<Butterfly>

<CHAPTER ONE>

I skated towards the goal, the goalie stared me down, I could almost hear him telling me I'd fail. I lined up my shot. I pushed the puck towards the goal as I continued to skate and took the shot. It slid towards the goal but the goalie hit it just in time. The puck came flying towards me and hit me in the face, managing to slide through the gap between my helmet at it's cage. It hit my nose and left eye, knocking me back landing on my arse.

"God damn it." I said to myself.

I could feel something wrong with my foot. I must have sprained my ankle when I fell. I lay on the ice as my team gathered around me.

"Uriah. Say something mate." Coach said.

"I'm fine. I can still play."

My teammates helped pull me to my feet. I let out a wince when I put pressure on my right foot.

"You're not playing, Kaine. McAllen, get him off the ice." Coach said.

"C'mon mate." Damien said taking me over to the waiting medical staff.

I looked out at the ice and watched my team play while the nurse patched up the split the puck left over my eye.

"You've got to see a doctor about your foot, Uriah. I told your dad to take you to the hospital to get it checked." She said bandaging my busted foot.

"Yeah, whatever." I said blandly.

"Hello, Miriam." My father said to the nurse.

"Hi, Kev." She said in reply.

"Uriah. Let's go." He said patting my shoulder lightly. "I already got your stuff."

I pushed myself up out of my chair and limped my way out of the stadium to the car, my dad following close behind. I got in the back seat, because my sister, Emma, was in the front.

"Your performance today was appalling, Uriah." Dad said with a disgusted look appearing on his face.

"Dad, he did fine." Emma said in defence.

"Emma, he is perfectly capable of defending himself."

"Dad, don't snap at her because I got injured. Just because until my foot heals, you'll have to stop living vicariously through me doesn't mean I did any worse on the game. I'm the teams captain and star player, what more do you want?" I said.

"For you to succeed in your dream, Uriah. I'm nurturing your talent, not living vicariously through you, if your mother was still here, she'd agree with me."

"I don't think she would. But then again, I never met her." I said with a shrug.

The rest of the drive to the hospital was spent in complete silence.

"Emma, take your brother to the emergency room. Text me when you're out and I'll pick you up. Uriah can walk home." Dad said as he pulled out of the drop off zone.

"Thanks for defending me." I said no louder than a whisper.

"Wow, you're actually thanking me for something." She said with a smile. "Nah, its fine. You don't deserve to be spoken to like that."

"Neither of us do."

"Yeah. It makes me wish mom was here."

"Did she really die? I feel like she didn't. I mean, we've never been to her grave and this apparent car accident was never in any newspaper or anything." I said.

"She didn't die, Uriah. She was a drug addict, she left to keep the two of us safe."

"Either that, or she ran away because dad was abusing her."

We walked into the emergency department and checked in at triage. A long wait later, they finally called my name.

"So Mr. Kaine, I think our issue is clear today. Busted foot, nose and eye. Care to explain how it happened?" The doctor said.

"I'm a hockey player, sir. I got hit in the face with a flying puck and fell. When I fell I busted my foot." I said.

"Ahh, how fun that must have been."

"Definitely." I said with an eye roll.

"Well, this gash on your eye should be fine, just make sure it stays clean. Your foot on the other hand, seems to be a fairly bad sprain, hopefully there's no nerve and tendon damage, but really all we can do at the moment is slab it and give you some crutches." He said as a nurse came in with a plaster cart.

The nurse put a back slab on my leg and saw me on my way, back out to the waiting room where Emma was. Dad showed up, and sticking to what he said, left me on the curb to walk home. Worst part being I couldn't get a cab because my wallet is at home.

I made my way away from the hospital with great difficulty. I ended up taking a ten minute rest on the side of the road because my arms were getting sore. I continued on my way and about three blocks from my house Damien pulled up beside me and drove me the rest of the way home.

"Thanks Damo." I said before drove off.

I got to the door and went inside, immediately making a b-line for my room. I flopped down onto my bed and fell right to sleep.

~*~

I woke up to my alarm clock going off, as per usual and grabbed my crutches. I quickly got dressed and made my way to the kitchen and grabbed myself a granola bar. I grabbed my bag and went outside where Damien, Emma and Miah were waiting in Damo's car.

"Hey, Uriah." Miah said in her usual, far too high, far too girly tone.

"Hi... Miah." I said with a reluctant smile.

"Oh! Uriah, I've decided what colour we're wearing to the presentation ball." She said far too happily.

"We're, not going together. And you don't get to choose what colour you wear to the presentation ball. Girls wear white, boys where black suits." I said.

"You'll give in someday, Uriah. That day will with no doubt be the best day of my life. Please tell me we're going to the Halloween dance together, and the Christmas festival, and the winter gala, and the fall fiesta, and the spring disco, and the summer spirit dance, and the valentines ball."

"No, Miah. What's wrong with Keaton? He's been asking you to every dance since year eight, but you always turn him down and try and get me to go with you. I don't dance, I don't dress up and I certainly don't go to school any longer than necessary. My parents are forcing me to go to the presentation ball." I said as we pulled up the school.

I made my way through the front gate and immediately was met my the stares of my fellow students.

"Hey Kaine. How was the game last night, great win... Oh wait, you screwed the game for the whole team." Keaton said as I punched my locker open. "Nice eye by the way. Purple and green really match your eyes."

"Piss off, Parker." I said.

"Just because you can't handle a puck, don't mean you have to take it out on me." He said defensively. "But, I gotta say, I'm kinda glad you broke your foot. That means that you'll be out for the rest of the season and we can actually win for once."

At this point I'd reached my final straw and dropped my crutches and took a swing at his face.

"Nice nose. Crooked really brings out your eyes." I said with a smirk.

"Uriah Kaine! What is the meaning of this?"