Chapter 98 ELLIOT

Chapter 98 ELLIOT
ELLIOT’S POV
The rest of the weekend passed by in a blur of homework and anxious training. By the time Monday rolled around, Weston was still absent.
There was a message from Vivian in my mail when I woke up, and I deliberately ignored it until I was stepping into the rink for the morning's training.
With the semi finals looming towards the end of the month, and Houston's sudden cop out mid season, the entire locker room was a buzz of anxious chatter and inaccurate rumors.
Lots of eyes turned my way when I stepped in, and I could tell from the various tense looks that they'd been expecting Weston instead.
I kept my gaze down and crossed to my locker where I sank on to the bench and fished out my phone.
Before I could open the email though, someone dropped down next to me.
It was Mason, one of two defensemen. We didn't talk much, and he mostly kept to himself off the ice, so I was surprised at his sudden appearance.
“Small fry,” he drawled, pinning me in place with dark eyes, “Tobias mentioned that you and the Captain are roomies. That's information that would've benefited the team yeah?”
I bristled, the hair on the back of my neck standing at alert. I scanned the locker room and found that all attention was on us. Tobias stood at the far end, arms crossed and expression pinched.
My grip tightened on my phone. “I don't know how that information would've benefited the team.”
“Well you wouldn't, you're a rookie.” He shrugged one shoulder, attempting to appear friendly, but this entire interaction was making me uncomfortable.
“Tobias must've delivered the news? Houston's ditching the team in the middle of the season, and Pierce isn't here to clean up his mess.”
I tightened my jaw and stamped down my irritation. “It's not exactly Weston’s fault that Houston got himself suspended.”
Mason blinked, taken aback and someone laughed.
“Fair.” Mason said amiably, “But he's team captain. We're down a Forward, the Semi-Finals are gonna be here in the blink of an eye, and your Captain's suddenly MIA.”
I chewed on my bottom lip, meeting Tobias's gaze briefly. “I'm sure Coach will figure something out.”
“I'm sure.” He smiled then, but it was thin and unimpressed. “Especially for your sake, small fry.” He clapped me on the thigh and squeezed, pushing himself to his feet.
“Fucking asshole, that Pierce,” Amand, the second defenseman scoffed to my left, slamming a locker hard. “First he took out Tyler, now it's Houston. Who's next, Tobias?”
Tobias rolled his eyes, pushing away from his locker. “Why would he get me kicked off the team? I'm the lucky goalie.”
“Yeah sure.” One other freshman whose name I couldn't recall snorted. “I think that title belongs to Small fry now, plus he's Pierce's roomie, so they must be besties. You're threading on thin ice, Tobias.”
Tobias shoved him in the shoulder without much force. “Shut the fuck up, rookie.”
There was a round of laughter after that, and I could do nothing but tune them out.
I turned my phone back on and finally opened the email I'd been ignoring.
It was barely a paragraph, with Vivian telling me that she'd be in school by noon, and if I was free, I should let her know so we could both go see Dr. Stephens for my attendance evaluation.
The reminder settled like acid in my gut.
In the midst of all the drama, a part of me had forgotten that the compliance hearing was this Saturday. Seeing the message now, made the possibility of losing everything a real, tangible outcome.
If I was found non compliant, I could lose the scholarship, and Andrew’s new sponsorship. I might never play hockey again.
My stomach heaved and I had to swallow down my nausea.
Eventually, we headed out to the ice in gear. Practice was a blur of muscle memory and uncoordinated saves.
I got more pucks slammed into my helmet than I did all season, and I got yelled out by Mikealson until she banished me to the bench.
If Weston had been here, he'd have spat enough fire to melt a hole in the ice. The thought was almost comforting.
After practice wrapped up, Mikealson had us huddle up to deliver the unfortunate news of Houston's inconvenient transfer.
“It's going to be pretty difficult to keep playing with one of our most talented forwards gone, but it's possible.” She said, her voice echoing in the empty rink.
“We're going to have to train twice as hard. And take on more positions than you'd normally do. It's going to be exhausting, boys, some of you might have to play two positions on the ice, but we'll make it work.”
“What's the possibility of getting someone else in before the semi finals?” Amand asked from somewhere behind me.
Mikealson shrugged one shoulder, her lips pursed thin. “Not a lot of varisty athletes transfer out mid season. It's inconvenient and a lot of fucking paper work. I wouldn't be hopeful for a replacement anytime soon.”
“Fucking hell.” Someone cursed.
“True that,” she murmured under her breath, scanning over our faces with a frown. “Also, where in the devil's ballsack is Pierce?”
After an entire morning of classes, I replied to Vivian's email while seated in a cafe with Dennis and Delia.
The both of them passed a milkshake between themselves, and after a moment, Delia tapped on my arm.
I jerked my attention up and found them both sending me matching expressions of worry.
“You've been quiet all morning,” Delia said.
“Quieter than normal, at least.” Dennis added, chewing on the end of his straw.
I shrugged, wiping my sweaty palms on my jeans. “It's hockey stuff. We just lost a Forward.”
Dennis's eyebrows shot up, “Like he died?”
“What?” I sputtered, “God no, he transferred out.”
Delia frowned. “They're allowed to do that mid season?”
I nodded once. “Apparently.”
“That sucks.” She picked up a fry and bit into it. “My swim meet's this Saturday by the way. Dennis is coming, are you gonna be there?”
“Oh?” My mind blanked, “Fuck, I can't. I have somewhere else to be on Saturday.”
Her expression shuttered and she leaned back against her seat with an eye roll. “Of course you do. I'm sure it has something to do with Weston too.”
“What? No.” I hurried to defend myself, but before I could go any further, my phone buzzed with a call.
It was Vivian.
“Fuck.” I pushed to my feet. “I'm sorry, I have to go, it's urgent.”
Dennis gave me a soft smile and a warm goodbye, but Delia rolled her eyes again. I slid out of the booth because I didn't have the time for her right this moment.
The call ended as soon as I was out of the cafe, and a text came in.
Vivian: Dr. Stephens and I are waiting for you. We have much to discuss, Elliot.