Off Ice.

Chapter Fifty-Five.

Finn

Leaving again tomorrow. Like always.

I know it's the ending stretch, but it doesn't make the goodbyes to Avery any less difficult. The only thing that does now is knowing that she's safe, knowing that he's gone.

He's locked up with a pretty high bail right now, so there's honestly no real shot of him being released. I wish I wasn't still thinking about him, but it still feels too good to be true. I feel like there's a catch, even though every single person in law enforcement that I've spoken to has vehemently told me that it's not possible. He's not getting out.

Two and a half more weeks. That's all we have left of long distance. That's the last hurdle.

I'm flying back to LA once last time for her graduation and then we're done. She's driving her stuff up to Seattle with Grace, Casey and I are (hopefully) going to be getting pretty deep into playoffs. Once she's moved her boxes into our apartment, she's coming and living with me in San Jose until the season is over. Once she leaves LA the day after graduation, that's it. This city will be in the rear view mirror.

Only two and a half weeks left.

We done much longer than that. With our busy schedules, that short amount of time feels like only a couple days. Of course I'd prefer to not be away from her more than a couple hours, but this is doable. We're nearly there.

Although we lost the game last night, I'm not too upset about it. I would of been if anyone but Case scored that goal. In a fucked up way, I wanted him to score. I watched him on the breakaway and when he was all alone, I wanted it to go in. I stood up with my team and tried my best to act deflated with everyone else when I saw it hit the net. The competitor in me was angry at myself for that, and I wouldn't admit it to him, but he deserved it. He made it really hard to play against him all night. He deserved to have the spotlight on him.

Casey is a natural born leader, no doubt about it. He's so charismatic and willing to help everyone. He's a fan favorite for sure, but no one outside of the Kings really talks about him. The NHL never covers him, other teams don't talk about him. He flies under the radar.

He deserves more recognition. Sure, he doesn't have the fanciest game but that just doesn't matter. He has an impact on the ice every single shift, he's so tough to compete against. He has so much energy, he's fast, he's tough. He spares me normally, but I've gotten a few really hard checks from him when he's been so focused he doesn't realize it's me. He's no doubt stronger than I am and one of the only people who can get me to fall from a check that I see coming.

It's not common for someone to be big and strong like he is, but still fast.

I'm faster though.

He may outweigh me, but no one can take away from my speed. It's the only thing I really got going for me right now.

But competition aside, it was a good night. That late goal was exhilarating and one that I'm going to remember for a long time.

I don't go on social media all that often anymore, but we all did today and to say we were shocked by how much was posted about us would be an understatement.

There were cameras on the suite they were all sitting in, so when Casey and I spotted them and waved - the broadcast station caught it. Soon after, a side by side of me and Case and Aves and Grace were all over the NHL's pages - of us waving at each other. The comments were mainly nice, saying how much they love us, how great our relationships seem. I saw a few nasty ones that made me stop looking at the comments all together. The last thing I need is to see people speak poorly of my girl because she doesn't look like other girlfriends in the NHL. I don't get what the big deal about that is. Why do people care who I'm with, or what she looks like? She's no different, I don't understand how anyone can think she is. The only thing that makes her different is the fact that she's Aves, and there's really no one else out there like her.