Fire & Ice - Chapter 23: Chapter 23

When I woke up the next morning it was to mom making a big breakfast. I could smell it all the way from my room and it got my excited. It felt like one of the old days. Just as I was about to get out of bed I heard my phone going off. I picked it up and saw it was blowing up with messages from the team and I knew I was in deep shit for my comments yesterday. Why did I open my big mouth.
I tried to ignore it and focused on the messages that mattered. I had a few from Cassie and I answered those before getting up out of bed to join my mom at the table. When I got into the kitchen, mom was in front of the stove cooking up some eggs. While I waited for her to join me I took a look at the paper and saw I was on the front page. I smiled and opened the paper up to take a look at the article. Just as I finished mom sat down at the table with two plates stacked with eggs, bacon and hash browns.
"Need to make sure the number one recruit is fed before the game." Mom said and took a sip of her coffee.
"God, I sounded like an ass last night didn't I?" I asked and pushed the paper away to tuck into my food.
"A little, you are going to have to grovel with you coach to get into his good graces McKenna. He's not going to like you mouthing off like this." Mom said.
"I know but I was still pissed about not going to Dartmouth last weekend and I was still high off the win and all those goals." I said in between bites of my food.
"Just try to be nice to him McKenna because he does control your playing time." Mom warned and went back to eating her own breakfast.
"Hey I wanted to ask you something." I said.
"What's on your mind superstar?" Mom asked.
"When I came to the hospital yesterday, I actually got there in time to see you being hugged by a red headed woman. Was that the woman you uhm hooked up with?" I asked not knowing how to ease into this subject.
I heard mom cough and I looked up to find her reaching for her water. She took a few sips before putting it back down and took a breath and looked at me.
"Yea, that's Alyssa. We uhm things." Mom stopped talking for a few seconds and she looked nervous. I gave her a few more seconds to collect herself before I reach out over the table and took her hand in mine.
"You don't have to explain it to me if you don't want too, it's okay. I just wanted I say I saw the way she comforted you in the hall way. I get it and I'm sorry it took this long for you to find someone that treats you like this. You deserve to be loved without the fear of being assaulted and I can see just in those few moments shared between you too in the hallway that she cares about you mom." I said and gave mom a smile.
"She's pretty great" Mom said with tears in her eyes.
"Well she better be otherwise I have some really big hockey player friends who can knock some sense into her." I said.
"Thank you McKenna." Mom said trying to control her emotions.
"Invite her to thanksgiving, I want to get to know her." I said.
Mom just nodded and pulled me over to her for a hug. We didn't get a chance to hug for long when I heard my phone start to ring. When I broke away from mom I saw it was Toni. When it comes to time away from each other we operate on a no news is good news system. So I quickly answered the phone and sighed.
"Yea?" I answered.
"Coach is on a war path; you need to get back here now McKenna. I can't stall him for long." Toni said.
"I'll be there in 15 minutes." I said and hung up the phone.
"If Alyssa isn't doing anything today you could ask her to come to the game." I said to mom as I wolfed down the last of the breakfast still on my plate.
"I'll see what she's up too" Mom said and took my empty plate to the sink to wash while I rushed to get dressed. With everything I needed for the day packed in the backpack, I grabbed the keys to Travis' car and headed out the door. Before I made it all the way down the steps mom came out of the front door holding a cup of coffee in her hand.
"Say you went out for breakfast with me at the Shipyard." Mom said and gave me a kiss on the cheek before giving me a little push to get moving. I got the hint and looked at the coffee cup and saw the logo for the local coffee house.
"I owe you ma!" I yelled as I got into the truck.
I made my way to the hotel and parked in the lot on the side just like I have done yesterday. I sighed and slipped the backpack on and grabbed my cup of coffee before walking into the lobby of the hotel. There was no point in avoiding the fact I wasn't here, might as well come in through the front door.
Just as I got inside I saw coach waiting for me with a few newspapers in his hands. I sighed and sipped on the coffee and walked over to him.
"How about we go talk somewhere private." He said.
"Sure thing" I said and followed behind him. Just as he turned the corner I saw Toni and Megan standing in the lobby.
Toni mouthed sorry and I just shook my head. It's not her fault I had a big mouth last night. Coach walked me into an empty ballroom that looked like it was used for our team breakfast this morning. Once the door closed behind us coach threw all of the papers he hand in his hand onto the closest table to him.
"That is not the way to get a message across about a decision that was made McKenna. You just aired our dirty laundry out for the rest of the conference to see, hell the rest of the league." Coach yelled and I couldn't help but flinch.
"Sorry, but I just wanted to make a point, I said I was ready for Dartmouth and you left me at home, proved it yesterday with four goals and I'll do it all over again today." I answered trying not to let panic slip into my voice.
"God I want to bench you so bad." Coach said and rubbed his head and looked at me.
