Ice Time (13 page)

Suspended without pay? He’d just told his mom he would be sending her some money.

They’d said Landry wanted him here, so hopefully Landry would stick up for him. And as long as C.C. was out, the Racers still needed a solid centre.

He’d have to make sure he was ready to play when the team got back from the road trip. No choice. He’d tough this out and prove he belonged.

He had to be ready to play.

Rocket moved further under the giant overhang to get away from the sun. His eyes were still really sensitive, even with sunglasses. He should have taken another painkiller. His head was throbbing.

He checked the time. Maddy’s bus should be there soon.

After being suspended, he’d called his mom to tell her — leaving out a few details, like the fight and the concussion. He told her he’d missed a team meeting. It was hard to lie to her, but he didn’t want her to worry.

Then, out of the blue, Maddy had called and said she was coming to visit Saturday. He couldn’t talk her out of it. Hopefully, he could fake being well, and she wouldn’t suspect anything. The biggest challenge would be covering up his fatigue. He could fall asleep right now.

He leaned against the bus station wall and closed his eyes.

That felt good.

“Mr. Rockwood, have you been a bad boy?”

He pushed himself off the wall. “Megan?”

She was leaning out of the passenger window of a car. “I was the last time I checked,” she said with a laugh.

André leaned over from the driver’s side and waved. The back window opened. Maddy stuck her head out.

“Hey, guys. Great to see you,” Rocket said.

“So, just one question,” Maddy said. “How exactly did you miss a team meeting? And how can they suspend you for a week, without pay, for that?”

“That’s two questions,” Rocket said, coming over to the car. “And it’s a long story. Basically, Coach Barker has it in for me. And the owner overreacted. It’ll be okay.”

“What’s with the mega-shades?” André said. “You don’t want to be recognized on the streets?”

“Yeah, it’s a pain. I can’t go anywhere without getting mobbed,” Rocket said. He took them off and tried not to wince.

“Get in, Superstar,” Maddy said, pushing the back door open.

Rocket slid in next to her. “I thought you were taking the bus?”

She shrugged. “We thought we’d all surprise you with a visit.”

“Where’d you get the sweet wheels?” Rocket asked André.

“My dad got a new car. So this one was just sitting in the driveway, and he let me take it to school. Welcome to the A-Mobile.” André paused. “Okay … I may need to work on the name.”

“So, what’s this long story?” Maddy said.

“Before you start — where to?” André said.

“Um, I told the family I’m staying with that Maddy and I would be over for lunch, but I didn’t know about all of you …”

“Can we at least see inside your place?” Megan said. “We can go out to eat somewhere.”

“I guess,” Rocket said. He didn’t really want to spend the money, and he knew Maddy didn’t, either.

He’d asked Ritchie and Mariana not to mention his concussion. He was nervous about the kids spilling the beans, though, so maybe it would be good not to hang around there.

“Where’s good to eat?” André said.

“I haven’t been here that long, so I’m not sure. What do you feel like?”

André and Megan began discussing what they wanted for lunch.

Rocket grew dizzy — the sun was too bright, and his friends were speaking so fast he couldn’t keep up. He needed to sleep, not eat.

Honk!

A bus had pulled up behind them and blasted its horn. The sound hit Rocket’s head like a dagger.

“Gotta fly, Rocket. Directions?” André said.

“Straight ahead,” he managed.

Maddy was checking him out. He needed to make a joke, show her he was okay.

“So, how long you hanging around for? I’m an important guy. Got stuff to do,” he said.

“Hey, did you hear me?” André said. “Do I turn here?”

Rocket’s ears were ringing. The motion of the car was making him sick. He bent over, holding his head.

“Pull over,” Megan said. “Bryan? What’s wrong?”

Rocket put his sunglasses on. “I just need a second. Hold on.”

“I can pull over at the gas station,” André said.

Rocket closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. He began to feel a bit better once the car had stopped. He groaned and sat up slowly.

“We should go to emergency,” Megan said. “Get you checked out.”

“I don’t need a doctor,” Rocket said.

“You look pale as a ghost,” she argued.

“You’re not yourself, bro,” André said. “Might be a good idea.”

Rocket sighed. “I’ve already been to the hospital.”

“What did they say?” Maddy said.

“You guys don’t have any water, do you?” Rocket said. His mouth had gone dry.

