Olympic Fire [Miracle on Ice]

CHAPTER 10: Building Up Tensions

                 

~KIMBERLY'S POV~

The next morning I wake up at the sound of alarm clock and stretch my arm to shut it down, when the pain wakes me up completely. I lift up Brown T-shirt in which I slept and close my eyes at sight of my skin. Blue and purple marks are all over my ribs, some of them nearly black. Well, O'Callahan really took out his rage on me, I guess. Slowly, I crawl out of bed, throwing blanket off of me, when my chest starts to hurt and my breathing becomes labored.

"Oh shit," I sigh, my hand resting on a wall for support while I am taking deep breaths. With each breath I take, the pain gets worse and I realize there probably is no other option for me but to see the Doc. I wobble to the bathroom as fast as I can and change my clothes after a shower. Slipping my over-sized hoodie on, I rush down the dorm hall, when I bump into Mike Eruzione. As I bump into his broad chest, the pain flashes through my body again and I am left with no other option but to lean on him while taking deep breaths.

"Are you okay?"

"Y-Yes... I will be fine, just need to see Doc," I smile weakly. His eyes soften a bit: "From yesterday?"

"From your asshole of a friend, yes."

He takes a step back, lifting his arms in surrender: "Hey, what you and OC had is none of anyone's business. I was just being nice."

"I know, I am sorry. Just...I am scared I might get sent home because of that and I really don't wanna leave."

Comforting words would be nice to hear and I see in his eyes he would like to say something to make me feel more secure, but there are just no words. Especially now when we are starting to get to know Herb.

"I-I am sure you have nothing to fear about. Let me walk you to Doc, okay?"

it takes few seconds for me to think about his words. Yes, he did offer that himself, but if anyone sees me in a company of a possible teammate, speculations and rumors will begin. Plus, it will look like I can't take care of myself.

"That would be nice. Thanks, Mike."

While walking to Doc's office at the campus, Mike and I keep the small talk. In this time I learn he plays for IHL's Toledo Goaldiggers and that he won Ken McKenzie Trophy, which is awarded to the American-born player, who had the most outstanding first season in the IHL. Not only that, his team also won Turner Cup a year ago. Excluding playing for Toledo, he had been playing hockey for Massachusetts teams nearly his entire life. With an emphasize on nearly.

"And after I finished high school I spent a year at Berwick University to fine-tune my game. A year after, after finishing Berwick U, I started playing for Boston."

"How did you decide to play hockey for BU?"

He chuckles somewhat awkwardly: "A funny story, really. There was another college in the game and I was seriously thinking about going there but something made me change my mind."
"What was that something?" I keep being nosy, but this guy seems really nice and easy-going. My question apparently sets some memories free and he stops for a second. Then he shakes his head and smiles again: "Well, coach of that other school forgot my name and that just made me think 'You know what, fuck you. why should I give you my time to play for you if you don't even remember my name.'  And that's how I ended up at BU. What about you, what made you choose Brown University?"

"I never really thought about it. Ya know, everything I was doing for my entire life was just another thing to add to my CV and continue my education at Brown University. That was actually the only university that was considered as acceptable for me..."
"Do you like it there?"