"You can if you want but I know you won't. If you do, the school will have your head on a platter and I can just let a rumor out that I'll transfer. I know plenty of schools who would want to pick me up." I said wanting to make it clear that if he does bench me I can throw my name around to get onto another team. I wanted to make it clear that I have the power in this situation, not him.
"Get out of here before I bench you McKenna." Coach backed down.
I didn't stick around long after that and slipped out of the room. Before the end of the hallway to the lobby is a bathroom and I ducked inside. I knew that Megan and Toni would be waiting for me in the lobby but I needed a second. I put the coffee down on the counter and leaned against it. It wouldn't take much for a full panic attack to take control right now so I tried to push the thoughts from my mind. When I thought I had enough control of it for the moment I fished my cell phone out of my pocket and hit Cassies number.
"Hello?" Cassies voice rang through the line.
"Hey, uhm, how's your day going?" I asked and took another deep breath.
"It's fine, Sunny and I are sitting on the couch watching TV, are you okay babe? You don't sound good." Cassie asked.
"Coach threw some papers on a table and yelled at me for something I definitely deserved to be yelled at about but its triggering a panic attack. It's not that bad but I'm trying to not let it get any worse and I wanted to hear your voice, talk me through it." I said and dropped my backpack to the floor.
"Okay, McKenna where are you in the hotel specifically?" Cassie asked.
"Ground floor bathroom off the lobby by the ball rooms." I said.
"Good, well Sunny misses you. She got all excited when I came home and was looking for you but was disappointed not to see you." Cassie said.
"I'll make up for it during New Years, but I had my own pup to come home and see." I answered and took another breath.
"You have a dog? Why didn't I know this, that is important information McKenna and you were holding out on me." Cassie said and I couldn't help but laugh.
"You'll get to meet him eventually." I said and smiled.
"I better." Cassie said.
Before I could say anything I heard the door open and I opened my eyes and found Becca, Stacey, Megan and Toni rush into the bathroom. I sighed and felt close to tears.
"We got her Cassie." Becca said.
"Thank you, Mac, listen to the girls. They are going to take over for me now. I'm here if you need me but let them in okay." Cassie said.
"I love you Cas" I said quietly.
"I love you too McKenna." Cassie said and the line disconnected.
"She texted me to come find you. I'm going to hug you now okay?" Becca said and came up behind me.
I just nodded and felt Becca hug me from behind. It wasn't long before I felt a few more pairs of arms around me and I took a breath. When they pulled away I wiped my face and looked at them before I told them what just happened. They all wanted me to go to coach again and tell him what happened but that was the last thing I wanted to do right now. It took some time but finally I got them to drop it and we left the bathroom. As we left Megan and Toni informed us all of a team meeting. It was just with the players and the coaches weren't going to be there.
We went right into it as we ended up being in the bathroom for a lot longer than I thought we were. Becca, Stacey and I all took our seats while Megan and Toni went up to the front of the room to lead the meeting. Just like I thought, this meeting was about what happened with my media session. They talked to us about how to handle ourselves during interviews and what we can and can't say to the press. The meeting was basically about don't make yourself and the team look like an ass for all of the league to see.
After the meeting was over we were all released to go to our rooms. Just as I followed Toni upstairs I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket and saw mom texted me saying that Alyssa will be joining her at the game tonight and for thanksgiving tomorrow. It made me smile as I walked back up to Toni's room. We had about an hour before we needed to get ready to leave for the arena so I decided to shower and take my time to get ready.
While I was in the middle of flat ironing my hair Cassie called me and I spent the rest of the time just talking to her while I finished my hair. It was nice to get to hear her voice for a while. Once my hair was done I moved on to my suit. Today I went with a deep red dress shirt. Toni laughed when I slipped it over my shoulders, saying that I looked like a fire truck. I didn't let her comment bother me as I buttoned up my shirt and then grabbed my tied to put over my neck.
When the outfit was complete I made Toni take a few pictures of me and I sent them off to Cassie. She ended up calling me back and complained how much she wishes she was here so she could undress me herself. Usually for Sunday games the team dresses up for our walk outs and I was surprised to see Toni in a University of Wisconsin polo shirt tucked into slacks. We both looked good and I couldn't wait to see the rest of the team.
Toni and I met up with the team in the lobby and I was happy to see that everyone looked amazing. I guess they all wanted to dress up since I broke out the suit yesterday. Our media guys ate it up. They took so many pictures, I couldn't wait to get some of them to post on my instagram. After they got there fix, we all got onto the bus to get to the arena. Just like yesterday there was a crowd of people waiting for us when we pulled up outside the arena. When I got off the bus I was all serious and walked towards the guys and went into the arena. Once they got what they were looking for I snuck back outside to high five the fans who came out for today's game.
Once again I saw Tatiana lurking in the distance but she didn't say anything to me and stayed far away. So I just went inside and started to get ready for the game. It didn't take long to get dressed and then to have pregame workouts. Next thing I knew the game started. Boston came out to play today, they went hard from the opening puck drop. It worked for them as it usually took us a few shifts to get a feel for the game the other team wanted to play.
With Boston pressing right from the start we knew we were going to have our work cut out for us. The first period was a hard fought battle. Neither of us wanted to give up an early goal. So it didn't come as a surprise that we ended the first period scoreless. The second period we ramped up our game play. Our second line ended up scoring on a beautiful tick-tac-toe pass. As we got farther into the second I got on the score sheet with an assist on Toni's goal. The second period ended with us up two goals to nothing.
I knew I had a lot of energy left in the tank and I wanted to use it to put on a show for the crowd. So as we went out for the third, I made it my mission to get everyone on our line on the score sheet. Becca was next with a goal and assists coming from Toni and I. Now being up three goals to nothing coach started playing our third and fourth lines more to give us a little bit of a break. But just as we all started to get into a good rest rotation on the bench, Boston scored. Coach sent our line out onto the ice to take the next faceoff and we got right to work.
Stacey and Lilly worked hard in the defensive end to get us the puck and with a little bounce on the boards Stacey's pass landed right in front of my stick. I pushed the puck up the ice and skated. Boston's defenders tried to block me but with a few deek moves I was past them and had enough room to shoot the puck. Watching the puck sail right into the netting behind the goal had to be my favorite thing about hockey. I didn't do my normal celly but just found my mom in the crowd jumping up and down standing on the bleachers next to the same red head I saw at the hospital. The red head had her arm wrapped around my mom's waist preventing her from falling down the bleachers and I was grateful for that.
I was able to grab my puck from the ref and gave it over to Marissa to hold for me later. The rest of the game went by quickly. Coach really pushed the third and fourth lines as Boston was backing down a little when they realized if I got back out onto the ice I would just end up scoring again. As the last buzzer sounded, I smiled and made my way back down into the locker room. Coach told me I had a lot of media requests again and I told him I would talk to them in a few minutes. I took my gear off and made sure everything was packed up right for the team to take back to school for me. Next was a shower and getting dressed again and once again I left the tie off for the post game.
When I walked into the media room I saw most of the same journalist from yesterday. I gave them a smile and sighed before taking a sip of water before opening my mouth.
"So yesterday I went a little over board so today I'm just going to be quick. I thought we played a good game against Boston. When they pressed us we responded. A goal and two assists is a good game in my book. Now I'm going to go home and spend some time with my mom for thanksgiving. I hope you guys all have a nice Thanksgiving with whatever family you decide to spend it with." I said and got up from the chair and left the media room, not taking any questions from reporters.
After I was out I went back to the locker room and grabbed my backpack and puck from Marissa before walking out into the lobby. I saw the team off and coach triple checked that I was staying behind before he got onto the bus that would take everyone straight to the airport. As I saw them off I saw my mom come around the corner with Alyssa in tow. Mom once again was in the jersey I got her and ran right over to me to pull me into a hug.
"You were really great out there McKenna." Mom said and pulled away from me.
"I wanted to put on a show for the home crowd." I said and smiled.
"And that you did, but I wanted to formally introduce you to Doctor Alyssa Barrell, my girlfriend." Mom said and pulled Alyssa closer to us.
"It's really nice to finally meet you McKenna, you played a really good game today." Alyssa said and held out her hand. I made myself stand straighter and took her hand in mine, applying enough pressure to make sure she knew this was a test.
"It's nice to meet you as well Alyssa. Are you going to be joining us for dinner tonight?" I asked.
"No honey, but Alyssa will be at thanksgiving tomorrow, tonight is just for you and I because we haven't had one in a long time." Mom cut in before Alyssa could give an answer.
"Okay, you just need to give me a ride back to the hotel so I can get Travis' truck." I said.
Mom quickly agreed and pulled us out of the lobby of the ice rink. Just as we got outside Tatiana and her crew were waiting right there. Mom gave her a look and I knew this wasn't going to end well.
"Good game McKenna, can't wait till I get another crack at ya. I still owe you for that nice little suspension you caused me." Tatiana said and smirked.
I had to pull mom away from Tatiana before she swung at her. As the three of us got into the car, mom filled Alyssa in on all things Tatiana related. But it turns out that Alyssa already knew some of the drama between us because Alyssa was the one who helped mom get out of work to come see me when I ended up the in hospital for my bruised ribs. Alyssa now just got to put a face to the name.
The drive to the hotel didn't take long and when we got there I wished Alyssa a good rest of her night before getting out of the car. I waited for mom to pull out of the hotel parking lot before I left behind her. As we both pulled up to the light she turned right while I went left on my way home. It didn't take long before I got home and got to see Frank. Once I showered again and changed into some more comfortable clothes I let Frank out into the backyard and took a seat on one of the patio chairs wishing I could play more games here at home.