Page 178 of Rookie Rules

Luca had taken the key, kept the apartment through the end of the month, and moved the final box only after Rowan had given him every opportunity not to.

The final box contained six mugs, none of which matched Rowan's dishes. Luca unpacked all six. Rowan fitted a second shelf in the bathroom cabinet, discovered Luca owned four nearly identical hair products, and asked which could be stored elsewhere.

"None. They perform separate functions."

"Two say texture."

"Different textures."

Rowan studied the labels, moved his shaving kit to the lower shelf, and made room.

No known endpoint. No instruction to hide it. No crisis pretending to be commitment.

Now Rowan finished the set and made a note on his rehabilitation log.

"Any pain?" Luca asked.

"Two."

"Actual number?"

"Two. Priya has damaged my ability to lie efficiently."

"I like her."

"Everyone does when she is not controlling their employment."

Rowan had completed his skating progression, regained pain-free strength, and returned to the lineup three days earlier on managed minutes. Priya still barred consecutive-night games until his right-side strength matched baseline. The local broadcasts treated one successful return as proof he was fully restored. Priya treated those broadcasts as a personal insult.

His return had lasted fourteen minutes and thirty-eight seconds. With six minutes left in the third, Owen tapped Rowan's shoulder and pointed down the tunnel. Rowan checked the clock, checked the one-goal margin, then climbed over the boards without argument.

Finn took the next defensive-zone draw. Luca shifted low to cover the route Rowan usually owned. From the tunnel, Rowan called one warning and stopped there. He did not try to captain his way back onto the bench.

After the win, reporters asked whether he expected a full workload in the next game.

"No," Rowan said. "I expect the workload medical gives me."

Priya, listening beside the room door, had marked something on her clipboard with unnecessary force. Later, Rowan admitted the final six minutes had been harder to watch than the first fourteen had been to play.

Luca believed him because Rowan had left the ice when told.

His used jersey dried over the laundry sink that night, not hidden among equipment at the arena.

"You are not playing tomorrow," Luca said.

"I did not say I was."

"You watched video during breakfast with the expression."

"What expression?"

"The one where you believe medical clearance is a tactical disagreement."

Rowan rose carefully from the mat. He no longer needed crutches inside the house, but his gait shortened when he was tired. "Their penalty kill leaves the weak-side seam open after the second exchange."

"I know."

"Last game you forced the pass before the low defender committed."