On Thin Ice

38

The early morning darkness made me want to crawl back into bed and hide under the covers. Coach Silva had made it clear to the team that the bus would be leaving at six AM and no later. We had a seven hour drive ahead of us, so we had to get on the road early.

"Elijah, you awake?" Dad asked through my closed door.

I opened the door to see him standing there with a tired expression.

"I'm going to drive you and Josh so you don't have to leave the car at the school for three days," he explained with a yawn.

I nodded and followed him down the stairs to the kitchen where he had prepared some eggs and toast for Josh and me.

"I packed you guys some snacks too," Dad told me.

"Thanks Dad."

Josh pattered down three steps and into the kitchen to meet us. His hair was a mess and he had tired bags under his eyes but I was sure I didn't look much better.

After eating and grabbing our things, we went out to the car and Dad drove us to the school where the bus was already waiting.

"Bye boys. Good luck," Dad said as we gathered our things. "I love you guys."

"Love you," Josh and I said in unison as we began to make our way to the bus.

"Elijah," Dad called out, causing me to turn back to him.

"Yeah?"

"If anything happens, call me," he said. "Call me whenever you need to. Or want to."

I nodded. "I will."

We said one last goodbye before Dad pulled away and I made my way over to the bus where most of the team was already sitting. Fox stood outside the bus with the coaches but his eyes were glued to me when he saw me approaching.

"Good morning," Coach Silva greeted. "You can put your gear in here and go take a seat."

I threw my bags into the storage compartment of the bus, making sure to grab a water and a snack before entering the bus to find a seat. Most of the guys were already sleeping, Josh included. The team had rented a coach bus since the ride was going to be so long, so most people were sitting alone since there were enough seats.

Once the last of the guys arrived, Fox finally got on the bus. He made his way to where I sat, sitting in the seat beside me. I noticed I had left a few marks on his neck from the day before, but I didn't mention it to him.

"Surprised you don't want to sit alone," I teased, remembering the last time we had taken a bus and sat together.

"It's cold on here, I need your body heat," he said with a close lipped smile.

"Is that so?"

"I could sit somewhere else, if you're gonna annoy me for seven hours," Fox replied.

"Hm, you can stay," I told him, scooting slightly closer.

"That's what I thought," he said, bringing his body closer to mine.