My Hockey Alpha

Nina

I cocked my head. My mother smiled up at me and pushed the plate containing my sandwich into my hands.

“Eat up, honey,” she said. “Are you alright? You look like you’ve lost a lot of weight.”

“U-Um… I’ve just been stressed.” I picked my sandwich up off my plate and took a bite, chewing for a moment, before speaking again. “Are you sure you don’t know about the Peacekeepers? The school doctor that I’ve been working with–”

“You know what?” my mother interrupted, stretching and feigning an obviously fake yawn. “It’s late, and we’ve got to be up early tomorrow to catch our flight.”

Now, I frowned and watched as she turned somewhat robotically and started to walk out of the kitchen. “But you said that we would be leaving in a couple of days…”

My mother froze again. “Did I?” she asked, her back still turned to me. “I guess I just misspoke. No, our tickets are set for first thing in the morning.”

“Oh…” I paused, looking down at the sandwich on my plate. “Okay.”

“Good night, honey.”

“Good night, mom.”

I sat alone in the kitchen and silently finished my sandwich, puzzling over why my mother acted like she didn’t know about the Peacekeepers. In fact, her entire demeanor was a bit strange, almost scripted. It was unsettling, to say the least.

rinsed off my plate before grabbing my suitcase out of

slept here in years, always opting to stay at a motel on the rare occasion that I came to visit, but as I sat down on my bed and heard the springs creak beneath my weight, I suddenly felt overcome by a sense of nostalgia that overshadowed my mother’s strange behavior. Sighing, I fell backwards and splayed my arms out on the bed, running my hands along the quilt as I looked up at the old glow-in-the-dark stars on my ceiling that I’d put there when I was seven. I turned my head, looking over at my old desk that still had my high

get up right away; instead, I chalked it up to the wind or the branch of the tree that

I heard

only to see something small and round hit

on earth…” I whispered to myself. I stood and tiptoed over to my window, peeking out from behind the curtains. My jaw dropped as I saw Enzo standing on the lawn staring up at me. What was he

the window

you doing and how did you find

him to come, stepping away from the window and waiting with folded arms as he quietly and nimbly climbed up the tree. I watched as his hand, then his leg, followed by the rest of his body, came through my window. Once he was through, we stood there

sudden appearance, especially after how he’d spoken to me in

for how I acted,” he said quietly.

his warm arms wrap around me. My eyes widened, but as I inhaled his

with my hand. “Your father… I don’t know what he’s planning on doing to my mom and my brother, but he was very clear with

“You spoke

“I saw him after the hockey game. He said that if I get involved with you, he knows where my mom and

Enzo let out a deep, rattled sigh. When

been pushing me away?” I asked. “Because

a big part