The sun was shining brightly in Lake Placid when they finally made it there. The bus ride had felt like it lasted forever for Julia. She sat next to Robbie, and they talked a lot. They talked about dinner with the band and the party, as well as the game against the Soviets. They talked about the Olympics a lot, but they didn't speak about what would happen after the Olympics. Julia tried to occupy her worried mind by writing lyrics in her journal, but her thoughts kept wandering back to Jack. More specifically, she was thinking about if Herb would cut Jack. She felt herself tearing up everytime she thought of Jack being cut, and then it led her to wonder what she would do. She wouldn't blame Jack if he didn't want to stay in Lake Placid, but she knew she would stay to watch the games. She really didn't want to think about that conversation.
"Little different than last time we were here," Rizzo noted as they got off the bus, looking around at all the people milling about the tiny village. Large piles of dirty snow lined the road, but it didn't take away from the obvious excitement in the air.
"Yeah, that's putting it lightly," Robbie laughed. Julia watched as Herb turned to Craig and Walter Bush, the team's general manager who had traveled from Manhattan to Lake Placid with them.
"You take care of these guys, I'm gonna go check on OC," Herb said to this assistant coach. Julia bit back the urge to follow her uncle and planted her feet firmly as they waited for everyone to get off the bus.
"Come on, guys, stick with me," Craig said, nodding his head as he headed into the large building behind them. Julia followed beside Robbie, her gut twisting and untwisting with nerves for Jack and the rest of the boys.
When they entered the building, their ears were bombarded with the languages of athletes from all over the world. Men and women from all over the world were checking in, getting ID badges and room keys. Despite the worry that had made its home in her belly, Julia found herself looking around in excitement. It was hard to wrap her head around the fact that after months of the boys working tirelessly, they were finally at the Olympics.
"Herb!"
She was brought out of her thoughts by Doc's voice across the crowded room. She looked toward the sound to see Doc and Jack. Herb, Craig, and Walter made their way over to the duo. Julia couldn't make out what Jack said to Herb, but she watched as Herb and Walter clapped him on the back as he crutched past them. He made his way over to where his teammates and girlfriend were gathered.
"It's a stretched ligament. No surgery," he told them all, confirming what Doc had thought. They all breathed a sigh of relief. Julia watched Herb, Craig, Doc, and Walter converse out of the corner of her eye.
"What has Herb said?" Rizzo asked Jack. He just shook his head.
"He's keeping me in the dark," Jack sighed. No one said anything else, all lost in their own thoughts. Jack knew the position his teammates were in: wanting to have the very best chances possible likely meant him going home and being replaced by one of Herb's cuts. He couldn't blame them, as he would want the same thing.
Eventually, Craig and Herb got the team checked in and passed around their ID badges. Julia looked at her badge in admiration.
"I'm glad you get to be here with us," Robbie told her with a smile.
"Me too," she nodded as the two of them laid their lanyards around their necks.
Robbie didn't elaborate on his thoughts out loud, but he couldn't help but think back to when he first told her he was trying out for the Olympic team. Even over the phone, he could tell that she was out of her mind on who knows what substances. When she had promised that she would be at the Games, he took it with a grain of salt. Then after the events that took place on Christmas Eve, Robbie was totally at a loss for what to expect. He wasn't sure if she would spiral further, be kicked out of the band, go back to California, or some unknown option. When she had willingly gone to rehab, he had been skeptical. Proud, but skeptical nonetheless. Eight months earlier, it would have seemed impossible to him that his best friend would be there with him, let alone happy, sober, and in love.
The group made their way to the hockey arena, going on a tour around the building as the boys talked excitedly among themselves. Julia could feel the electricity in the overall mood of the team. Even after their recent tough loss, things seemed to be looking up. Herb dismissed them all, encouraging them all to get some rest before dinner. Julia turned to ask Jack a question, before noticing that he wasn't beside her. She turned around, spotting him standing on the ice, surveying his surroundings. She cautiously made her way out to him, trying her best not to slip.
