The Hockey Player (Matt Sturniolo)

Dan Smash

Aurora's POV

The week was a horrible blur. My parents held conversations before and after school. Classes diminished in my ears. Words and numbers went together on my homework.

'What if' questions ran through my brain. What if Matt did nothing? What if Dan found out? What if my reputation was ruined again? I didn't care what people outside of my inner circle thought of me, but I didn't want to be school gossip again.

Graduation Day seemed further away. I kept to myself, only talking to answer questions in class. To reduce the chance that Dan knew about my feelings for Matt, I sat through track races with Raine.

"Feelings?" She blinked, like I was talking another language.

"Sh" I whispered and looked down. My face heated. "Yes, feelings. I caught feelings for Matt"

I wrapped the feelings up and held them close to my heart. I liked Matt. A lot. He was wedged into my head, and I missed him. Having them without a safety net was scary. His silent mode wasn't helping. Now I knew why Dan hated mine so much.

"I'm happy for you, Aurora. What are you going to do about..." she paused. "I can't wait for the game. Thanks for bringing the fireworks"

"No fireworks. If you say a word, I'll disown you"

She smirked. "How does one disown a friend?"

"No idea" I sighed. "I'll make you sit next to Dan every time you come over for dinner"

"Relax. I don't need another excuse not to talk to Dan" her smirk faded into a smile. "I hope Matt treats you good. The minute he fucks up and hurts your feelings, I'll turn his avocados into guacamole"

"I know" I smiled at my clasped hands. "He knows, by the way. About...you know"

She gasped. "He knows? How did he react?"

How could anyone react? "It's not his place to fix me"

"Never thought you were broken"

Raine didn't need to know that I climbed Matt like a tree, but I did tell her about my therapy experience. She hugged me as her eyes welled with tears. "It'll be okay. I've got a lot of work to do in self improvement, but I'm positive"

"I'm so proud of you, Aurora" she whispered. "I hope it works out with Matt"

What was Matt up to? My phone was quiet, but I kept checking it. How many girls did he have to apologise to?

I checked my phone like a drug addict looking for a fix. Raine caught me staring at my phone, waiting for a magical message to appear.

My parents noticed my disengagement in our breakfast and dinner conversations. I caught their looks when I pushed away food and excused myself. Wednesday, the recruiters would call and they wanted to meet the parents. Mom and Dad left the call with teary eyes. Martin told me I could take Thursday evening off work, but his offer was pointless.

Dan was oblivious to my foggy state. He was busy with practices and film study, but I didn't want him to think about anything except hockey.

I sat on a toilet in an empty stall in the girl's bathroom during Friday's pep rally. My bag vibrated and I looked down at it. My phone worked! I unlocked it and my heart slowed down at the message.

Raine: hey, skipping the rally. And I got detention.
Raine: I'll explain tonight

What trouble has she gotten into now? My phone buzzed again. There he was.

Matt: hi Aurora.
Matt: are you there? I need to talk

I typed so fast, every letter was wrong. I probably came off too eager, but I didn't care.