Chapter 10

 Chapter Ten: It was mutual 

Gavin POV 

   Practice sucked.

    Our team captain Aaron was a fucking ghost throughout. If we kept playing this shitty, we might lose the finals. I was determined to win the next Stanley Cup for this town.

    Velmont needed the tourist attraction; it was a town of farmers and bikers. People were living hand to mouth, the system failing them. No one who went to college had dreams of staying back in this town.

    I was one of them. Velmont was stagnant water which could only attract mosquitoes, while these hockey games were the pollen calling the bees from Chicago and New York.

    Inside the changing room, I was surrounded by half-naked men with towels tied around their torsos. My eyes were fixed on Aaron; he was talking to his girlfriend Iris Vega, who happened to be my best friend.

    Even though Aaron made an amazing team captain, he was a shitty boyfriend. Iris deserved better. Five foot five inches, stunning hazel eyes, and dark brown long hair - my best friend was beautiful.

    She had the heart of a philanthropist and the brain of Einstein. Despite being a year older than me, she was already in medical school studying to be a brain surgeon. Also, she was our team nutritionist too.

    I watched her sit next to Aaron, her arm around his shoulders. She squeezed him in reassurance. I couldn't understand what they were saying, but I knew it was something serious. Iris wasn't smiling. She always smiled, even when she was sad.

    My girl was sunshine, and I was grumpy.

    Suddenly she stood, offering her hand in a handshake. He stared at her like she was ridiculous but shook her hand anyway. When her eyes met mine, I saw tears in them.

    Immediately, I clenched my fists, my knuckles white with tension, as I struggled to contain my temper. The next thing I knew, I was making my way across the hall. I grabbed Aaron by his shirt and tossed him to the floor; he went banging into one of the lockers, letting out a low grunt.

    "What the heck, Hawkins? Are you high or something?" he asked, a flash of rage in his eyes. That did nothing to reduce the anger I was feeling.

    Everyone in the locker room was now staring at me. I could see them judging me without saying a word. This was my world; my teammates all thought I was a monster.

    "What is wrong?" Iris asked, holding both my shoulders. She forced me to look at her. When I saw her brown eyes, I felt my heart break into pieces.

    "Shit head," I mumbled under my breath.

    "Calm down, Gavin," she cooed, her fingers steadily tapping on my shoulders. Iris was the only person who could touch me without making me feel disgusted.

    "What did he do to you?" I growled, my eyes pinned at the idiotic man on the floor. Man, I hated him. 

    "Ah..." she gasped, tears filling her eyes. Iris shut them and opened them slowly, faking a smile. She shrugged, "We had a misunderstanding. It was mutual."

    "What was mutual?" My eyes narrowed at her response.

    "We broke up!" she exclaimed, her voice cracking.

    In the next minute, I shoved her aside and marched towards the idiot with a bleeding head. I wanted to jam his head again into the lockers. "Fucker. He broke your heart, didn't he?"

    "No, Gavin. I did," she cried back, holding me back by pulling my shirt behind me. "I broke up with him"

    "Let him, Iris. He should hit me so I can finally kick his ass out of the team... this man is a nutcase," Aaron spat. He guts this guy. 

    "Shut up, Aaron," she snarled at him and it made me glad. Iris was the only person I could truly count on. 

    "I'm a nutcase? You had the most beautiful and kindest woman in the world, and you fucked that up. Did you cheat on her?"

    "Rich coming from you. You who won't commit to anything? If someone broke her heart, it was you, asshole," Aaron retorted, managing to smirk despite flinching from the pain in his head.

    "Fuck," I cursed, recalling when Iris confessed her feelings for me four years back. I told her I wasn't interested in having a relationship with anyone, especially her. She no longer had feelings for me and fell for this jerk. The second I casted my eyes on them as a couple, I knew he was one foot out. 

    "Aaron!" she yelled. Swirling, she told me in a soft voice "I'm fine, Gavin. It's fine. It was mutual."

    Her face didn't look like it was mutual. I wanted to rip his heart out for what he did to Iris. She deserved an angel.

    Bang.

    I was too busy to notice Aaron had gotten up, and he punched me right in the face. A sucker punch - he was more of a loser than I thought.

    Lifting my fist, I wanted to introduce his pearly teeth to my tattooed knuckles when the door opened. My hand froze midway. Coach Seth Fedelin stood there in a white shirt and jeans. Next to him was a man in a black suit, who looked horrified upon catching us in our fight. I recognized him from the television, he was one of the NHL officials who were scouts searching.

    This was bad.

    ---

    "I didn't expect such behavior from you, Aaron. You are the team captain. You're supposed to make peace, not war," Coach Seth Fedelin reprimanded Aaron, his voice stern and disappointed. I stood there like the shark in the room that wasn't being acknowledged.

    "Hawkins pushed me first. I was only responding," Aaron defended, his tone defiant.

    "You gave me a sucker punch, idiot. That was cowardly of you," I shot back, my fists still clenched.

    "Stop it, all of you," the coach commanded, his voice rising. He slapped his hands on the table, the noise echoing in my ears "We have a life-changing game to prepare for. And you're fighting with each other."

    "I can't work with this man. He's unhinged," Aaron declared, pointing at me accusingly.

    "You should fix it. Fix your bonding with him," Coach Fedelin insisted, his eyes darting between us. "We can't have this ruin our game. You two played shitty today. Each trying to outshine the other, immature and dumb."

    "Coach—" I started, but he cut me off. It was probably for the better, I was going to lie anyway.

    "Shut the fuck up, Hawkins," he snapped, his patience wearing thin. Pointing at both of his, his eyes narrowed "If you guys aren't aware, the reason the whole town treats you people like royalty is that they expect fucking results. If you don't get them that... I don't know... This town needs hockey." His tone shifted to serious. My chest squeezing at the thoughts of our town, "There was almost an overflowing of the dam last week; three people were severely injured. There's no money, no help from the government. Hockey is bigger than you two here in Velmont. Understand?"

    "Yes, coach," I mumbled, feeling the weight of his words.

    "I understand, coach," Aaron answered, his voice subdued. We both loved this town, every team member did. Hockey had been my everything for years now, I could not let go of it. It kept me afloat. 

    "For your punishment, you two will stay back and clean up the locker room for two weeks. Mr. Brown needs the vacation," Coach Fedelin declared, his tone leaving no room for argument.

    "Okay, coach," we said in unison. I was glad we skipped the fighting, we would do it when cleaning. I was sure of it. If one could count the number of times, we fought. They would suggest we create our own Kardashian reality show.

  An almost smile touched his lips, he nodded "Good. And Gavin, you are now the assistant team captain."

    "What the—" Aaron started, but the coach silenced him with a look.

    "No, Coach. I don't—" I tried to protest, but he cut me off.

    "I've made up my mind. Either you accept, or you're out," he stated firmly. "Also, I noticed your grades aren't the best. You need to pick up another course for extra credit. Understand?"

    "Yes, coach," I replied, resigned. My grades were something I had to keep up, numbers weren't for me. Hockey and food was.

    "Gavin, focus on your schoolwork. Ladies come later," he added, his tone softening slightly.

    "I understand, coach," I nodded, feeling a mix of emotions swirling inside me.