Fear of Falling

Chapter 15....

"I'm glad you showed up at the rink. I wanted to apologize." Wyatt said a few minutes after we sat down. He dropped his gaze to the table.

"Apologize for what?"

"For leaving you that morning at the elevator. I should have helped you answer the questions I bet people had." The guilty look on his face had me reaching across the table to touch the back of his hand.

"Wyatt it's fine, really." He eyed my hand on his before looking back up at me. "I knew the moment we stepped out they would recognize you and make things even more hectic. You didn't need that. So don't apologize." I made my tone firm so he knew to no longer bring it up. I did it on my own for a reason so he had nothing to feel bad about.

Before he could reply Rick's voice came up beside us. My eyes landed on the food in his hands. The look of it making my stomach growl again.

"Here you two kids go." He placed the two burgers in front of us. "You guys enjoy." I barely heard him as I gazed at the burger. I didn't even hesitate in grabbing it and taking a huge bite. Hearing a chuckle I slowly brought my eyes up.

Wyatt stared at me with amusement clear on his face. I felt my cheeks turn pink as I sat there with a mouthful of food. He just laughed again before grabbing at his own food.

"Don't judge me." I mumbled as soon as I swallowed.

"I wasn't." By the look on his face I knew better.

"Uh huh."

We spend the next few minutes eating in silence. A few people came and went but none paid us any attention.

"So Trevor and Bryton seem nice." I broke the silence a few minutes later.

"Those two are giant pains in my ass." I didn't miss the underlying of love and respect in his voice. "Please tell me they didn't say anything bad to you."

"Only that you secretly wet the bed." I said with a straight face. I watched as his eyes widened and he choked on a french fry.

"They said what?" I couldn't hold it in anymore and burst out laughing. I covered my mouth at my obnoxious laugh but my shoulders shook. The look on his face was everything.

"Totally kidding." I said through giggles. Wyatt picked up a fry and threw it at me.

"You are a little shit you know that." He shook his head at me as I continued on laughing.

"Sorry I had to." He just shot me a look. "But seriously they were nice. How did you guys meet?" By the way they all stood around each other you could tell they were close friends.

"Trevor and I actually go back to freshman year of college. We were both new to the team, actually two of the three new players, so we kind of gravitated towards each other. He's a winger so it worked out great that we got along on and off the ice. We've been friends ever since." Wyatt said.

"And Bryton, he was drafted to the team mid-season during my second year. I think he felt like he had something to prove when he first got there. We were doing a simple scrimmage when he slammed me hard into the glass." Wyatt laughed at the memory. "During scrimmages no one really hits each other but Bryton did. At first I was pissed and when I went up to him the guy had the nerve to just smile and skate away."

I was so interested in the story I found myself leaning forward to hear more as I silently ate my fries.

"After practice he waited out of the locker room for me. Told me he was sorry for the hit but said he wanted to prove that he was good enough to be on the team. The way he said I just....I guess I gained a lot of respect for him. I was the same way when I was first drafted so I understood. Somehow we just started hanging out."

My curiosity peaked even more when he talked about his first year being drafted.

"Were the Knights your first choice when you got drafted." I asked.

"I've always been a fan of the Knights. Growing up here I always watched them play but I didn't really think I'd one day end up playing for them. When they called my name for the second pick, I'm pretty sure my mom screamed the entire place down." The two of us laughed. "It all kind of seemed like a feverish dream until my first game then it really hit."

"I bet." I couldn't imagine playing in a huge arena packed with screaming fans, trying to prove to everyone that you were brought there for a reason.

"But what about you? You told me you use to run track?" He asked. I was surprised he remembered since I only mentioned it in passing. But I had a feeling Wyatt paid more attention than I realized.

"I did. I ran track all through high school and got a scholarship to Ryerson for it." Wyatt looked at me impressed. In a way it was because getting sport scholarships were not easy to come by but it was nothing compared to him.

"Ran freshman year and won a few meets." I dropped my gaze to the last few fries on my plate, my fingers unconsciously moving them around. "It was the start of my Sophomore year during practice that I tore my ACL. I remember falling to the ground and just screaming."

To this day I could still feel the pain. It was the most excoriating thing I've ever felt. Almost felt like someone took a baseball bat to my knee.

"I got surgery to repair it but it took months to heal and even then I didn't trust it. I kept thinking 'what if I do it again' and the pain was horrible. The season passed as I slowly got better. Learned about the pepper paste." My lip curled up at that. "Coach advised me it was probably time to hang up the shoes so I did. Even after I got over the mental part and started running again it was too late." I shrugged.

I had tried to get back on the team but by that point there were better runners and the Coach didn't trust that I could come back stronger than before. So that following year I threw myself into school and graduated with my degrees.

"Wow. First off your old coach was a dick." I looked up at Wyatt who was staring at me. "You tore your ACL you didn't lose your leg. You could have stayed on the team." As he spoke his voice got a bit lower and he gripped the side of the table. "That's just bullshit."

I bit my bottom lip to not smile at how angry he seemed at the whole thing. It happened years ago and I was over it. I moved on and found something else I was good at. Seeing him get angry for me made me want to smile.

"Yeah it kind of was." I nodded in agreement. "But I don't regret it. I ended up finding something else I loved. It worked out for the best. I mean I wouldn't be sitting here with you if it hadn't happened."

"Well I am glad you are here."

"I am too."