I turned on the television and it was on some sports station because I had been wanting to watch the hockey game. When I heard that Maverick had been kicked out of the game because of a pre-game fight, I freaked out.
The only reason I had been at the arena to begin with was to meet with Coach to talk about taking pictures of his family. He wanted me to meet with Carrie and talk about her vision. She was hellbent on capturing her entire fight with cancer. And that was a hard conversation to have. So of course I left the arena after talking to Coach.
My emotions were messed up.
Seeing Maverick and having him not say a word to me messed me up even more.
So I went home to watch him play goalie and he wasn’t there.
As soon as the commercials ended and the sports show came back, there was a big picture of Maverick on the screen.
Smiling ear to ear.
And some guy in a suit started to talk.
“He should be kicked out of the league. This isn’t what it used to be, got it? You don’t just go up and attack someone!”
I turned the television off.
I reached for my phone.
I shut my eyes and called Maverick.
I really didn’t expect him to answer my call.
“You’ve seen what happened, huh?” his rough and sexy voice asked.
“Mav…”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“I do.”
“There’s nothing to talk about.”
“Can I ask… why?”
Maverick sighed. “Seems like nobody ever wanted to stick up for you, Madison. Not sure if that was true or not. You lost a lot in your life. That hit me hard. I wanted to make sure Hans knew what it was like to feel something.”
“Did you… say anything?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Why bother? Somewhere in his mind he knew he deserved it. That’s why he’s not talking or pressing charges. He’s leaving it as a hockey thing. He’s leaving it on the ice. I guess I am too.”
“It had nothing to do with the game though.”
“Yes, it did. What he did to you. What he took from me.”
“What did he take from you, Mav?”
“He took you away from me.”
“I knew him before you.”
“Exactly,” Maverick said. “But what he did was make you punish me for it. I would never hurt you, sweetie. There aren’t enough words to convince you of that though. We both know that, right? You carry all that hurt and guilt with you and that’s just who you are. In a way it makes you so completely beautiful. In another way it makes you the most frustrating person I’ve ever met.”