In the Pain There is Healing

Bryce sat on her bed running her hands over the smooth, white silk embroidery of the Maple Leaf adorned on the jersey sitting in her lap. She flipped it over and began to do the same to the silk embroidery on the back. Bryce had gotten home from morning classes to find a plain white box waiting for her at the front desk. As she made her way up to the apartment she felt a small pang of anxiety. She had no idea what was in the box and there was no return address so she didn’t know who it was from. Unlocking her door and stepping insider her apartment, Bryce ignored the feeling, thinking she had watched one too many horror movies lately, and made her way into her bedroom. She set the box on the bed and took a deep breath before she lifted the lid. Sitting atop a layer of tissue paper was a note.

Bryce,

Wear this to the game tonight. My name looks good on your back.
;)

Luke

Bryce smiled to herself before she folded open the tissue paper to reveal an authentic Maple Leafs jersey. Lifting it out of the box, she turned it around to reveal the Schenn 2 stitched on the back. This wasn’t the first time she had received someone’s jersey as a gift and just like each previous time Bryce would wear this one proudly to support the person who had given it to her. Even if she didn’t understand the circumstances under which it was being given. The Leafs had been gone on a road trip the last week so Bryce and Luke still hadn’t talked about what happened in Montreal or what had almost happened when they got back.

Bryce glanced at the iHome atop her bedside table and noticed she had less than 2 hours before she had to pick her cousin Alexa up before the game. The two had season tickets and went to every home game together. She made her way into the bathroom where she spent the next hour straightening her hair and touching up her makeup. She emerged from the bathroom and moved into her walk-in closet grabbing a pair of dark wash jeans, a plain white v-neck t-shirt and black ballet flats, opting to keep it casual as they would most likely be going out after. She grabbed the jersey off of her bed, along with her wallet, keys and cell phone and made her way out of her apartment and down to the parking garage. She unlocked her black Chevy Equinox, a gift from her father for her 16th birthday, and slid in. The drive to Alexa’s house was relatively short and before she knew it, Bryce was sitting in front of her house. Alexa came bounding out the front door and walked down the sidewalk to Bryce’s car with a big smile on her face. Alexa, although almost a year younger than Bryce was one of her best friends. And, the exact opposite of her. She slipped into the car but not before noticing what was sitting on the backseat.

“Nice jersey,” Alexa uttered with a smug look on her face.

“It’s just a gift from a friend,” Bryce retorted.

“Mhmm, and how many of these guys you’ve gotten jerseys from before were just your friend?” Alexa said, using quotation marks with her fingers to denote the word friend. Bryce just rolled her eyes, deciding not to dignify her cousin with a response. Satisfied that she had made her point anyways, Alexa grabbed her ipod and selected Cobra Starship before sitting back in her seat in silence for the rest of the ride to the ACC just like every other time.

The girls arrived shortly before warm-ups began and made their way inside and to their seats, Bryce getting various high fives on the way for the jersey she was sporting. Luke had become a young phenom in Toronto. Although the Leafs were struggling and Luke was certainly no offensive threat, he played with a lot of heart, he stood up for his teammates and he wasn’t afraid to throw his body around. The media and the fans had even taken to calling him “the Human Eraser.”

The girl’s season ticket seats were located 3 rows behind the Leafs bench. Being the coach’s daughter definitely had its perks. Within minutes the Leafs made their way out onto the ice for warm-ups to a relatively large crowd that would only expand the closer it got to game time. That was one thing that Bryce loved about Leafs fans. Despite the fact that the team had had a rough couple of years, more like a rough decade, every home game was still packed to capacity.

“Bryce,” Alexa said, waving her hands in front of Bryce’s face to get her attention. “Luke hasn’t stopped staring at you since he came out on the ice. It’s not a normal stare either. This is like a primal, ‘she’s mine’ stare. Is there anything you would like to tell me? Maybe like what the hell happened between you 2 in Montreal?” Bryce sighed, knowing her cousin was going to make a bigger deal out of this than it really was but she gave her all the details anyways. “Oh my God,” Alexa shrieked after Bryce had finished. “He kissed you? Is he a good kisser? Are his lips like super soft? I bet they…”

“Alexa!” Bryce cried out, interrupting her cousin, her face as red as a tomato.

“Aww you’re embarrassed, that’s cute. But seriously I bet he is. I’m sure he’s great in bed too. All those muscles of his.” Bryce smacked her cousin on the arm as she dramatically fanned herself at the thought of Luke’s muscles.

“I know absolutely nothing about his muscles or any other part of his body…yet,” Bryce said, finishing the end of the sentence rather quietly.

“I heard that last part! It’s obvious that there’s something there between the two of you so what’s the problem? Is it Drew?” Alexa questioned.

“No, Drew actually seems fine with it. I’m pretty sure he gave Luke the go ahead signal. It’s Bray that I’m worried about. I’m pretty sure that he’s still in love with me.”

