They Thought I Was Weak, I Am Their Only Hope novel · Chapter 15 of 24
Chapter 15: Three in the Morning
At three in the morning the Garden was dark except for the work lights over the ice.
I let myself in through the players' door with the key my father had given me in September.
Paolo was out there alone.
He had no helmet and no brace, and he was skating slow circles with one hand pressed to his ribs.
The captain's patch lay on the Anvils bench.
He had cut it off his jersey, and the thread was still on it.
I sat down beside it and waited.
He saw me on his fourth lap and did not stop.
"Go home, Mara."
"I left."
"Good for you."
"I mean I left for the night. I have a bag in the car."
He skated to the boards and leaned on them, breathing hard.
"Dad send you?"
"Dad's sitting on the stairs with a loan letter."
"Good."
"Paolo."
"I wore it for him!" he said, and the words rang off the glass. "Since I was nine years old. I fought on every team I ever played for, because somebody said something about the Brescias."
"I know."
"You don't. You've been here a year."
That landed, and he saw it land.
He winced and looked at the ice.
"I'm sorry."
"No. You're right. I've been here a year."
I picked up the patch and turned it over.
"Tell me what you did tonight besides cut this off."
He was quiet.
Then he pulled his phone out of his glove and tossed it to me across the boards.
I read the missed call.
Gregor Vasko, 12:14 a.m.
Under it was a voicemail, and I played it on speaker in the empty arena.
Keep reading free with an account. Start They Thought I Was Weak, I Am Their Only Hope from Chapter 1, then sign up free to read the rest of this chapter.
← Chapter 14 · All chapters · Chapter 16 →
Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend