Off the Ice (Penalty Kill 2)

“I don’t want to hear it either, but Trevor’s right. You needed to hear the truth. Don’t blame Presley.”

“Now you know what happened, Levi,” Trevor starts, completely serious now. “All jokes aside, you need to go talk to my sister because she’s worse off than when you fucked up. So get yourself together, do whatever you need to do, and go see her.”

They both stand and leave seconds later. I’m left sitting in the recliner, thinking over everything that was said while trying not to focus too much on the last thing Trevor told me. If I think about that too much, I’ll rush over

there before I have my thoughts together.

The only thing that she did wrong was hide the fact that she was hanging out with him. She didn’t want him, didn’t try to kiss him or anything of the sorts. But those five seconds where she did nothing replay in my mind. I can’t think here. I go to my room, grab my keys, and head to the rink.

The cool air practically soothes my soul the moment it makes contact with my skin. I take my usual spot on the bench, close my eyes, and focus on breathing for a little bit. That’s so relaxing that I almost doze off. I’ve got to settle my mind on this once and for all, though. If I’m completely honest with myself, knowing all that I know, I just want my Smarty back. If Presley can forgive me and move past how much of a jerk I was to her when this started between us, then there’s no reason why I can’t do the same for her.

Right?

Her intentions were good. That should be the most important thing, I would think. She meant well, even though it didn’t turn out that way. I still need a couple of days to at least get that image removed from my mind permanently. It will help me stay focused as well if I don’t see or hear anything Presley-related. Even now, knowing all of this, I just want to stay away for a little bit longer.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Presley

April

It’s been two weeks and the hardest thing for me is not to call him. Not talking to him each day is ripping my heart out. Even on days that we were busy, we still managed to talk to each other. I saw the hurt in his eyes that day on the bench. I saw what I had done to him, and it’s killing me.

I’m lying on my couch when Trevor comes in.

“Um, Pres, what are you doing?”

“Laying here, why?”

“Because it’s one o’clock in the afternoon and you’re drinking.” I looked at the beer in my hand. It’s something that I have done the last few days. It’s been helping me cope. I don’t answer him and just sip on the beer.

“How was your physical?” I ask.

“Good. The drive to the city was hell, but the physical was good. Carolina had a scout there and we talked for a little bit.” He sits down at the end of the couch as I sit up.

“Was…um, was Levi there?”

Trevor looks at me, and I know he is debating on telling me the truth. Finally, he nods.

“Did he do well?”

Trevor nods again.

“Good. I’m glad.” I am glad. I want Levi to succeed, and I know he will be the best in the NHL.

“Hey,” Trevor pats my legs. “Let’s go grab a bite. I bet you haven’t eaten today.”

“I have class soon.”

“It’ll be a quick bite. Come on, you need to eat, Pres.”

I don’t want to move from this couch. I don’t want to go outside and face the world without Levi. I just shake my head at Trevor.

“No, I need to go to class. I’ve been slacking lately and I need to get back on track.”

Trevor sighs and looks at me with concerned eyes. He nods, stands up, kisses the top of my head and leaves.

I lay there on the couch for another twenty minutes before I finally get up and go to class.