“Oh whatever, he’ll get over it. You and Bray only dated for like 6 months and we all knew you weren’t meant to be with that Schenn brother. You like Luke and from the way he was staring at you in warm-ups he more than likes you. So just go for it.” Bryce pondered what her cousin was saying. Alexa, unlike Bryce, was a spontaneous, hopeless romantic.

The game started shortly after and Bryce spent the entirety of the first 2 periods with her eyes fixed on Luke. About midway through the third period Luke took exception to a heavy hit from Chris Neil. Bryce’s breath hitched in her throat as she saw Luke go after Neil. She had seen Luke fight many times before but somehow it was different this time. She scooted to the edge of her seat in anticipation as the gloves were dropped. Alexa grabbed Bryce’s hand and they watched on in horror while Neil basically pummeled Luke before both of them fell to the ice. As the refs helped Luke up Bryce could see blood dripping from just above his left eye. She gasped, immediately covering her mouth with her hand as she watched Luke walk off the ice and into the locker room. Bryce sat anxiously in her seat for the remainder of the third period, her leg shaking nervously. The minute the buzzer sounded, Bryce grabbed her cousin’s hand and made a made dash for the elevator that would take them downstairs, not concerned with the fact that the Leafs had just beaten Ottawa, something that rarely happened. The girls hardly ever went down to the locker room after games but they had passes for when they did. As they stood in the elevator, Alexa turned to her cousin, grabbing her hand.

“If you didn’t know how you felt about Luke before he got in that fight, I’m pretty sure you do now.”

The elevator dinged and the doors opened allowing the two girls to walk through them. They arrived in the hallway just outside of the locker room which currently resembled the mall at Christmas time. One of the regular guards noticed Bryce and walked over to her.

“Hello, Miss Wilson. Are you here to see your father? You’ll be able to get in there in
soon. I get to kick the press out in a few minutes,” the older man said with a smile. Bryce laughed knowing that was his favorite part of the job.

“No, that’s okay Jim. I’m just going to wait out here.” The man nodded and returned to his post. Bryce and Alexa walked past the door to where the hallway was a little emptier and slid down to the floor to wait for Luke. Time dragged on for what felt like forever but was, in reality, only about 20 minutes.

“Oh hey Luke,” Bryce heard Alexa say from just down the hallway where she had walked to moments earlier out of boredom.

“Hey Alexa,” Luke responded. Bryce slowly stood up at this point and locked eyes with Luke, her heart rate increasing.

“I’m just gonna…go to the bathroom or something. I’ll be back. Not that either of you are listening to me anyways,” Alexa said, turning around and walking in the other direction. Luke moved closer to Bryce until he was directly in front of her.

“Hi,” Bryce said, barely at a whisper.

“Hi, beautiful,” Luke replied at the same volume. Bryce reached out and gently brushed her knuckles on Luke’s forehead near the cut that was currently adorned with butterfly stitches. The touch made him wince and Bryce immediately dropped her hand. Luke grabbed it, the need for her touch overwhelming him.

“You didn’t need any stitches?” Bryce asked, looking down at their hands that were currently intertwined, fitting perfectly together.

“No, it’s not that deep. I’m fine, promise.” Bryce nodded her head in relief. She knew that he was even after he left the game but it was like she needed to see him to feel the anxiety lift. “Why? Were you worried about me?” Luke asked with a hint of amusement in his voice. Bryce looked up to see a genuine smile plastered on his face. She nodded, trying to play coy, a small smile breaking out across her lips.

“Maybe just a little.”

“You know what that means, right?” Luke asked as he grabbed Bryce’s other hand and pulled her closer. “It means you liiiiike me. Admit it. Come on babe, just admit it. You really like me!”

“Oh shut up,” Bryce said, pulling Luke closer and crashing their lips together. She could tell Luke was surprised as it took him at least 5 seconds to realize what happening before he kissed her back. He dropped her hands and moved his own to where they could rest on her waist. Their lips moved together in a perfect rhythm. She could feel Luke’s tongue pressing against her lips, waiting for an entrance and she obliged. They were so caught up in the moment that they didn’t hear someone standing near them, awkwardly clearing their throat. Alexa tried again, louder this time and effectively caught their attention. Both of them turned towards her, completely red in the face, and she smiled.

“Uhhh, sorry to interrupt but I’m exhausted and I kind of just want to go home.” Bryce looked towards Luke who nodded his head.

“Here, take my car,” Bryce said, reaching into the front pocket of her jeans to retrieve her keys. She tossed them at Alexa who easily caught them. “Please be careful. You know that’s my baby.”

“Yeah yeah, I know. You two have fun tonight,” Alexa said, throwing a wink their way before turning and walking down the hallway. Bryce shook her head at her cousin and turned to look back at Luke.

“Are you hungry?” He asked her. She shrugged her shoulders, not committing to an answer. “How about we go back to my place, order some food and watch a movie?”

“That sounds perfect.” Luke grabbed her hand, feeling like they needed to be connected and the pair made their way out of the stadium, an identical smile on both of their faces.

"I was right by the way." Bryce gave Luke a questioning look as they reached his Chevy Tahoe. "You do look good with my name on your back."