Carved in Ice

More Bad News

Jake Abbot

The team was waiting in one of the conference rooms for our before-practice meeting.

“What the hell could be taking Warren so long?” Wyatt scoffed. He was spinning in his chair beside me. I looked up at the clock to see he was pushing fifteen minutes late. That was unlike him. He was never late. He’s always here before any of us.

“Have you heard anything about Winter?” I asked him and he stopped spinning.

He didn’t answer as he stood up with such force it hit the wall behind us. He rushed from the room. The look of panic on his face had me following him. Sydney said she would update me, but what if something happened?

I ran into the back of Wyatt. He had stopped just before the lobby.

“What the?” I groaned and he shushed me. It was then I heard yelling.

“She isn’t answering my calls. Why the hell wouldn’t you have informed me she was hurt?” Was that Tristan?

“If you watched the game live and called my father he would have answered all of your questions,” Warren told him. I looked over at Wyatt to see the Mr. Perfect Lawyer himself.

“He isn’t answering my calls either,” he scoffed.

“He is on a plane to pick up his daughter. And when she is ready to speak to you, she will call.” Warren informed him.

“Why the hell weren’t you not watching the most important game to my sister?” Wyatt demanded, coming out of the shadows. I could have stopped him, but I also wanted to know the answer. He should have been there with her.

“Wyatt, get back in the conference room,” Warren warned his younger brother.

“I can’t do that, War and you know that. This fucker thinks he can hurt our baby sister and get away with it. I won’t allow that. Now, answer the question. What the f**k was more important than watching her game?” Wyatt exclaimed.

“When your father calls, tell him to call me,” Tristan told Warren before storming out of the arena. Wyatt went to go after him, but I stepped forward and stopped him. He may be the team’s first-line center, but I have a few inches on him and at least twenty pounds.

“Get the hell off me, Jake,” he growled.

“She will never forgive you if you hurt him. Calm down. Let’s make sure Winter is okay,” I said before looking at Warren.

“We are waiting to hear the results of her MRI. Dad left early this morning on the jet to bring her home. He’ll call me when he has news. Now it’s time for practice.” He informed us before walking off towards the conference room.

“You should have just let me kick his ass. He doesn’t deserve my sister,” he spat at me.

“I’m not protecting him. You get into a fight with a lawyer, and you could kiss your career goodbye.” I pushed him back with the hand still on his shoulder before heading back to the conference room.

I may be the calm one, but I also wanted to punch that fuckers face. Winter deserves so much better.

We were in the middle of our on-ice practice when Warren’s phone rang loudly. I knew his wife was due to give birth soon and his phone was glued to his hand before his sister got hurt. I was stretching and getting a feel for the movements. We had a game tonight, the reason we couldn’t be there at Winter’s game. I know William had to tell a few people to go to hell before flying off to get her.

“How is she?” I heard him ask, and I looked at Wyatt, who had stopped mid-play. I followed as he skated to the bench. I may be the same age as Wyatt, but I grew up with his family.

I’m not close to my older brother. He played college hockey and went on to be a lawyer where I was drafted right after high school. He also moved away. He and our father didn’t have a good relationship after our mother passed away from cancer a few years ago. It was hard on all of us.

Wyatt and I leaned against the boards waiting for Warren to finish with his phone call. He wasn’t rushing out the door, so I assume whoever is calling him is informing him about his sister.

“We need a goalie here!” One of the trainers yelled. I turned around and shot him a glare. I was the biggest guy here, and I will be there in a goddamn minute.

“Okay, yeah, I will make sure the house is ready for her. What were the results of the MRI?” Warren asked the caller. He looked at us and held up a finger, telling us to wait.

“Okay. Yeah, Taylor is still holding on. She isn’t going to give birth until Winter is here. See you tomorrow and tell Win that was a hell of a game,” he ended the call. He sighed before pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Winter is flying home with Dad and Sydney. Her symptoms have calmed down, but the MRI is showing a slow brain bleed. It’s slow enough that the doctor who reviewed it believes it will stop on its own, but she will follow up after they land.” Warren explained and my heart sank.

“What the hell does that mean?” Wyatt exclaimed, throwing up his hands.

“It means, if it doesn’t stop, she will need surgery, Wy. So, when she gets home, you will not stress her out over this Tristan s**t. You will let her rest and heal. Tristan won’t f*****g matter if she dies. Now, get back out there. We have a game tonight.” He demanded. Wyatt was smart not to argue. His brother is the calm one, so if he loses his s**t, it’s bad.

Even with everything going on, we were able to pull out a win. Wyatt had more penalties than he should have, but I think the worry was getting to him. We were both counting down the hours for when the plane would land. I know their family wouldn’t survive if anything happened to Winter. Their parents divorced about fifteen years ago now and William fought hard to get custody of the kids. He wasn’t going to let any of them go without a fight. I remember because he even took half the season off, and I was worried my best friend would be moving away.

But this fear I have about losing her is the same I felt when I was losing my mother. I didn’t want to live in a world where there was no more Winter Hart. My best friend’s younger sister. The only woman I ever cared about and the woman I could never have.