It only takes 10 seconds

Part Thirty-One

Jonathan's POV

I walk over to my locker and am greeted with a head nod from Duncan Keith. I give him one back and start putting on my gear, going through the motions with thoughts of the game running through my head. Shoot the puck, get it into the net. I remember Laura's words. "Score a goal for me."

I turn to Keith. "Hey Duncs, if I get a goal, can you help me get the puck?" I ask him. He's midway through putting his jersey on, but he pops his head through and nods. "Sure man." Coach Babcock comes into the room and starts talking us through plays. Then we head out onto the ice, the crowd cheering. As I sit on the bench, my mind turns to the one important thing right now. Hockey. 

Kami's POV

We get out of the car and Corey pays the cab driver before we get our luggage and head to the elevator. When we get into our apartment, I twirl around. "It's good to be home," I say as I plop down on the couch. Corey goes to put his stuff away as I check my emails. I have one from Laura with a link attached to it, so I click on it. "Ohhh, Corey look at this," I say, a little smile on my face. I show him the article.

It was from the game where Tyler hit me and it shows a picture of the fans, their fingers raised in a salute. It's titled "Kami Barger is our Katniss Everdeen." I smile at it, the thought of how amazing the fans are, even after just seeing my play one game. "It's because you're amazing," Corey whispers, looking at me. I look up at him, our eyes meeting and drawing me towards him. When he kisses me, it's different than before the trip. This time my breath feels like it's gone and I don't even care if I have it back, because for now this is love and this is how I want it to stay.

Heidi's POV

I place the fork on the dining room table and fix the plate so that it sits just perfectly. When I hear a knock on the door, I open it and see Brandon. He's wearing a blue button-down and black dress pants. He looks at me in my little black dress and smiles. "You're beautiful," he says, giving me a hug. I blush. "Thanks," I reply. He hands me a bouquet of red roses with white queen anne's lace mixed in and I run into the kitchen and put them in a vase before placing them on the dining room table. 

We eat dinner and Brandon keeps complimenting me on my cooking making me blush so much that I'm almost positive I look as red as a tomato. After dinner, we end up on the couch together, Brandon in the corner and me curled up next to him, leaning against his shoulder and him playing with my hair. "So why did you come to Chicago?" he asks. I hesitate, unsure if I want to reveal my past to him.  

He notices that I'm quiet and takes my hand, causing my sleeve to fall back and revealing the dark scars from two weeks ago."Is this part of it?" he whispers, tracing it lightly, his fingertips lightly brushing my skin. I nod, biting my lip to keep from crying. He lets go of my hand and rolls one sleeve back, showing me his wrist. "You're not alone," he says, the white scars on his wrist matching mine. I don't say anything as he keeps talking.

"When I was in middle school, this group of guys bullied me, told me I would never make it to the NHL, that I was stupid for ever trying." He shakes his head. "I was so stupid to think that this," he gestures to his wrist, "could ever solve my problems." "I tried to kill myself," I whisper, not looking at him. "Because my boyfriend told me that I was worthless and I believe him. I'm not even sure I should be alive right now."

He tilts my head towards him, making me stare into his eyes. "Don't believe him. Because I think you're worth it." He gets up and picks up Jonathan's guitar from the side of the couch, slipping the strap over his shoulder. "I think I have something that you need to hear," he says, starting to lightly strum the guitar. 

I recognize the song as Invisible by Hunter Hayes, one of my favorites.

Listen for a minute