𝓜𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽𝔂 𝓓𝓾𝓬𝓴𝓼 𝓘𝓶𝓪𝓰𝓲𝓷𝓮𝓼

Adam Banks

The night before had been a rough night for Lyric. Practice didn't go well and she had been sent home early from practice from a puck to the face. No one had been wearing helmets and everyone was fooling around with the pucks. She had gone home with a shut eye, no dried tears, and dried blood on her lip from the fall she'd taken from the puck.

Her mother had taken her to the ER to make sure everything was okay and to her luck, everything was good. Lyric's mother was a worrisome mother who had one child and vowed to keep that child safe. She didn't want her child playing hockey at all, because the sport was dangerous, but her daughter insisted at a young age when her dad played with her so much.

Lyric was sitting on the bench during their next hockey practice with an ice pack on her face, keeping the swelling down. Her mother had forbidden her to play hockey and they were still discussing about Lyric even playing hockey anymore. The puck to the face had been her third injury and she didn't want anymore injuries. Her husband was the same way, except he still never stopped. He'd played hockey his entire life and he had been injured every season in the sport, whether it was on the ice or off the ice. 

Lyric was upset that her mother wasn't allowing her to play hockey for a little while and she didn't care for her face all that much. However, Lyric wouldn't know how lucky she was until she actually lost what she had. 

Watching her teammates finish up practice, the girl sighed and got up, pulling her Letterman jacket around her tightly as she began to leave. Her best friend had made his way over to her before she could leave and he gave her half a smile, wanting to make her feel good, but deep down, she did not.

"How's it going, Lyric?" Adam asked her, leaning on the side of the boards.

She sighed with a shrug. "You tell me." She lowered the bag of ice from her eye. "My mom doesn't want me playing."

"I would agree." He spoke, taking his hand out from his close to touch the area around her face. She didn't mind, so long as he didn't press down on her bruise. 

"No, I mean, she wants me to stop hockey all together."

"What? Why?" He stood up with furrowed brows and a confused face. 

She pursed her lips. "Guess three injuries is enough."

"You haven't had that many, have you?" He asked, not able to recall all her injuries.

She nods, knowing she had three injuries, that she was aware of, from hockey. However, she's had more injuries, but they weren't from hockey and she didn't count those. "Yep. Peewees I got a concussion. The Games was a puck to the ankle and now a puck to the face." She spoke. Stepping aside and he got off the ice to walk with her. 

"Wow, guess it is three."

"Yep." She nods, walking with him. He stood a heck of a lot taller than she did since he wore skates and was taller to begin with. 

Her eye was dark purple, swollen, half shut, and din't look good at all. Adam did worry for his best friend, but she knew what was best for him. He wished her mother wasn't so strict and worrisome of her daughter, but he knew hockey wasn't an end for Lyric. They met through hockey at five years old when her father had taken to the first practice without her mother's permission.

"Well, even if you're done hockey, we can still play yard puck at my house whenever you want." He gave her a smile. "Rest up, Lyric, we still have a game in two days."

"Thanks, Adam." She smiled. 

"We're best friends, it's what we do." He side hugged her, rubbing her arm and she hugged him back tightly before waiting for him the hall since they were walking back to their houses together.