Emerson makes a ‘Who me?’ face and presses her hand to her chest. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”
Something tells me McGinnis won’t be escaping the moniker anytime soon, but that’s the least of my concerns because now more than ever, I need the Gliders to win tomorrow night.
My job quite literally depends on it.
18
KNOX
Winners win,St. James.
I close my eyes and visualize myself poised for the puck drop. Sweat beads along my hairline, and the familiar scent of ice fills my nostrils. My eyes are locked on the ref’s hand, and the instant his finger twitches, I’m moving, prepared to intercept the puck before it lands.
Using my blade, I bat the puck down just before it makes contact with the ice. I slide it back to D-Vo. I don’t have to look to know he’s driving toward the goal. I skate hard, breath coming fast and rough as I move into position.
With his gaze locked on the goalie, D-Vo snaps the puck to me. It’s a sick no-look pass and I immediately drop to one knee and shoot, angling for the top of the net.
The goalie never even sees it coming.
The puck sails right past him. By the time he reacts, it’s too late. The puck is already buried in the net.
I rise and rush D-Vo, throwing my arms around him.
Someone touches my arm, and I snap back to reality.
Coach is standing over me, tablet in hand. “Knox, I need you to hang back for a minute.”
I glance around. The other guys are heading out for warmups, and I should be leading them.
My chest tightens. “What’s up, Coach?”
“I need your best tonight, son.” He holds up a hand, silencing me before I can even get started. “We need this win, and that means putting points on the board early. We can’t afford to trail the Rangers.”
He’s right. Some teams thrive on a comeback, but we’re not one of them.
We’re currently 3-3-2, and a win tonight would at least give us a winning record. It could be the morale boost we need. At the very least, it would give us something positive to build on. We’ve had some close games that should’ve been wins, but our defense fell apart in overtime.
“I’ll do my best, Coach.”
The Rangers are a tough team. They’re fast, physical, and they swept us last year, but we have the skill to hold our own.
“Good.” He squeezes my shoulder. “I know things have been a little rocky, but I have confidence in you, Knox. It’s easy to lead a winning team, but it’s what you do when things are shit that matters most.” He’s right, of course. He knows it and I know it. We’ve both been through the wringer. “There’s a reason I put that C on your chest. It’s because I believe you’re the leader this team needs.”
Guilt gnaws at my conscience. Would Coach still believe in me if he knew what I’ve done? What Iamdoing?
Not likely.
“If we can smooth out the rough edges, this team will be a playoff contender, but we aren’t there yet. The guys on this team look up to you, and they need to know that you believe in them.”
If they don’t already know, then I’m doing a piss-poor job as team captain.
I don’t want to believe it. Don’t want to believe that I’ve been so wrapped up in my own problems that I’m failing in my duties, but I force myself to sit with it. To think about all the times I could have given McGinnis advice, but didn’t.
He wasn’t going to listen anyway. He’s proven as much, refusing even the simplest of suggestions like picking up his damn socks.
But what if he had listened? What if I hadn’t given up on him?
Shit. I haven’t given up…have I?