Page 34 of Vibes

Iris

I have no idea what’s happening.

“You know they play pretty well for a team that almost dissolved over the past week,” Cora jokes, sipping her drink as she settles into her seat. She appeared, randomly, after the first period, and so did Lachlan when he finally got back into the groove of things. I don’t know hockey, but I could hear the grumbling and boos in the stands around me about how he performed in the first part of the game. I think seeing Cora sitting in the stands beside me ignited some unchecked rage, and I know he’s not going to easily forget about all the hell her antics put him through.

Lachlan is number sixty-two, and that’s who I try to follow on the ice. The navy and gold colors contrast against my maroon leggings, but since we didn’t go back to my apartment before today's game, I had to work with the strange assortment of things he packed for me.

“You sound just like Londyn,” she says with a sigh, and that just reminds me that our bestie is sitting one row and several seats to the right of us. She’s right next to Brianna, and from what I’ve seen throughout the game, neither of them is terribly thrilled about it. “Look at them! The team is playing fantastic now.”

“The team is going to have an intervention after tonight because five missing people suddenly reappeared,” I grumble. It’s hard to keep my voice down when I really, really want to yell at her. “How did you even manage this?”

“Oh, this is a happy accident,” Cora says, and I don’t buy that for a second. “It’s been a really tough week for everyone, but my spell had an expiration date.”

I blanch, turning my full attention to Cora as the Denver Lords travel back across the ice towards the other team's goal. I’ve already forgotten the name of whoever they are playing. “What?”

“Well you and Lachlan seemed like you were getting on pretty well, and he was the last one picked up at the store,” Cora says, shooting me a smile. “Really, Londyn’s had since Saturday morning and the twins almost expired.”

“What!?”

“Shh!” Cora hisses, turning to glare at me. “Did I forget to mention that bit to you? Once the sun set on the seventh day the spell was permanent. If an agreeable apology couldn’t be met, they would spend their lives as sex toys.”

I stare at Cora, wondering if I truly know my friend at all. “What the hell did Flynn do to you that was so bad?”

Her eyes darker, and she turns her attention back to the rink as the crowd goes wild. “Never mind that. They all escaped that fate, right? Even Flynn.”

Even Flynn. Something tells me he’s a seriously lucky SOB.

I start cheering with the crowd when I realize the Denver Lords scored a goal. I watch Lachlan skating back with two other players, and for the life of me I could not tell you who they are or what we’re supposed to be doing.

“So what happened with Dylan?” Cora asks as the roar of the crowd dies down. I think they are resetting again, but when I was talking to Lachlan about how the game works on the ride over here he looked pretty traumatized every time I explained something incorrectly. My hasty notes aren’t enough to teach me hockey in the span of three days.

“Why are you asking about Dylan?” I question, keeping my gaze on the rink. There’s a timer up top, and I think we’re nearing the end of the game. Cora keeps distracting me, and all I’m really focused on is seeing Lachlan after.

“His brother plays for the other team,” she replies, and I glance over at her. “I heard Flynn mention it to Lachlan.”

“When did Flynn talk to Lachlan?”

“Just before the game started, You were probably already up here in the stands. I think it’s his younger brother. You didn’t know that?”

As the game plays out in front of us, I slowly shake my head. “Dylan didn’t talk about his family much. His dad is in—”

“Politics,” Cora says knowingly. “I guess the family pays a lot of money between the two colleges. Flynn was griping about it when he was no longer a—”

She cuts herself off, and I really wish she would continue. “A what?”

“Never mind. Oh, look, your boy is getting into a fight.”

I whip my head around to focus on the game again, watching as Lachlan tackles someone from the other team with a big twenty-one on the back of his jersey. They go down, Lachlan on top, and it sort of reminds me of the last fight I witnessed.

The arena fills with cheers, and I can see the players from either team huddling around them as referees attend to pull them apart. Half of each team seems to support the fight, chants for either side rising along with the chaos as they punch each other.

My gaze turns to the jumbotron, which is focused on the fight in the middle of the ice. I watch Lachlan’s head snap to one side and wince, but he’s still punching the other guy.

“Well, look at that,” Cora drawls, and I’m getting sick of her shit. “I think that’s Dylan’s brother."

“What?” I snap, trying to look between her and the jumbotron. It takes seconds too long for my anxiety to handle, but the refs finally manage to drag the two players apart. I drop my gaze when the screen shifts to a wide angle again, tracking Lachlan with my eyes as he’s led over to a penalty box. Glancing at the timer, there’s not much time left in the game. “How would you know?”

“The last name?” Cora replies dryly, and I manage to catch sight of the jersey the other guy’s wearing as he’s paraded into the visitor’s penalty box.