ʙʀᴏᴋᴇɴ sᴋᴀᴛᴇs | ɢ. ɢᴇʀᴍᴀɪɴᴇ [1]

[4] Im leaving early.

Team USA had their the first game against Trinidad presently. It was just going great! They were all pulling their weight and working together. You could tell that Bombay was very happy with how they played. "Change it up!" Bombay hollered, Adam and Melanie shot up and jumped over the boards. "Hey Melanie, go to the end!" Adam shouted, she nodded.

Charlie passed the puck to Adam, and Adam skated down the ice. He passed it over to Melanie, who was dodging a player, shot then SCORED!!

Guy, Charlie, Adam, and Luis were all cheering and gathering around Melanie. Melanie started to think about the first time she scored a goal with her dad in the peewees. All she wanted to do was see her dad again. The only thing she wanted was for her dad to watch her shine on the TV and be proud of her, but he wasn't, and that broke her.

"Nice one Mel!" Guy yelled before proceeding to the bench. Her stomach fluttered, and she didn't realise that until Charlie came up touching her shoulder to get off the ice.

Soon after, she got off and sat down beside Luis. "I didn't think we were going to be so good," he said. Melanie's mind was trailing off, and Luis looked very confused. "Mel, are you listening?" Luis put his hand in front of her eyes. "Huh, what?" she looked up at him, slipping her helmet off her head. "Whatcha thinking about,"

"None of your business," Mel said, taking a sip of her water.

"well then, I don't think you need me here," Luis responded by saying, but Mel dragged him down.

"That was a little harsh, don't you think," he said fixing his Jersey. Melanie just stayed pretty quiet. "When you want to tell me what's going on, I'm going to be with Dwayne," he stated, and Mel noticed that he was shaking his head.

"Change it up!" Bombay yelled, and Mel put on her helmet and hopped onto the ice. The rest of the game never really mattered, they just scored goals the whole time.

The team got back to the change room from celebrating the win, and Melanie just walked in and quickly took off her gear. Guy could see her, and how upset she looked, but he didn't want to make her even more anxious. Knowing what happened the last time she had an anxiety attack.

"Great work team!! You guys played well together out there. I'm proud of you," they all cheered, but Mel stayed quiet while hanging her jersey on the hanger. She sat down and listened to everyone cheer up as Bombay spoke.

"Today, as a reward for all your hard work, I bought  tickets and all unlimited ride access straps for the Los Angeles Central Festival!"

They all started cheering again. Mel looked up from her untied skates and saw the eyes of Guys planted on herself.

'Are you all right? ' He mouthed, but Melanie shook her head and looked back down. Guy swallowed, thinking she was upset about something he did.

In the quick 20 minutes he had to change out of his gear, he thought of everything he could have done to irritate the brunette he called his friend.

She wiped her faint tear away, trying not to draw attention, but she did. "Mel, are you going to the festival?" Charlie asked. Right before she got to the door, she stopped. She turned to face the silent group.

"Yeah, I wouldn't miss it for the world," they all went back to talk, and she simply walked out to the room.

She began going to the vending machine and bought a 25 cent water bottle. "Hard day, huh," she looked at the glass reflection and saw Guy standing there. She bent down and picked up the water.

"You don't even know," she replied. She tried to open up her water, but it wasn't cooperating. She sighed, Guy was looking over at her. "Here," he took the bottle of water from her hands and opened it. They locked eyes, and he handed it to her without breaking the silence.

"cmon Guy!" Connie said from the corner.

"So I'll see you at the festival later?" he went on, and she nodded. "alright cool," he waved, and she waved back.

"Melanie Taylor, please meet Mr. Bombay in his office in room 168," Mel grunted and looked up at the light. "I just want to go home," she said to herself as she walked down the hall to the coach office.

She walked in and stood with her arms crossed at the door. Bombay gestured to the seat in front of his desk. She put her bag down and sat down.

"We need to talk," he said, putting his pen in the pen holder. Melanie was trying to swallow the huge lump that was causing her to not being able to talk, but it wouldn't go away.

"Are you eligible to play here Mel? Because if not, Hendrix can get you a flight to Boston ASAP, and we can fill up the roster spot," he said, making her look away.

"I don't know coach," she said, and he took a deep breath. "You didn't look like yourself today, this is your first team game, you should have been excited," he explained.

"It's just, everything on that ice rink today, reminded me of my dad. He passed away last year," his expression on his face was light, and he was sitting right on his chair.

"I know it's hard when someone you love passes away, but I also know that if you determine your future based on him and his death, you're not going anywhere. You're a wonderful girl, and I'm very proud of you, I know he feels the same," he stopped, and Malanie wiped her tears away.

"When my dad died, my heart was broken. Nothing in the world except hockey could cheer me up. Hockey was my thing, my coping mechanism, hockey was my life. Now, you just need to find yours, even if it's not here with us," he got up and left the room leaving Melanie in tears. Soon she got up and went to the dormitories.

The three girls have been getting ready for the festival. Mel was being distant, and thinking of what Bombay said earlier. What was her 'thing'. "Mel, you ready?" Julie asked, Mel nodded and began to slip on her shoe.

Melanie was amazed at all the lights. They were multicoloured, changing LED lights on every ride.

An arm was thrown around Melanie, and she smiled. It was Luis. "Hey buttercup," he said, and she took hold of his arm, and they started walking.

"So, which ride first!?" Averman shouted, skipping around the group. "Let's all split up, remember, don't go anywhere alone!" Connie said, and they all nodded, going their own ways. "So what happened earlier," Luis asked while they were getting onto to the tea cup ride.

"I just miss my family," Melanie responded, and Luis rolled his eyes. "Do you know how many times you've told me this in the past week?" Melaine sighed and put her head on his shoulder.

"It's true, I could barley go without them for a week," he sighed. "Maybe it's a good thing that you're here then, the more your away, the less your anxiety grows," he smiled.

"I don't think that's how it works," he shrugged. "Just a thought," she laughed, thinking about how Bombay offered her a flight to Boston ASAP.

"We need to talk to Luis," she said, but he did not listen. "What are we going to do when we have to leave anyway, are we going to talk on the phone every day, maybe I can fly out to Boston and you can fly out to Miami!" he said, he was in a good mood.

"Luis I'm leaving early,"