"Hey," she greeted softly. He turned his head to look at her, trying to give her a smile.
"Hey."
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah," he nodded. He looked past her, seeing Robbie and Rizzo chatting casually as they waited on the pair. "I just wanna think for a minute. I'll catch up to you guys, okay?"
Julia nodded, giving his shoulder a squeeze before she made her way back to Rizzo and Robbie. Past them, Herb had noticed Jack on the ice. His face was unreadable as he made eye contact with his niece, walking past her to join Jack. Julia inhaled sharply, looking to Rizzo and Robbie with wide eyes. Both of them frowned, and Rizzo put a hand on her shoulder, leading her away from the ice.
"It's just not fair," she whined quietly. She felt the hot sting of tears pricking at the back of her eyes as she anticipated the result of Herb and Jack's conversation.
"You're right. It's not," Rizzo agreed flatly. The three of them got far enough away to not seem like they were eavesdropping and waited solemnly for Jack. Julia tapped her foot impatiently, thinking of what she could possibly say to her boyfriend to soften the blow of his dreams behind snatched away at the last second.
"Whoo!"
All three of their heads snapped toward the sound of the elated yell. Julia didn't want to get her hopes up, but luckily she only had to wait a second to hear Jack's happy voice.
"OC's playing, baby!"
Robbie and Rizzo both looked shocked, while Julia's face broke into a huge smile. She was bouncing on the balls of her feet as Jack crutched off the ice with a grin on his face.
"Did we hear that right?" Robbie questioned when Jack was within ear shot. Jack looked momentarily surprised to see them waiting for him, but he nodded.
"Yeah. Herb's keeping me."
A chorus of happy sentiments rang from the three of them, and Julia wrapped her arms around Jack's waist. He couldn't do much to hug her back while using his crutches, but he leaned down to kiss her head.
"It sounds like Doc is gonna keep me doing physical therapy pretty much all day everyday, but if it means I'll get to play, I'm more than happy to do it," Jack explained to them. They nodded and turned to leave the arena, heading toward the bus that would take them to the Olympic Village. The team was ecstatic to find out that Jack would be staying, which only added to his good mood.
They wouldn't be staying in the same hotel they had stayed at in December, and they had been warned that the Olympic Village was about eight miles away. When they finally pulled up, they saw a campus of several brick buildings, with athletes milling about everywhere. The entire place looked sort of bland and depressing, Julia thought.
"I heard they're converting it to a prison after the Games," Silky informed everyone, looking over the dreary village.
"You don't say," Julia said dryly as they began to unload from the bus. Once they were all out, standing in the cold air, Julia felt an ominous presence approaching them on the sidewalk. She looked up to see who she could only assume was the Soviet hockey team. She wouldn't have recognized any of them, but somehow she knew as she saw them walking as a group that it was them. She quickly turned her head, avoiding eye contact with any of them. She grabbed her luggage and followed everyone inside towards their bleak living situation, and she wondered if it was too late to turn down her uncle's offer to stay in the village.
"Watch out for your little boyfriend," Rizzo teased her, nodding his head toward a group of men wearing jackets with the Dutch flag on them. She frowned and cocked her head in confusion. Rizzo laughed before reminding her. "Ted Lenssen. That goalie you flirted with back in Holland."
Julia, Jack, and Robbie all laughed at the memory.
"Oh, I forgot about him. What a prick," she remembered with a grin.
"Actually, you called him a 'fucking sieve' if I'm remembering correctly," Robbie smirked.
"He deserved it," she asserted.
"That's my girl," Jack grinned as he crutched along beside her.
Hi friends! For those of you that didn't see my announcement, I went through some pretty unpleasant things the last couple months. I'm sorry I haven't been updating. To be honest, this isn't my favorite chapter but we're pushing through to exciting stuff. Thanks for reading, voting, and commenting!