District-5

Practice

Today's my first practice since I've been away from my brother and mother. Dad and I have been doing fine on our own for the past two days.. I've been doing so well during the other practices, the others have considered me like one of them. It's only been three practices I attended so far and now my fourth. I had fun and hung out with them after and during practices or even during school sometimes too. Connie and I went out to ice cream awhile ago to get to know each other more. Apparently her and Guy are dating, I kinda had the feeling. But still, I now know who is who for the boys.

I stepped out of my dad's car and walked inside with my hockey bag draped over my shoulder. I wasn't sure what today was going to bring. I had put make up around my eye so it didn't look as black, the swelling down a little and no one on the team knows what happened to me or what's going on right now with me and my family. I lost my idol, my brother, the one who cared for me the most, other then my dad.

I got into the locker room and changed into my gear and keeping my head low. I pulled my helmet on and walked out to the ice. My eye wasn't in pain, neither was there any pain around it either. I skated around the ice for a little and moped around doing nothing at all. Got some stares by the others, but I didn't really mind right now.

"Okay guys and girls! Laps!" Coach yelled, I started doing my laps. But I wasn't like motivated, I was more like a zombie jogging around the rink on the skates though.

Charlie's POV

"What's up with Cole?" He asked and pointed to Bella who looked like she just came back fromt he dead. She was so not into it all and was so mopey and not wanting to do much. It kinda affected the others since she wasn't during much and then others would get mad and then pull out their anger on Coach.

"I don't know, ask her." I told him.

"Hey, Cole! Why so down!" I guess she didn't hear him properly. "Take your helmet off and get over here." She skated over here. She didn't take the helmet off. Instead she pulled the gage up and looked at coach and I. The others stood next to us and looked at her too, except Goldberg. He stood next to her and looked at us. "What's wrong? What happened to be so good to this?" Maybe that was a little much, even though it was the full honest truth.

She shrugged her shoulders,"Nothing" Then she rubbed her face with her sleeve and I looked down at her sleeve. It was all brown and her right eye was black and swollen.

"Your eye!" The others all screamed then covered each other's mouths for being too loud.

"It's nothing. I was just playing street hockey with some 15, 16 and 17 year olds. One of them got my eye when I was goalie." She explained.

"Were you wearing a helmet?"

"No, never do when I play street hockey. I only wore gloves and skates. Enough to keep me rolling."

"Sit on the bench, Cole. You're done for they day." We all looked at each other and she looked at the ground, not moving. Goldberg tried pushing her off the ice, but she moved out of the way and he fell to the ground on his stomach.

"You're not benching me, coach. I've worked to get where I am and I am not being benched." She told us.

"Is something else going on?" I asked her. Her eyes looked sad and she seemed a little upset. But I guess she was able to hold her anger in for a little while longer.

She hesitated and then spoke, "No." She simply said. I knew something was up. I'll get it out of her and maybe she'll loosen up or something. I just want her to go back to being one of our power players. We have a game tomorrow as it is and we can't play with her being benched.

Practice ended, everyone left and it was just coach and Bella in the room. He stood in front of her as she pulled the tape and hockey socs off and threw them in her bag. Coach didn't see, impressed with her. I wasn't really spying on them, but I also didn't leave yet and was going to talk to her myself.

"You can tell us or me anything, you know that, right Bella?" He told her. She stared at the ground.

"So you want to know about my parents' recent divorce, my brother leaving me and all I have now is hockey and a black eye?!" She said, man, I had no idea it was like that for her. I really didn't know and it hurts, hurts to know she's kinda like me. Just me and my mom, I don't know who she lives with now, but I kinda don't know what she feels like.

"Look. I'm sorry, Bella. I had no clue."

"No one did, Coach. It all just happened the other night after I got a black eye."

"Well can I talk to your mom when she picks you up?"

"I don't live with her. I live with my father and he works late. I usually walk home or hang around town." She explained. She isn't like everyone around here. But she's still really cool and awesome.

"Oh, well. Does he come to games?"

"No, never bothers to. He goes to my brother's games though. Maybe you could meet him one day. Just maybe." She stood up and looked around, grabbed her skates and threw them in her bag. Then started to leave out the door, she left Coach there alone in the locker room. I walked up next to her and walked with her. She didn't say a word.

"You alright, Bella?" I asked. She shrugged her shoulders and continued staring at the ground.

"Hey, Charlie. Who's this?" My mom asked as I stopped and Bella stopped too.

"This is Bella. She's a new player on the team. "

"Well, nice to finally meet you, Bella. Charlie talks about you all the time." My eyes went wide, she didn't need to know that! Bella looked up from the ground and looked at my mom, then to me and smiled.

"He's a great kid, Mrs. Conway. Raised him well." Bella told my mom.

"Thank you... Well, uh, we should go so Charlie is well enough to play at tomorrow's game. Are you playing, Bella?"

She shook her head, "No, coach benched me." My mom nodded and Bella took off down the street to who knows where. I did have a small crush on her already, thanks to my mom. She might have a little feeling I do too.

Mom and I went home. It was a quiet night, but what I didn't like is what coach wanted us to do the day after at our game.