When The Whistle Blows

Chapter 15

Astrid

I felt a deep longing as I sat on the bench and watched their practice. I noticed as all the guys stepped on the ice, they would smile. Each of them, as if this was the only place they wanted to be. Of course, the only exception to that was Ryder.

I did my best to avoid eye contact with him once he was on the ice. Instead, I would focus on Bentley or Henrik. Every now and then I would study Sarcom and Ollie, our goalies. Usually finding some kind of weakness that I wish I could manipulate. But alas, I was stuck on the bench in normal shoes.

I rushed a glance at Ryder and noticed he was talking to Coach, who after they separated skated over to where I was on the bench.

"So you finally told the team?" Coach beamed.

I shrugged and carefully tried to cross my arms, avoiding all my broken and bruised parts, "Yeah. I figured now was a better time than any."

"Do you know when you will be joining us again?" Coach asked.

"Well, my GP told me four weeks at the least so I'll be back on the ice in three."

Coach chuckled, "That's the spirit."

He picked up his whistle and blew it. Everyone's heads shot up and focused on him. "Alright ladies, on the goal line!" Coach shouted. He grimaced and turned towards me "no offense."

"None taken." I chuckled as everyone else groaned, but didn't argue as they got on the line for some conditioning.

Coach skated them for twenty minutes before they went on to normal practice. As I was watching them work on some breakouts, I heard footsteps behind me.

A warm hand settled on my back as Luka stood next to me.

"It won't be for long," Luka said having noticed my longing.

"I know. Do you ever miss it?" I asked Luka.

"All the time." He said as he watched Ryder, Tucker, and another winger-my replacement- skate past the bench.
"I used to ask Doc daily if my knee was looking better, or if he thought I could even skate. And every day he told me to go stretch and ice it." Luka turned his blue eyes to me. "Every day I would hope that that day was the day but one day, probably three months after my injury I got on the ice, against everyone's order, and the second I started skating on that knee, it buckled. I remember the pain as I hit the ice and my first thought was 'you idiot' and my second thought was 'I'm done.' I decided that day to leave hockey behind and focus on something else."

"You haven't skated since then?" I asked.

"Nope. I left the ice behind and focused on athletic training, but there isn't a day that I don't think about skating or the 'what ifs'." Luka shook his head as if clearing some thoughts or memories. "The point is, I might've been able to skate again, but I couldn't wait to skate again and I completely ended my career by doing that. So moral is, let yourself heal before you jump right back on the ice. If not for yourself but for me and the others." Luka reached his hand out and grabbed my smaller hand in his huge palm.

I rolled my eyes slightly but let him tug me somewhat closer, "I'll try. You might have to hold me back some days. But I'll try. For you and the team." I felt myself fall into Luka's sparkling blue eyes.

A loud whistle rang through the empty stands. But not the coaches whistle. A wolf whistle.

Luka chuckled as one of my teammates hollered, "Get 'em, girl!"

I groaned but pushed away from Luka. I glared at the rookie, Wild, who had hollered.

"Why don't you get skating Wild," I yelled back at him.