Chapter 3
Robbie's POV
I walked into the locker room before the final playoff game to find a good bunch of my teammates surrounding Buzz Schneider. I would swear to you they only started whispering when they heard me walk in. Yeah, that's comforting.
"Buzzy, what's going on?" I inquired warily as I approached the group.
"Umm, can I talk to you in the hall?" Buzz asked nervously, as he pulled me by the arm away from the team. "Look, there's no easy way to say this, so I'm just gonna say it. I saw Emily with Jack O'Callahan yesterday afternoon."
"What the hell was she doing with him? I told her to stay away from him," I seethed, clenching my hands into tight fists. I was about ready to punch the first thing I saw.
"Maybe you should talk to Emma about this," Buzz offered, backing away. Poor guy probably thought I was about to hit him. Can't shoot the messenger though.
"No, I want to know this before I talk to Emma. God knows she'll twist the truth," I spat out. "Please man, you gotta tell me what you saw."
"I saw him kiss her," Buzz whispered, flinching.
That unexpected news was like a swift, hard punch in the gut. My girlfriend cheated on me with a rival. Would it have been better if it were with a friend? Probably not, but at least that could be worked out. This was with O'Callahan. The guy hated me and I hated him.
"Thanks Buzz," I said quietly, trying my hardest to give him somewhat of a smile, just so he knew things were okay, but I couldn't even muster up a grin. I just walked into the locker room and got dressed.
We stepped out onto the ice, and I immediately caught a glimpse of Emily. She seemed…distracted. As if something were plaguing her conscience. Good, she should feel that way, though.
What is it with these Boston guys? They always looks like they're ready to maul your head off every time. O'Callahan was attempting to make eye contact with Emily whenever he thought I wasn't looking. That's it. He's going down tonight. I don't care what I have to do.
The whole night was full of cheap shots and penalty minutes. O'Callahan and I were at it the whole time. Surprisingly, he wasn't as aggressive as I would have expected. Don't get me wrong, this guy is king of the cheap shot. Maybe he felt bad for kissing my girl or something. Who knows, who cares.
As soon as the third period started, I made my move. I got up close to him, and made it look like he knocked me out. Lame yes, but effective.
"You're out of here!" the ref stated, pulling O'Callahan away by the back of his jersey.
"What the hell was that? I didn't do nothin to him! This is ridiculous!" Jack shouted and protested all the way to the locker room.
"Keep your head up next time!" I called after him.
I looked up at Emily who had a look of shock imprinted on her face. I wasn't sure it if was because I had been "knocked out" or if it was because Jack had been thrown out. Whatever it was, she wasn't happy, and left immediately.
Emily's POV
How the hell could Jack do that? I honestly thought things had been placated between us, and then he pulls this. I will definitely give that boy a piece of my mind…if I can find him.
"Emma!" I heard yelled behind me in a thick Boston accent. I whipped around to see Jack standing at the end of the hallway.
"What the hell was that?" I asked, charging towards him.
"I don't know what your boy's problem is, but he just got me knocked out of the damn game," Jack replied angrily, completely oblivious to the fact that I was mad at him, not Robbie.
"You knocked him out cold, OC, and now you're getting mad that you were ejected? You're lucky that's all you got," I yelled.
"I didn't do a damn thing to him," Jack defended.
"Well, then, explain to me why you got tossed out and not him," I inquired, but he didn't answer. He just stared at the floor.
"Look, I'm sorry. I know I was throwing cheap shots all night too, but I didn't get him kicked out of the game. And he had no reason to do it," Jack answered, never making eye contact with me.
"If he had no reason, then why would he do it?" I asked defensively. "Ya know what, I don't want to know. Just leave me alone."
With that, I stormed off. I wasn't watching any more of this game. By the time I got to my car, the guys were filing out of the arena. Buzz walked over to me with his head hung.
"What's the matter with you?" I asked. "Didn't you just win a national title?"
"Yeah, we did. Listen, Mac knows," Buzz replied.
"Knows what?"
"That you kissed Jack O'Callahan. That's probably why Mac pulled what he pulled. I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have told him," Buzz apologized, looking up at me after his speech.
I was speechless, which wasn't normal. Tears blurred my vision and I just couldn't do anything but look at Buzz. That must have been the reason OC mentioned.
"I umm…I gotta go," I said, climbing into my car and driving away.
How was I going to rectify this with Jack? Better yet, how was I going to rectify this with Robbie?
