university has ever seen.

I tried not to look up, but that was impossible when I felt the bench move and dip on both sides of me.

"Well hel-lo beautiful," Colten said from my right side. I could hear his usual swagger in his voice.

I slowly looked up at him and met his amber eyes and cocksure grin.

I watched as everything clicked in his head and his face dropped in shock. I turned and looked at his brother, who sat in confusion at his twins' sudden change.

Corey was the younger twin and although they were supposed to be identical I've spent enough time around them to tell the difference.

Corey's face soon matched his twins as he scanned my face.

"Aiden?" They both said at the same time. Shock and confusion twisted in their combined voices.

Whatever Ryder heard in their voices was enough to make him finally look up from his phone.

My green eyes met ice blue eyes and I felt my whole world slow.

Ryder's usual hard-ass mask slipped and I saw a million different emotions run through him. But one stuck. Anger.

Fuck. Ryder Skogmit is pissed. And he is pissed at me.

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Thank you for reading Chapter 13. I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter. Let me know in the comments who your favorite character is- besides Astrid. Feedback is always appreciated.
~Until Next Chapter