Page 16 of For Pucking Ever

Another sound from upstairs. Heavier this time. My body tenses automatically, ready to move, to help if needed. The protective instinct surges through me like an electric current. It's not just about hockey anymore, not just about salvaging a career.

"Shit," I mutter, running a hand over my face.

What if they're right? Tor. Ridley. Devan. What if I'm walling myself off from something that could actually matter?

The thought is terrifying and I don't know what to do with it.

I pick up a cloth, wipe my hands clean of paint. My routine of hiding the evidence of my secret. These are the things that have kept me sane, kept me functioning at the elite level required of me year after year. I've made a career, a life, out of shutting down, shutting out.

But the painting stares back at me, defiant. It's fresh and new. Christian will be absolutely mesmerized by something new from me.

I hear another thud upstairs, followed by a muffled curse.

That's it. Decision made. I toss the cloth aside and head for the stairs, taking them two at a time. Whatever this is, this thing between us that I refuse to name, I can't hide from it down here anymore.

Time to face it head on. Just like I've faced every other challenge in my life.

Alone. Determined. And absolutely fucking terrified.

SIX

INTERLUDE

HOCKEY HOTTIES & HEADLINES: YOUTUBE EPISODE 247

WHAT'S UP MY LOYAL LITTLE PUCK BUNNIES?

It's your girl, HockeyHomeGurlHattie, back on this platform because—shocker—I got temporarily suspended from TikTok for ‘community guideline violations’. Whatever. Their loss is YouTube's gain.

#CantCancelMe #RiseLikeAPhoenix #ThirdPlatformThisYear

So, it's been exactly THREE WEEKS since my last update on the Derrick Shaw mystery and the plot has officially THICKENED, y'all.

For those living under a hockey puck, our precious rookie goalie sensation disappeared after that devastating injury in the Stanley Cup finals. The official line was ‘resting and recovering’ but my sources have been WORKING, honey.

And when I say sources, I mean my cousin's roommate's sister who works at that fancy Seattle hotel where visiting teams stay.

#InvestigativeJournalism #Connections #NotStalking

THE LATEST DEVELOPMENT

Baby Shaw is STILL in Seattle. THREE WEEKS LATER! And get this, according to my hotel insider, he hasn't been staying at the hotel the team stayed at the night of the final. Okay, so, he was in the hospital. Sigh.

So, where the hell is he? Toronto management is sweating bullets, fantasy hockey bros are in shambles, and my DMs are FLOODED with theories.

Theory #1, he's secretly in some experimental medical treatment program. Plausible, but boring.

Theory #2, he's hiding from the media because his beautiful face got messed up. Girl, I hope not. That face is insured for millions, I just know it.

Theory #3—and this is where it gets JUICY—he's shacking up with someone in Seattle!

#PlayerMovements #ButNotOnIce #IfYouKnowWhatIMean

Now, I don't name-drop without receipts, but let's just say multiple people spotted our Baby Goalie entering a certain WATERFRONT PROPERTY owned by none other than a CERTAIN SEATTLE VIPERS PLAYER.

Yes, that's right. I'm connecting dots that the mainstream media is too chicken to connect.

Are we witnessing the most unexpected hockey bromance of the decade? A rivals-to-roommates situation? Or is there more?