Dad shakes his head. “You need a paternity test, Neil. You don't need to take care of a kid that isn't yours. There doesn't need to be any doubts now or down the road. If she won't do that, then we can get a law-”
“She's willing,” I interrupt, annoyed with his tone.
“What's her name? Maybe you should come home this year, Neil, and bring her so we can meet her,” Mom finally speaks, though her words are seeped with uncomfortableness.
“Audra Garcia.” I glance at my watch, purposely ignoring the rest of what my mom said. She doesn't really mean it anyway. “I'll talk to her about the test, Dad. I need to get back to the rink, though.”
We quickly wrap things up with reluctance and relief from my p
arents, and once I'm back at the arena for pre-game warm ups, I call Audra for the second time today.
“Oh, look, it's you again,” Audra chuckles.
I roll my eyes at her. “How are you doing?”
“The exact same as the last time you called, but I've had a cramp or two in my legs since. I've actually taken Sunday off from work because I want to lay around and be lazy all day.” She sighs and sounds a bit more serious. “I'm exhausted, Neil.”
“Well, make sure you rest then. I'll be by sometime Sunday, okay?” I want to add that we need to talk, but it can wait until I actually get there.
“Yeah, that sounds fine.”
Bo, Winston, and Grant are walking my way, so I wrap up my conversation. “I need to go. See you later, Audra.” As soon as she says goodbye, I hang up.
“You're looking secretive, Neil,” Winston laughs. “Got a girl we don't know about?”
“Nope. Y'all ready for the game?” I ask as we all begin heading to the locker room to change.
“Of course,” Bo answers and the others nod.
We all catch sight of a black-haired girl by the locker room door. “Isn't that Lucy Kennedy?” I ask Grant.
“Yeah, she traveled with us because the paper still needs coverage. She rode over here with all of us. Where have you been?” he jokes.
“Lost in my head, I guess,” I mumble.
Lucy smiles once we reach her. “Hey, guys. Hey, Grant.” Looks like he gets his own special greeting.
We all reply back to her, but go on into the locker room. Except Grant, of course. He stays behind to talk to Lucy. As we change into our gear, all of our other teammates are already in here. Grant walks back in, muttering something under his breath before he starts to change.
“I need a favor,” he finally says.
“What does Lucy want you to do now?” Winston laughs.
Grant throws his glove at him. “She doesn't ever ask for much,” he retorts.
“At least she didn't ask you to go buy tampons,” I chuckle, directing my gaze to Winston, remembering that I saw him in the store. My comment drags laughs from everyone as they start picking on Winston, who glares at me.
Once they calm down, Bo returns the conversation to Grant. “What does she want?”
“Some shots with a couple of us before the game. Particularly, you, Neil, Winston, and Vincent. She said it'll take like two seconds.”
“She can catch us on our way to the ice, but it better be quick. We don't want to piss Coach off. I'll let her know. I need to go find Coach anyway.” He mentioned he wanted to speak with me, so I better do that now that I'm dressed.
Grant says thanks, and I step into the hallway to let Lucy know before going to find Coach. He's in a little office nearby, jotting down some notes.
“Hey, you wanted to speak with me?”
He smiles and says, “Yeah, have a seat for a moment.” Once I do, he continues. “You know that I keep a close eye on all my players.” I nod, wondering where he's going with this. “Instructors send me any red flags if they want me to be aware of something out of the ordinary. A few of your instructors have informed me that you've turned in a few assignments late and Bo said you're working a night job. This coming after you almost started a fight with Winston during practice, I wanted to see what's going on.”