Page 247 of Saving Forever with the Hockey Captain

Now...

It doesn't feel like enough.

Because the person who fought harder than anyone to get me here...

Won't be standing in the arena to see it.

***

Life keeps moving whether I'm ready or not.

Media requests start showing up again.

Coach eases me back into team meetings.

The guys stop treating me like I'm made of glass.

Liam starts chirping me again.

Toby quietly hands me a coffee before every morning skate.

Nobody says Annette's name anymore.

I think they're trying to protect me.

It almost works.

Until...

Mrs. Alvarez smiles one afternoon as I finish another set of shoulder exercises in the gym.

"She'd be proud of that range of motion."

The words slip out before she can stop them.

Neither of us says anything for a moment.

Finally, she clears her throat. "You've worked hard."

I nod once. "So did she."

Her smile softens. "Yes." She did.

That evening I stop by the grocery store on my way home.

An elderly woman reaches for a case of bottled water sitting on the bottom shelf of her cart.

Without thinking, I step forward.

"I've got…"

I stop. My shoulder isn't ready for that much weight. For one heartbeat, frustration flashes through me.

Then another memory follows. Annette's fingers resting lightly against my sleeve, not stopping me.

Simply reminding me that healing isn't weakness.

I look toward a teenage employee stocking shelves nearby.