One of the Boys

Chapter 28

Christopher

A couple days later

"Hey Dels, Morgan's here!" I shout out while opening the door for my sister to step inside. "Okay, give me a minute! Just putting the rest of my clothes away!" She shouts back from down the hallway as I close the door behind Morgan. "Hey kiddo. How's it going?" I ask as she takes off her shoes.

"I'm doing good. How's Delaney feeling?" She replies. "She's doing better than she was the past couple of days. The doctor told her to have as little screen time as possible so we've been working on this puzzle since she got home the other day." I say gesturing towards the coffee table where the puzzle sat. "That sucks but I guess you gotta do what you gotta do right?" Morgan replies. "Yep." I nod.

"Hey Morgan, how you doing girlie?" Delaney appears with a smile and moves to give my sister a hug. "I'm good, how are you doing? I'm sorry to hear you're not in the line up to start playoffs." Morgan replies with a sad smile before Delaney looks over at me with a slightly sad expression. "It's alright. I go back for an assessment in about a week or so to find out if I'm clear to play again." Delaney replies.

"The doctor told me yesterday that if I do everything I'm suppose to do then I should be back in the line up for the final round of playoffs... If we get to that point." She adds adjusting herself so she's comfortable on the couch. "I'm sure we'll make it to the finals babe. We're a great team and we work our asses off everyday." I reply going into the kitchen to grab a bottle of water.

"Alright, I've gotta bounce. I'm picking Riley up on my way to the rink today. You two behave yourselves and I'll see you after the game." I say before going over to the door and putting my shoes on. "Okay, tell Rye I say hi and kick some Rochester ass tonight! We'll be watching!" Morgan says as Delaney gets up from the couch and comes over to the door where I'm standing. "What she said." Delaney smiles as she wraps her arms around my waist. I give her a quick kiss before opening the door. "I love you." I say. "Love you too." She replies.

******

"Hey man." I say when Riley opens the passenger side door. "Hey buddy. How's it going?" He replies while flashing his signature smile as he hops in next to me. "Good, good. Delaney and Morgan tell me to say hi from them." I say.

"How's Delaney doing?" Is the first thing he asks as he buckled his seatbelt while I back out of the driveway. "She's doing better. Morgs went over to hangout with her this afternoon and she's limited to her screen time so yesterday we worked on a puzzle and I think she's going to use her screen time today to catch the game." I reply.

"Any news on when she can get back into the lineup?" Is his next question as we turn onto a busy Main Street. "She goes for an assessment in about a week or so and the doctor told her if she does everything she's suppose to do to help her heal then she should be back in the lineup for the final round of playoffs." I reply.

"That's awesome! Hopefully we can get to the finals, I have a feeling we will make it but we'll have to work past the first three rounds first." Riley says. "Yeah, we'll see. I know her and Morgan will be watching our first game of playoffs tonight for sure. There's no way Dels would miss watching us." I say turning into the arena parking lot.

"Definitely going to feel a little different out on the ice without her. That's for sure." Riley says as I pull the car into an empty parking space and turn off the engine. "Trust me on this one Riles, it's gonna feel different for Jason too. I don't think they've ever played without the other one absent in a long time." I say getting out of the car.

******
"Hey Jace, how's it going buddy?" I ask walking past his stall and over to mine. "Hey man, I'm good. Ready to kick some Rochester ass out there?" He asks as I sit down and unzip my bag. "You know it!" I reply as I begin to get my gear sorted out.

"Dels told me you're staying with her the wee while Mason's on his road trip. How's she doing today?" Jason asks. "She's doing better. My sister came over to hangout with her and keep her company while we're here." I reply as Riley pops his head into the conversation.

"Hey Lee, I've got a question for you buddy." Riley says. "Yeah, shoot!" Jason says pulling his socks over his shin pads. "Has there ever been a time where you or Lane have missed a game? Like have you ever played while she wasn't able to make it to a game or vice versa?" He asked furrowing his eyebrows while trying to make sense of his words.

"Honestly, we've always been at all of our games except this one time. I fractured my wrist and was out for a few weeks but I still went to watch the games. This definitely feels different though, we have always been at every game, never missed one and even when we were injured, we'd go and watch our team play." He answers Riley's question.

******

After the first period was done, we went down to the locker room while the zamboni took its time out on the ice to flood. "Santiago, you're wanted out in the hall for a tv interview." Coach says as I look up and nod. "Thanks coach, I'll be out in a second." I reply taking a towel and wiping the sweat off my forehead.

"Chris, how are you doing?" The interviewer asks extending his hand for a handshake. "I'm good." I reply as they guide me towards a backdrop and a camera before we prepare for the interview. "Okay, we're live in 3, 2..." The camera man says before the guy interviewing me begins to speak. "So Chris, with the first round of playoffs happening right now, what do you think the challenges for your team are going into these games?" He asks. I wipe the dripping sweat from my nose before he holds the mic near me and I reply.

"Well you know obviously each team has their strengths and weaknesses and you know uh, we've just gotta go into each game with a positive mind set and hope for the best. In this first round you know, we're up against a team of great guys so I think we uh, we've just gotta work hard, and do our best not to turn the puck over too much in games.

"With Delaney rose out of the line up with a concussion, how do you think the team's performance will be affected with the line changes on defence?" He asks. "Yeah um, I don't think our performance out on the ice will change too much. You know, she's definitely a big part of our team and a very talented athlete but uh, you know we're lucky to have her on the team and I know that our defence is solid with or without changes in the line up. So we're gonna play hard and hopefully win these games for her." I reply.

"Alright Chris, thank you for your time and best of luck to you." He says after I reply to his questions. "Yeah, appreciate it, thanks." I say before heading back to the dressing room to suit up for the second period.

******

"Wooo!" We shout and holler after getting off the ice from our first playoff game win. "That's what I'm talking bout boys!" Lucas shouts. I take a seat at my stall and wipe the sweat from my brows.

"Gentlemen, amazing work out there tonight! Blue, congrats on the shutout!" Coach says pointing in Jack's direction with raised eyebrows and a proud smile on his face. "Thanks coach!" Jack replies with a huge smile on his face. "See you all on Monday!" Coach says before making an exit out of the locker room.

"Going to see Laney now?" Casey leans over and asks. "Yeah, Morgan texted me, they watched the game and she sent me a pic of Dels jumping up from the couch when Jace scored." I reply showing him the pic of my girl while he laughs.