The Hockey Girl

Chapter 4

            Riaz smiled, “Thanks Ari.”

            “Hey, is my dad back yet?” I wondered aloud, directing the question to anyone who would answer.

            I felt a large, warm hand encompass mine and I looked over to see Nate holding my hand. I smiled at him, an action I seemed to be embracing frequently this morning. It was good to know that Nate was here for me. He was able to make me feel safe.

            “No, he’s not back. He called earlier though and said that he’d either be back later tonight or early tomorrow morning. He told us to make sure you knew that if you wanted him back home right away, to just call and he’d come immediately. Your uncle isn’t taking the news too well and your dad wants to support him. He asked if we could stay the night again so that you have loved ones around you.” Nate informed me, squeezing my hand in reassurance.

            “Nate, Drew and I can stay the night.” Vasic said. “The other guys have work or family commitments tomorrow.” He gave me a small, grim smile and I returned the gesture.

            “A few of the guys from the team have called up this morning, they heard about your mum on the news and they wanted to wish you well. They all said that they’d come by after work for a while if you were okay with it.” Alexei mentioned.

            The part about my mother’s death being on the news piqued worry within me, “If the crash was on the news… It must have been horrific.” I could hear the shaking aspect in my voice, I fought it back.

            “We honestly don’t know any details Ari. Your dad said that he’d talk it over with you.” Alexei said, he spoke in a soothing voice. He hated it when I cried, all the guys did.

            “Hey, what do you say we make some breakfast and then relax for the rest of the day? We can watch a few movies, play a couple games, whatever you want Ari. The others guys will turn up within a few hours and they can join in.” Vasic suggested.

            There was a chorus of, ‘that’s a good idea’ and, ‘yeah, sure’, from the boys around me.

            “That sounds good Vas. Thanks guys, for staying, for supporting me. I’d be a mess without you guys here with me.”

           

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We took about an hour and a half with breakfast. It was an occasion with copious amounts of mess, laughter and teasing. Nate, Vasic, Riaz, Alexei, Riordan and Drew were able to make me feel at ease. I wasn’t able to completely forget about what had happened to mum, but I was able to focus on other things.

Riaz wore a grin that was the picture of pure glee when I placed the plate of peanut butter pancakes in front of him. I’d made enough for everyone and the boys had cooked eggs, bacon, hash browns and anything else they had a craving for. It was a good breakfast, filled with talk of hockey and potential movie possibilities for after breakfast.

It was now six o’clock and the whole team was over. Each of them had wished me well and apologised for my loss. I didn’t want to focus on my mum in this moment; I wanted to focus on being with my friends, feeling content.

We’d already watched two movies and the boys had played a couple of games on the Xbox when Tai asked Elias if he had managed to, ‘get with that girl he was after’.

“I’m working on it mate, believe me. This girl is not easy to impress.”

“Hey, why’s this the first time I’m hearing about this?” I asked, my voice leaked unhappiness, but my eyes showed that I was only joking.