Page 58 of Penalty Kill

Sydney

Being back home—well, at Brandon’s home—was a huge help to my sanity. After six days in the hospital, I was ready to rip my hair out. I went from one bed to another, but at least at Brandon’s I wasn’t being poked and prodded and woken up every few hours through the night.

It took a few days for everyone to find a rhythm and routine, but it had been a week since I left the hospital, and things were looking up. Brandon still got the boys ready in the morning and took them to preschool on his way to practice. One of the women from the Pride picked them up and either took them to a park or their house to play until Brandon was done. On the past two game nights, a group showed up to watch the game with me and keep the boys entertained. Tonight, Milo and Finn were attending with Emma and Addison.

I felt useless, but there was nothing I could do about it. Watching Brandon’s community come together to help nearly made me cry every day. His teammates and their wives stepped up to help with not only the boys, but me. I felt like they’d made a schedule to make sure someone picked up the boys and arranged activities for them, but I was pretty sure they did the same for me.

At first, I tried to tell them not to worry about me, but they pushed back twice as hard. Even though I knew I was, none of them ever made me feel like a burden or obligation.

They were almost enough of a distraction from the void between me and Brandon. Even though I saw him every day, it was like there were miles between us. Sometimes he’d come and sit with me and we’d talk about nothing, but then days would go by without him even looking at me.

That hurt almost as much as my broken bones. I missed him, but didn’t want to be more of a burden than I already was.

I’d had about two weeks to recover, and I was now able to stand and walk on my own. During my last check up, the doctor told me the fracture was healing faster than expected. I credited the Pride. They made sure I was able to rest as much as possible, but also made me get up, move, and stretch regularly.

“Are you ready for this?” Chloe walked into my makeshift bedroom in the living room, carrying a tray of cookies, brownies, and cakes.

“I don’t think so,” I said as I eyed the offering.

“I’m pretty sure I could finish that on my own,” Madi announced while rubbing her belly. “This baby has given me a never-ending sweet tooth.”

“Scoot over,” Kendall said to Emma as she settled on the couch closest to me while reaching for a brownie.

“We’ve got to finish all of this before the guys get back.” Addison put a few items on a plate and handed it to me.

The guys volunteered to take all the kids to dinner to give the women a break. Instead of getting dinner for ourselves, Chloe and Madi showed up with enough ingredients to start a bakery. All the guys were on a sugar-free diet until playoffs were over, so this was our chance to indulge without being glared at.

We had a few hours to watch reality TV and eat garbage without judgement, and they didn’t want to waste a second of it.

“I don’t get how the girls are falling for this guy. He’s a wet blanket. He lets them influence him and can’t stand up for himself. Sure, he’s hot, but come on!” Kendall fumed while waving a peanut butter cookie around.

“They’re just playing their part. I doubt any of them will actually fall in love,” Addison said with her mouth full of cake.

“Where’s everyone else tonight?” I’d gotten used to the rotating door of people and managed to get to know most of the women of the Pride better than I imagined.

“Amelia and Elena have a cousin visiting. Lucy and Colby went to look at wedding venues.”

“I still can’t believe they’re leaving,” Madi said with a heavy sigh. “They’re not going to be around for the babies.”

“They’ll visit!” Emma said.

Colby and Noah were moving to Seattle this summer so he could help build the new NHL team. They said it was an amazing opportunity for him, but that didn’t mean any of the women were happy about it.

“Change sucks.” Addi sighed.

“It comes with the job. None of us are completely safe from leaving,” Emma said.

“Well, some of us are safer than others,” Addison said, giving a pointed look to Emma and Kendall.

“I have no control over that,” Kendall said with her hands up. “And that’s not completely true. Wyatt could get traded.”

“You don’t trade your captain,” Madi said.

“Not Hartman, at least,” Chloe added. “He’s a franchise player.”

“What does that mean?” I felt like they were leaving out important details. Things they knew and understood, but I definitely didn’t.

“They are players who are lifers. They become who you think of when you think of a team,” Chloe clarified.