Page 75 of Puck Fest
He leaves, and I lock the door behind him, collapsing against it.
This is getting harder. The hiding, the constant fear of being caught.
But the alternative, not being with him at all, is so much worse.
I just hope we can figure out how to keep this secret long enough to survive whatever’s coming next.
CHAPTER 20
DANNY
Saturday morningat the team hotel, I'm in the lobby waiting for the bus to morning skate when Riley Collins drops into the chair next to mine.
He's got coffee in both hands. He pushes one toward me without making eye contact.
"Black, two sugars," he says. "That's right, yeah?"
"Yeah." I take it. "Thanks, kid."
He nods, sips his own coffee, doesn't say anything else for a minute. I've known Riley for three weeks and this is the longest I've ever sat next to him.
"Can I ask you something?" he finally says. Quiet enough that no one else hears.
"Sure."
"What you did atPuck Fest. For Barnes." He's still looking at his coffee, not at me. "Would you have done that for anybody on the team? Or just him?"
The question lands somewhere in my chest. I take a slow sip before I answer.
"Anybody on the team. Doesn't matter who."
"Even a guy who hadn't told anyone yet."
I look at him. He's still staring at his coffee.
"Especially that guy," I say.
Riley nods once, fast, then he's up and moving toward the elevators before I can say anything else. He doesn't look back.
I sit there with my coffee getting cold, watching him go, and something in my gut tightens. Three weeks of him barely speaking to anyone, and now this.
Tate slides into the chair Riley just vacated.
"What was that about?" Tate asks.
"I don't know yet."
"Yeah you do."
I look at him. He looks back. Two guys who already learned what hate sounds like at a charity event a few months ago.
"If he comes to you," I say, "you talk to him. Yeah?"
"Already planning on it."
The bus pulls up out front. We stand. Riley's already on it, baseball cap pulled low, headphones in.
I don't say anything else. Some things you don't talk about. You just watch out for the people who need it.