“I have an extra bottle,” Megan said.

He drank it greedily. “Sorry, guys. You came all the way to see me, and I have a … a headache.”

“What’s going on?” Maddy said. “I knew from your voice on the phone there was something. You didn’t miss a team meeting. Tell me.”

“You got to promise not to tell Mom,” he said.

“Why?”

“She’ll freak out.”

Maddy’s eyes narrowed. “I’m about to freak out.”

“I have a concussion,” Rocket said.

“You take a head shot in a game?” André said.

“I did for the first one.”

“The first one?” Megan said. “You’ve had
two
concussions?”

“Yeah. You were right. That cheap-shot cross-check in the neck probably gave me one. Then some guy sucker-punched me in the lobby of my building.”

“Okay, I need the long story,” Maddy said.

“How about we head to your place?” Megan said. “I think you need to lie down.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” he said wearily. He forced his eyes open. “Head to the next light and make a left. Sorry, but the sunshine is killing me, and I have a wicked headache. I just need to sleep for a bit, a half hour, and then I’ll tell you everything.”

“The A-
Machine
is on the move,” André said.

Rocket’s stomach lurched as the car moved forward. This was getting worse. So much for faking it.

Plus, Floyd had told him to keep his mouth shut, and here he was telling them all about it.

If the truth got out, he was done for.

Rocket put his hands on the car and leaned his head through the passenger-side window to say goodbye. He’d slept for almost five hours. At least his headache was better.

“Sorry about today, guys,” he said. “You didn’t come here to babysit Rafa and Leona in the park all afternoon while I slept.”

“No big deal, bro,” André said. “You heal up.”

“Don’t let them pressure you into playing,” Megan said from the back seat. “Concussions are serious. I’ll do some reading, and we can talk about it.”

For Megan, “some reading” meant she’d be a world expert in a day or two. There would be a flood of emails on the subject soon.

“I guess I should learn a little about the subject myself,” Rocket said.

Maddy hugged him through the window. “I’ll call you later. And we need to tell your mom. I mean, this is too serious to keep from her, and I’m not thrilled about lying.”

“I’m not thrilled they’re ripping Bryan off by not paying him,” Megan said. “It’s so unfair. Don’t you have a players’ union you can complain to?”

“Not sure that’s a great idea,” Rocket said. “I just need to tough this out and get playing again.”

“They have to pay you,” Megan said.

“Apparently not,” Rocket said.

“I bet there’s an agreement between the players and the owners that says—”

“Megan, I can’t be messing with them right now,” Rocket said. “You get a reputation for causing trouble in hockey and you’re done. No one will want you. And I’m hardly in a position to argue. I can barely walk up a flight of stairs.”

“They’re taking advantage of you,” she said.

Rocket sighed. “I don’t think it’s that serious. Come on, guys. Give me a little time. I could be better by next week. And Maddy, please don’t tell my mom yet. I don’t want to worry her for nothing.”

“One week,” Maddy said, holding up a finger. “Then I tell her.”

“In one week, I’ll be back on the ice setting the league on fire.”

She gave him a wry smile.
“Bring it.”

“Please,” Megan said. “Dumbest expression ever.”

“I think the dumbest expression ever is ‘we’re going’ — because you two said that about twenty minutes ago and we’re still here,” André said.

Maddy gave Rocket a final hug — then Megan hopped out.

“Yeah, I didn’t feel like going yet, either,” André said.

Megan gently put her arms around Rocket’s neck. “Please, take care of yourself,” she whispered. “Don’t tell us not to worry. This is so serious, it’s scary.”

She was always worrying about him. Sometimes it bothered him. This time it made him feel better.

“So, do some research and figure out how to fix a concussion,” Rocket said. “Shouldn’t take you more than a day or two.”

“I’ll take the week,” she said. “I want to get it right.”

“Don’t worry about me,” André called. “I’ll be fine driving back to school at two in the morning.”

“Taxi!” Megan said, waving her hand over her head.

“Where to, ma’am?” André said.

She got in the car. “Just drive.”

André started the car, and Maddy waved at Rocket.

Megan looked back out at him and said, “At the very least, get some less goofy sunglasses.”

“I think they make me look like a rock star,” he said.

“You might want to watch some videos for tips on what a rock star looks like,” Maddy said.

