Carved in Ice

Snowy the Cat

Jake Abbot

Relief flooded me when I heard Winter say hi to her father. He had placed the call on speaker when she finally answered.

“Sir, Winter is resting. I’m going to stay with her.” Her medic, Troy, said, and I wanted to protest.

“How is she, Troy? And I want a straight answer. I don’t pay you to sugarcoat,” William demanded.

“She is going to need an MRI. I’ve never seen her this affected by a concussion before. If her condition doesn’t improve by morning, I will take her to the hospital.” My heart sank.

“Call me every time you wake her.” He ended the call and blew out a harsh breath.

“Dad, she’ll be okay. She’s probably just exhausted.” Wyatt tried to reassure his father. Most of the team had left. It was now just her brothers, father, my father, and I. We were gathered in the kitchen.

I pulled out my phone and sent Winter a text.

Me: Feel better!

I set my phone down on the table before Winter’s Maine coon jumped out of nowhere onto my lap, crushing my d**k. The cat was the size of a medium dog and weighed a good thirty pounds.

“f**k,” I grunted. And Snowy the cat rubbed her head against my chin. She looked like a small snow leopard.

“How’s the p***y?” Wyatt teased.

“f**k off,” I retorted.

“Daddy!” Warren’s four-year-old daughter ran into the kitchen. He scooped her up into his arms.

“Daddy, Auntie Winnie got hurt,” she cried. Just then his very pregnant wife, Tayler, walked in.

“Hey, babe,” he greeted her with a kiss.

“Auntie Winnie is okay. Just a little cut.” He reassured his daughter.

“Looking good, Tay, not much longer now,” Wyatt winked at her.

“Three weeks and it feels like a lifetime since I’ve seen my toes.” She groaned. Warren wrapped her in his arms and it was sickly sweet.

“I’m getting a baby sister,” she announced.

“You don’t know that,” her mother corrected her.

“I know it’s a girl. Right Grandpa,” she huffed. Warren put her down and she rushed over to William.

“Whatever you say, Princess,” he picked her up and placed her in his lap.

“Huh, Snowy doesn’t like boys,” she was looking at me as I mindlessly petted the massive cat in my lap. She was purring like an engine. I looked at Wyatt, who just shrugged.

“Come on, Princess, I have a surprise for you,” William stood up from the table with her wrapped in his arms. She let out a squeal of excitement.

“Dad, we talked about this,” Warren called out to him.

“Just let the grumpy old man spoil his granddaughter.” My father chimed in. I rolled my eyes. He was pressuring me and my older brother for grandchildren. Too bad I didn’t do relationships.

My phone chimed on the table and I flipped to see a message from Winter.

W: Thank you, Jake. Its Syd. At least someone cares. Mr. Piece of s**t fiancé hasn’t called or texted her. Probably didn’t even watch the game. f*****g asshole. Anyway, I’ll keep you updated. She’s passed out like a starfish, drooling. LOL.

Before replying, I slid the phone over to Wyatt, so he could read what she wrote. I hated her fiancé but he loathed the guy. I would say he’s a dog, but that would be insulting the dogs.

“f*****g prick. Who the hell does he think he is?” Wyatt yelled, which caused Snowy to jump off my lap.

“What’s wrong?” Warren questioned as he and his wife took a seat at the table.

“Mr. f*****g Lawyer hasn’t called Win to see if she’s okay.” He growled.

“Something could have happened,” Taylor said, playing devil’s advocate.

“Yeah, maybe he died,” I chimed in.

“We couldn’t get that lucky,” Wyatt scoffed.

“Wyatt, that’s enough. It’s her life,” Warren defended.

“So we are just supposed to stand back and let her make the biggest mistake of her life?” He retorted, throwing his hands up.

“Do you think I want to see my baby sister get hurt? I don’t, but I can’t dictate who she can see or not see. This is her choice, and we will both be there if it falls apart.” Warren told his brother.

“When it falls apart. It’s coming, especially if that fucker doesn’t care that she got hurt.”

“Come on, Wyatt, I’ll drive you home, we have an early practice,” I said to defuse the situation. Both brothers were very protective of their baby sister. Even more so, after their mother left.

“Go, Wyatt. I’ll keep you updated about Win’s condition.” Warren sighed. He was the calm older brother, whereas Wyatt was the hot head. I know he just wants what's best for his sister, but she is the one who has to figure that out for herself. Even if we have to see her on the arm of Mr. f*****g Lawyer.

We said goodbye to everyone before heading out to my truck parked in the driveway. With Wyatt being my best friend, we had a dream that if we made it pro we would buy mansions beside each other, so we could be neighbors. And that’s just what we did after our first year. We didn’t go to college to play, we were drafted after high school over ten years ago. And his father made sure we stayed on the same team.

I didn’t know if they were going to keep me after the horrible season I'd been having. We were a cup-winning team. In the last ten years, we have won it four times.

I climbed into the driver's side and Wyatt did the same on the passenger side. My truck roared to life before I pulled out of the driveway.

“You okay, man?” I asked him when the silence became too much. I could feel the fury rolling off of him.

“I don’t know how to protect her,” he muttered.

“Dude, you are the biggest man w***e I know. Did you not think that they were someone’s sister?” If glares could kill, I would be dead in my seat.

“f**k off, that’s not the same thing. I don't lie to them and promise them s**t I’m not ready for. He proposed to her. He’s promising her s**t that he can’t deliver, and it’s going to break her. And instead of doing something, I have to sit here and watch, waiting for her world to implode. It’s not right. She's too good of a person to be stuck with that asshole,” he ranted, and I let him. Everything he was saying was true. Winter was too good for any of us.

My phone dinged in my pocket. I pulled it out to see a message from her.

“It’s from Syd,” I handed the phone to him. His grin didn’t go unnoticed.

“She said, Winter was up. She was able to shower and eat something but is sleeping again. Troy said the symptoms are better, but they are both staying to make sure she is okay.” He said after reading the text to me.

“That’s good,” I exhaled, feeling relieved that she was getting better. Hockey can be a nasty sport and concussions are no joke.

I dropped Wyatt at his house before driving up my driveway and parking in front of the house too big for one person. Buying this place was the moment I knew I had made it, but now it felt more like a prison than my dream house.