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Chapter 7: Sawyer

The way Bryn is looking at me right now has me skin heating up. This is uncharted territory and now we'll be living together which means we might run into these spots of situations often. That is if she decides to stay, and fuck do I want her to stay.

“Bryn…”

Her eyes snap up and she blinks at me like she’s just come out of a trance.

“Hm? Yep? What?” She stutters.

I smirk and tighten the muscles in my arm a little just to get another reaction from her.

“I asked if this will do?” I wave a hand over my outfit and she follows the motion.

“Uh yeah. Sure! Much better!” She turns around so fast that her hair bounces around.

Her curls are so long now, and the brown ringlets look so soft I want to reach out and twist a strand around my finger. Instead I tuck my hands into my pockets and join her in the kitchen.

“What are you making?” I ask her.

She has several different vegetables on the counter and a package of tofu.

“A tofu veggie scramble.” She says as she pulls out a knife and cutting board.

They’re sitting against the wall near the counter so it was easy for her to find. She removes the tofu from the package and uses one of the kitchen towels to pat it dry and then wraps the thing in it and puts a pan on top.

“What are you doing?”

“It’s getting rid of the excess fluid so the tofu is easier to crumble.” She explains, and I have to say I’m impressed by the idea.

She starts chopping up bell peppers, onion, and mushrooms before adding them to another pan. There is a satisfying sizzling sound and almost immediately the smell of cooking vegetables surrounds us.

“I don’t think I’ve tried this recipe before.” I move out of her way and sit at the counter to watch her work.

“I learned a lot over the years.” She says and I feel that tug of guilt.

I would have tried this if I had been around her more. “It’s an interesting idea.”

She makes a sound of acknowledgment but not much else. She’s falling into her focus mode just like she used to. If you try talking to her when she’s in the zone like this she won’t have any idea what you’re talking about. So I watch silently and let myself take in every detail of her. It feels like she’s stepped out of a dream. I never thought I would see her or even be in the same room with her again, because of my own doing of course. When I finally got my head out of my ass and realized how horrible I’d been to her I knew I needed to apologize but I didn’t. I was a coward.

“Do you have practice today?” She asks suddenly.

I’m surprised by her sudden question, since she never used to talk while cooking before.

“No. I’ll meet the coach and then get my gear first.”

“Cool. You’re numbers have been looking good.”

What? How does she know about my numbers?

“Have you been keeping track?”

Her whole body freezes and it’s enough to give me my answer. When she turns to look at me she has a face of someone who’s been caught red handed.

“I was curious about how things have been going since…”

Anger flares up at the reminder of my injury but this is Bryn. I used to talk to her about everything…

“Yeah I’ve gotten mostly back to where I was at.” I say nonchalantly.

“I know!” She clears her throat and turns back to cooking. “I’m proud of how well you came back from your injury.”

She says it just loud enough for me to hear but if I wasn’t hanging on her every word I would have easily missed it.

“I would have recovered better with my usual nurse.” I say carefully.

“Whoever worked with you seems to have done a good job.” She says as she crumbles the tofu into the vegetable mixture.

“Yeah I guess but I didn’t trust them. Too optimistic.”

She laughs and shakes her head. “It’s called bed side manner. They want to give you a positive outlook. You’d be surprised how much quicker a patient can heal by staying as positive as possible. Healing isn’t only physical, it’s mental as well.”

I actually didn’t know that. Which is why I should have had her with me when I was injured. She always knew how to make me smile even on my worst days.

“Well, I guess it’s lucky we’re roommates. You’ll be able to keep an eye on me.”

She doesn’t say anything which has me worried. Did she decide to leave?

“I’m not sure what help I’ll be to you.” She turns to me then and leans against the counter. “The team here has their own physical therapist and medical team.”

They do but they aren’t Bryn.

“You won’t be working with the team?”

She bites her bottom lip and fidgets nervously. “I wasn’t on planning working with the hockey team. Too many memories involved, you know? I was going to work with the basketball team instead.”

Like hell she is!

“No. You aren’t working with the basketball team! What the fuck B?”

She Jenks back like she wasn’t expecting my reaction. “It isn’t your decision. The coaches also pick their staff, and I was already approved.”

No. I grab my phone off the counter and quickly pull up my new coaches number. He answers after two rings and I ask if we can move our meeting up. He agrees if I can make it to his office in thirty minutes, so when I end the call I grab my shoes and Bryn’s keys.

“I’m borrowing your car!” I call as I jog out the front door.

“What? Sawyer!” She runs out after me but I’m already turning the car on and pulling away.

I don’t bother following the speed limit because the coach's office is inside the rink which is on the other side of the school. Thankfully school security isn’t around or I’d be in some shit for this. It’s still early so there aren’t many students out and around so I make it to the rink in good time.

Bryn’s crap car door gets stuck which wastes a good chunk of time. I ended up having to crawl out of the window to get out but then I couldn’t roll it up again. There chances of someone trying to steal the old junker seems low so I’ll have to risk leaving the window open. I jog toward the rink entrance and through the halls until I find the locker room. A few guys are out on the ice practicing and are making their way into the locker room when I come in.

“Oh! You’re our new guy! How’s it going man, I’m Mitch.” One of the guys says. “And this is our goalie Bishop.”

The other guy nods.

“Yeah grateful meeting you guys but I have to meet coach and I’m on a time crunch.”

“Yeah man go ahead. We’ll catch up with you later.”

“Yeah cool!” I turn and continue my pace to the coach’s office.

When I find it I’m a little out of breath which is bad sign. My lack of play time has made me soft, ill have to hit the weights and the treadmill before game time.

I knock on the door and hear coach call out for me to come in. He’s watching old games on a laptop when I move inside and when I listen close enough I hear a familiar name. Mine.

“Ah, good to see you son. Its been a while.” He stands and offers his hand to shake.

I take it and give him a tight smile.

“Go ahead and sit.” We both sit and I can feel his eyes following me.

I’ve felt eyes on me ever since I got hurt. It’s as if the whole world is watching to see if ill finally give up.

“So what was so urgent that you needed to meet with me now?” He asks.

“The athletic medical students. Is there any way to change who our team will be assigned to?”

He gives me a confused look. “I suppose but why would we switch students?”

“I want Bryn Raven.”

“And why is that?” He crosses his arms over his chest and raises a brow at me.

“She’s a friend of mine and has helped me with my injuries in the past. She’s the most qualified.”

“I don’t give special treatment to anyone Sawyer.”

“I’m not asking as a favor sir, its because she’s the best and I trust her more than anyone. She’ll prove her worth.” I would swear as much on my life.

Bryn never fails at anything.

“Are you sure this girl is just a friend?” He asks.

I hesitate for a second. Are we friends again? I don’t know the answer to that but it doesn’t feel the same as it did when we were younger. There’s something else there but I’m not sure if I can explain what that is.

“Yes she’s only a friend.”

He watches me carefully. “Alright, I’ll ask but I can’t guarantee anything. Now since you’re here…”

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