“Be chill, bro,” André called as the car drove off.

Rocket waved and then let his arm fall to his side. Nice to have friends who cared.

His phone buzzed. Megan had probably already invented a new treatment for concussions. He swiped the screen.

It was Rory.
Hey, if ur not doing anything, come by and watch some video with me.

Rocket figured he wasn’t ready to go back to bed yet, so he texted,
Ok. Be there in 20.

It ended up taking closer to an hour. He had to take two buses, and then it was a bit of a walk from the stop. He was tired, but his head wasn’t aching so much, more like a soft pulse. The nap had definitely taken the edge off.

Rocket knocked on the door and stood back a bit to look at the place. It was a narrow two-storey row house. The door opened slowly.

“You must be Bryan,” a woman said. She held a baby on her hip.

“Um, sorry … Is Rory around?” He checked the number. “This is 32, right?”

She laughed. “I’m Melissa, Rory’s wife, and this is Angela.”

Rocket squeezed Angela’s little foot. “You’re very cute, Angela. Do you play hockey?”

“No doubt Rory will have her in skates soon enough,” Melissa said, laughing again. “We came to spend some time with him while the team is on the road. The house is empty, so I thought, why not? Nice to get the family time.”

She patted Rocket’s arm as he came in. “Rory told me what happened,” she said. “Thanks for stepping up for him. He says the guy didn’t mean it, but Rory always thinks the best of people.”

“Hard to tell,” Rocket said. “He apologized after. I kind of lost it. I might’ve cost the team the game.”

He followed Melissa into the living room. The house smelled a bit like wet towels, and the carpet was dingy and grey. It wasn’t hard to believe a bunch of young hockey players lived here.

“Welcome to the palace,” Rory said. He tossed his ice pack aside and got up from the couch to shake hands. He gave Rocket a searching look. “You’re moving a bit slow. You get dinged in that fight?”

“Not really. Just tired. How are you feeling?”

“Good news! Nothing more than a hyperextension. The doctor was surprised it wasn’t worse, actually. The ligaments have healed well and the muscles around the knee are strong. I should be back skating in a few days.”

Rory sat back down and motioned Rocket to a chair. “But what about you? What’s the deal with the suspension? I asked C.C., and he told me you missed a team meeting. I don’t remember you missing a team meeting.”

“I was—” Rocket began laughing. Melissa and the baby had sat down beside Rory, and Angela was blowing air through her lips, making a raspberry sound.

Rory laughed, too. Then he looked back at Rocket. “Whatever it is, the guys aren’t buying it. What really went down? And what’s with the crazy shades?”

Megan was right: Rocket really did need to get new glasses. These ones were like a giant billboard that said,
I just had a concussion.

“Can you keep this to yourself? Seriously, Floyd and Barker will kill me if they find out I told you.”

“We’re teammates,” Rory said. “I’m not running to tell those two jerks anything.”

He told Rory and Melissa the story. Rory’s expression grew grim.

“They can’t do that,” Rory said angrily. “They have to pay you. And why the suspension?”

Rocket shrugged. “They said I was hanging around drug dealers and that would hurt the team’s reputation. Floyd made me promise to keep it quiet, and Barker said I won’t get paid until after the road trip.”

“Man, we both got to get healthy,” Rory said.

He reached out and took Angela. She patted her dad’s cheeks and blew some more raspberries. He blew a few back. “You able to watch some video?”

“I can watch a little,” Rocket said. “Doctor said not too much screen time.”

“We’ll have a quick session,” Rory said.

“Hooray,” Melissa said. She didn’t sound happy. “Give me Angela. I have to give her a bath. Someone I know didn’t give her one, even though he promised. Nice to meet you, Bryan. Sorry about what happened. How long did the doctors say you’d be out?”

“They weren’t sure. Concussions are like that. But I’m hoping to be back by the time the team returns. That’s the plan, anyway.”

Rory didn’t look convinced.

“I hope so,” Melissa said.

She went to the stairs. Rory waited until she was up on the second floor.

“She doesn’t get it,” Rory said. “I don’t want to watch game video for hours or live in a dump like this. I want my family to have a beautiful place — and I’d much rather play with Angela and eat a bag of chips. But that won’t get me back to the big leagues. I got to do it for them, to give them a future.”