Chapter 27: The Cost of Distraction
Rhys
I remained on my knees, the cold of the ice seeping through my gear as I touched Kayden’s forehead. He was burning like a furnace, just like the last time I had seen him on the ground in the restroom stalls.
"Are you alright?" I asked, but he couldn’t even respond as he shut his eyes in pain.
The medics swarmed past me, their footsteps echoing beside me as they reached Kayden.
I watched them lift him, my chest tight with concern I had no right to feel. I shouldn’t care. In this game, care was a liability. Even though I was the Captain, I had priorities, and it was the team’s win. I had never stopped because of a distraction, but today, I did, and it cost us.
When the crowd started rejoicing and mocking us, I knew that we deserved it. By the time I made it back to the locker room and joined my teammates, I expected the atmosphere to be unfriendly and that they would blame me, but I was shocked when they all gathered around me.
"Hey," Jaxson said, breaking the silence in the locker room. He didn’t sound angry, just exhausted. "We all did our best, Rhys. Stopping to check on Kayden is what anyone would have done. It’s not over yet, and even though we are tied now, we still have more chances to take the series."
Coach Reddick nodded in agreement with what Jaxson had said, appearing behind me and tapping me on the shoulder. "Mistakes happen, and now that we see it, we shouldn’t let it affect us next time. I had no idea that Kayden’s stomach bug was serious, and I should have considered that, but we still have another game to win tomorrow."
"Well, he should have said something instead of playing," Lucca said and scoffed. "He cost us that win, whether we like it or not."
Miller shook his head as he responded. "We still have other games to win, Rossi, and even if you are mad about losing, we shouldn’t blame him for wanting to play."
Luca said nothing, simply scoffing again.
"Where is he?" I asked about Kayden, even though I had watched the medics take him away.
Coach Reddick responded, "The paramedics checked him out, and he told them it was just a stomach bug from bad food. He told them he didn’t need the hospital but insisted on going to the hotel early to rest, so they cleared him to go. Now it’s over to you. Update me on whether he can play in the third game. We have only a day to prepare."
I nodded slowly, fumbling with the laces of my skates as I changed in the stall.
A stomach bug? I didn’t believe that was what had made Kayden scream like that. No stomach should ever make anyone cry like that—unless it was his condition, the one he had told me about.
"We leave soon, so everyone get ready!" the Coach shouted as he walked out of the locker room. Everyone started clearing out, hanging up their gear and jerseys, and when we were done, we headed out.
Luckily, the other team had left before we reached the outside because I wasn’t ready to face Max. I knew that he would rub our loss in my face, just as I always did to him in the past.
"Don’t beat yourself up, Rhys," Miller muttered, adjusting his cap as we headed to the bus. "Even though you are a strong Alpha, you are still human, and we all make mistakes. What you did on the ice was great, checking up on our teammate like that and—"
The sharp ringing of my phone cut him off. I pulled it from my pocket, wondering who was calling, and when I saw the name on the screen, my heart stopped for a moment.
FATHER.
My eyes widened in shock, and my heart started beating again, faster and drumming hard against my ribs. My hands began to shake, and a cold sweat broke out on the back of my neck despite the chilly air. Miller looked at me, sensing the shift, and I pointed to the phone.
"I need to take this." I stepped away from him, my thumb hovering over the screen. I didn’t want to pick up at first. I wanted to throw the phone against the concrete wall, but I knew the consequences of not picking up Richard Calder’s call.
I swiped the screen and pressed the phone to my ear, inhaling a deep sigh. "Father," I whispered, my voice trembling.
The silence on the other end of the line was more terrifying than any shout I’d ever heard. I could almost hear the steady, rhythmic ticking of the clock in my father’s study. He was probably there and must have watched the whole game.
"Why did you stop on the ice, Rhys?" His voice was dry, without even a hello after months of not calling me. It wasn’t as if I had expected it; after all, all he cared about were my stats and the scoreboard.
"I thought a teammate was seriously injured, sir," I stammered, my back hitting the cold concrete. "I thought—"
"I didn’t ask what you thought, son. I asked why you stopped," he cut me off, his tone sharpening into the same nagging voice he had used on me over the years. "Are you being gentle on the ice now? Because you won the Cup twice? Are you forgetting who you are? You are a Calder, and everyone before you, including myself, has been a titan. We have led the Avalanche team to victory over the years."
I squeezed my eyes shut, my knuckles turning white around the phone. "I made a mistake. It won’t happen again," I said quietly, trying to end the call as fast as I could.
"A mistake," my father repeated, the word sounding like a curse. "You have never lost a game since you entered the league. Not one. And yet, tonight, the world watched as you abandoned the puck for a newbie! Tell me, Rhys... is there anything between you and that boy? Are you in love with anyone?"
The question hit me hard, and my heart started pounding again. Love? I didn’t do it because I loved Kayden. This was just because I cared as a Captain—or so I thought—but my father wouldn’t care about that.
"No, Father. No, it’s not like that."
My father sighed. "Good. Because only those with a heart in love act with such pathetic sentimentality!" he hissed. "Unless you are ready to retire, there is no reason why you should love anyone. It’s a liability, Rhys. You have a long way to go. Love makes you weak, makes you slow, and reminds you that you have a legacy to uphold as a Calder."
He spoke slowly, but the words hit every part of me. "Remember that you lost tonight because you let yourself feel something. That boy should be your rival! If you try to act cool because you are a Captain, he will take your position! Do you understand what that means? That boy is after your position, so go back to how you were before, son!"
"Yes, sir," I whispered.
He sighed again. "Put your head back in the game. I don’t care if the entire team collapses around you next time. You do not stop. You win. And if I see you act like that again, you will find out exactly how much I care about you, my son."
The line went dead before I could even comprehend what he said, but I knew they were threats. He was threatening me with Kayden, as if he already knew something was between us.
I stood there for a long time, my phone pressed to my ear, my breath coming in shallow hitches. I hated it. I had not received a call from my father in years, and today, because of a simple mistake, a distraction, I had that annoying, selfish man back in my life again.
"Goodness," I sighed, shoved my phone into my pocket, and started walking toward the bus.
I was the last to enter, and I apologized to the Coach. As the bus started moving, I couldn’t help but wonder if my father was right about what had happened to me on the ice.
Did I care about Kayden? Do I love him? Hell no.
𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞
I only wanted him for sex, and that was it. Now that I know he was a distraction, I was going to make sure the sex never happens again, no matter what.
I had never lost a game in my life, and today, I had because I couldn’t bear to see Kayden hurt.