Miss Hockey • f.reed

three

"What? I'm insulted by that!" Bombay called out to the ref though his expression and tone of voice not changing very much.

Charlie got pressed against the boards by two of the other teams' players, fighting for the puck that had been hit over in the corner. Hayden skated over in an attempt to help her friend but was only slammed into the boards too.

"Charlie, Hayden!" Bombay called, waving the two over after they lost the puck and the other team had scored.

"That guy is twice your size, both of you. Charlie, next time he gets you in a corner like that, I want you to grab your eye like it's cut and hit the ground. Hayden, if he gets stuck, skate past them and hit the ice, act like one of them took out your skates, okay kid? Got it?" Bombay asked, genuinely expecting the two of them to cheat.

"C'mon Ducks, let's go." The ref called, the two skating back out on.

—

After losing and regaining the puck in the face-off, Charlie was once again stuck in a corner, fighting the same two boys for the puck.

"C'mon Charlie!" Bombay yelled from his place in the box. After a couple of seconds of Charlie not doing anything Bombay tried again. "Get in there, Hayden! Let's go!"

Both just stared at him, unwilling to win if it meant they had to cheat.

"Damn it, you too," Bombay said under his breath as neither of them did what he asked, Charlie pushing the puck out to Guy who eventually got it stolen from him with Hayden getting pushed down by one of the players that had fought Charlie for the puck as he skated by.

—

"Charlie, Hayden!" Bombay boomed as he stormed into the locker room after the game was over, livid at the two best friends for not listening to him. "What the hell is the matter with you? Both of you? When I tell you to do something, you do it, got it?" Bombay looked between the two but neither of them met his eye. "Look at me!" The two finally looked him in the eye. "You got it?" He asked again.

"You can't make us cheat." Charlie seethed, pushing past Bombay so he could leave.

"And you can't talk to us like that and expect us to want to listen to you. Jerk." Hayden answered for herself, following her ride home out of the locker room as she tossed her bag over her shoulder.

—

The next night, Hayden and Charlie raced from the pond they first meet Bombay at to they're apartment complex. After beating him there and to his own apartment door, Hayden stood in the Conway's kitchen, trying to help Charlie set the table and help Casey finish dinner at the same time.

Hayden's parents got a divorce when she was only three years old, her dad having got full custody of her and her older brother, who had recently got accepted into college a few weeks ago and had just moved into his dorm room on campus within the last two and a half weeks.

Her dad often worked nights, leaving the young girl alone since her brother was gone now and since the young girl lived across the hall and one door down from her best friends apartment, Casey Conway often asked the girl to have dinner with the small family, sometimes allowing her to stay the night in the guest bedroom, not wanting her to be home alone.

When a knock came on the door, Casey ran to get it. She looked through the peephole and reluctantly opened the door a small bit for Bombay.

"Hi." Bombay quietly started, partly disappointed that Charlie hadn't opened the door instead.

"Can you please just go away? Hayden is over for diner. They don't want to be on the team anymore and quite frankly, neither them nor I have anything to say to you." Casey spoke, starting to shut the door on him.

"I have something to say to you," Bombay said, catching the door quickly before she could get it fully shut.

"Oh really? Door-to-door mistreatment, now? Now, the team can feel miserable between games too, huh?" Casey spoke sarcastically, liking the coach less and less with every word he said.

"I came to apologize to Charlie and Hayden. I didn't realize she'd be here though." Bombay struggled to say.

"To what?" Casey asked for the sole purpose of making him say it again, knowing it bothered him to have to admit he's sorry.

"Apologize," Bombay said, struggling just as much as he did the first time he said it.

"Well, you should," Casey said, opening the door fully so he could come in. "Charlie, Hayden. There's someone here to see you two."  She said as she turned to face the kitchen.

Charlie and Hayden shared a glance - confused as to who would've known she might be at her best friend's apartment - before running into the living room, coming to a halt after seeing Bombay standing in the living room with his hands in his jacket pockets.

"Hey guys, how're you doing?" Bombay asked the pair. Instead of answering, the two just looked down, making Bombay continue. "I was just um, walking around thinking and um," Bombay turned to Charlie's mom. "You want to give us a minute?"

Bombay thanked her as she walked back to the kitchen. Hayden mouthed the words 'don't leave us' as Casey passed. Casey smiled at the young girl, kissing the side of her head as she walked into the kitchen.

Bombay sat in the armchair as Charlie and Hayden sat side by side on the couch adjacent to it.

"Listen, it was very wrong of me to ask you and the team to cheat and Hayden was right. I shouldn't have said the things I did to you. I was being a jerk, but I was angry and frustrated and it took a lot of guts for you two to do what you know is right. I admire that and I just wanted to tell you that I'm- that I'm, um I'm uh-" Bombay struggled to get the words out.

"You're sorry!" Casey said from just around the corner, obviously eavesdropping on the conversation.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, alright?" Bombay said the second one loud enough for Casey to hear. "Tell your mom that, hopefully, it'll be a lot more fun this time around. What do you say?" Bombay asked.

"Do you want to stay for dinner?" Charlie asked Hayden's eyes widened and Bombay was completely taken off guard by the question.

"What?" He asked, still not fully comprehending what Charlie had asked.

"Charlie!" His mom exclaimed, coming around the corner.

"Um, no, I can't." Bombay reluctantly turned down, looking between the three of them. Casey nodded, letting him know it was okay.

"Well, what are you having?" The coach asked, finally giving in.