Like Perfection || Adrian Kempe

Ch. 18

Adrian's POV- February 2016

I woke up to someone knocking on the door incredibly hard. The door swung open and I sat up to look at my roommate, Val. I had to admit, I was a bit surprised that he woke me up. I was a heavy sleeper, so I gave him props. I also hated him because he had woken me up and it as early.

"Dude" I snapped at him.

He looked at me with wide eyes.

"I just got traded"

Well now I was fully awake.

"You're kidding" I told him.

He shook his head and stared at the floor.

"Where?" I asked.

This was crazy, he was literally the LA Kings top prospect at the moment. Then again, he was the top prospect. Teams would trade for a great player like him.

"Carolina"

"For?" I asked.

"Kris Versteeg"

I sighed and rubbed my face.

"Can you take me to the airport?"

"Yeah, of course" I answered.

He nodded and left the room. I reached for my phone and called Sophia. Just when I thought the call was going to go to voicemail she answered the phone.

"Hello"

"I know it's early, but you need to hear this" I said.

I heard shuffling.

"What's wrong?"

"Val got traded" I told her.

I looked at my phone when I got no response.

"You're kidding"

"I wish I was" I admitted.

"Where?"

"Carolina" I replied.

"Give me a second"

I heard her type something on her computer.

"There's nothing on the internet"

"Val literally just woke me up" I said.

"Do you know who the Kings are getting?"

"Kris Versteeg" I answered.

She hummed.

"I know" I stated.

I sighed.

"What time is his flight?"

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

I got out of bed and made my way to his room. I knocked on his door getting his attention. 

"What time is your flight?" I asked.

"Noon"

I nodded.

"It's at noon" I said to Sophia.

"Can you hand him the phone?"

"Yeah, give me a second" I replied.

I handed Val my phone and began putting his clothes into his suitcase. I couldn't hear anything Sophia was saying, but it made him break. He nodded as he sniffled and wiped his face with his hand. This was crazy, Val was worth more than Kris Versteeg. Sure Val wasn't producing for the Reign at the moment but we all had slumps. 

"It's business"

He shrugged a bit and nodded.

"I know, thank you for being my friend"

He smiled a bit as he looked down at the floor. His english had improved a lot, and it was Sophia who helped him. It was nice to see how much she wanted him to fit in. He knew a lot more english than he did a few months ago. 

"I'm going to change" I told Val.

He nodded as I closed up his suitcase. I left the room and quickly changed, I had to look presentable because I was going to be meeting some of Sophia's teammates after.

"Ready?" I asked Val.

He nodded and handed me my phone.

"Yeah"

I grabbed a jacket before leaving my room and looked at him.

"Just donate my stuff"

I nodded and followed him out.

"Sophia asked if you could pick her up so she can come with"

"Yeah, its on the way" I told him.

He nodded and I closed the door.

"Here, I don't need this"

He handed me his key to the apartment and smiled.

"You were a good roommate"

"You're going to make me cry, and I still need to drive" I warned.

We put his suitcase in the car and I took a deep breath as I turned on the car. The drive to LA was smooth, but that was because it was early and no one was out yet. Driving back was going to be a different answer. I called Soph telling her we were almost there, and she was waiting at the lot by the time I got there.

"You ok?"

She squeezed Val's shoulder as he nodded. The drive to LAX was quick, and I decided to take his suitcase out of the car while he said goodbye to Soph. 

"If you ever need someone to talk to, it doesn't matter what time you call me ok?"

He nodded and gave her a tight squeeze.

"This isn't a goodbye, I'll see you later"

She squeezed his hands and stepped back.

"This sucks" I admitted.

I opened my arms and pulled him into a hug.

"Kick butt and make them regret this" I told him.

He nodded against my shoulder and pulled away.

"You were a good roommate, you just need to clean up more"

I laughed.

"I have to now, I won't have you to do it for me" I stated.

He chuckled and looked at me.

"Treat her well"

He pulled me into a hug and pressed his mouth close to my ear.

"Because if you don't, I will find her and treat her better"

I nodded as he pulled away. 

"Call me when you get there?" I asked.

He nodded.

"Don't miss me too much"

He winked and grabbed his suitcase. I took a deep breath and looked at Sophia.

"Fuck the NHL" I told her.

She nodded and crossed her arms.

"The Kings are going to regret this"

She opened the car door and got inside the car. I bit my lip when I realized I was the Kings top prospect now. If they didn't care to trade Val, what made me safe?