Chapter 8

       "Did you talk to Justin yesterday?" Dalton asked as we got out of his car.

       "I think I would have told you if I did," I said.

       "So you didn't?" Dalton asked. "Come on, Lark. I need to know if something is wrong before our next hockey game. Which is today, by the way."

       I sighed. "I know that. I just... I was about to but I couldn't. He was so stressed with his English homework and I didn't want to make things worse."

       "But if something really is wrong, you could have made things worse by not asking him," Dalton said.

       I glared at him as I closed the passenger door. "You're the one who hasn't asked him either as soon as you noticed he was off in hockey practice. It's not on me. It's not even on you."

       Dalton sighed heavily. "I'm sorry, Lark. I'm just... I'm very worried about him. And not because he's the star player or anything. He's one of my best friends and if he's playing on an injury, that can ruin his career before it even started."

       "I know that," I said. "And I will talk to him at lunch. I promise."

       "Can't you do it before lunch?" Dalton asked.

       "If you want it done before lunch, you can do it," I said. "But I am going to do it at lunch because that will be the best time to talk to him."

       "Fine, but you better do it," Dalton said.

       "Relax, Dalton," I said. "I will. Don't worry about it."

        Dalton and I walked into the school and went our separate ways with me heading to my locker and Dalton heading to wherever it was he was going to.

       Shortly after I got to my locker and opened it to grab my notebooks, someone tapped on my shoulder. I turned around to see Justin smiling at me. I smiled back at him. "Hey," I said.

       "Hi," Justin said. "So... Do you know what day it is today?"

       "Thursday?"

       "No. Well, yes but no."

       "Yes but no. That's contradicting."

       Justin furrowed his eyebrows. "That's what?"

       "It cancels out," I said. "How is it yes but no?"

       "It is Thursday but that was not the answer I was looking for," Justin said. "So...?"

       I smiled even wider at him. "You third hockey game. I know. I wouldn't miss any of your games for the world."

       Justin held up his varsity jacket. "So will you wear it?"

       "Of course I will," I said. "You know I will. It's our tradition and I'm not going to break it now."

       Justin kept his smile as he helped put it on me. As soon as it was on, I noticed how worried Justin was looking. He has looked nervous for some games but this... This wasn't nerves. He was actually worried about something.

       "Are you okay?" I asked.

       "Yeah, I'm fine," Justin said. "I'm okay. Why do you ask?"

       I could ask Justin right now about what was going on with him that caused his hockey practices to deteriorate but I still didn't think now was the best time. English class was the first period and I knew how much it bothered him. I didn't want to upset him before that class.

       So I just gave him a different answer. "You just seem worried."

       "I'm always worried about hockey games," Justin said. "Well, not worried. I'm more nervous."

       "Well, you're going to do great," I said before going on my tiptoes, kissing his cheek. I mean, I hoped he did great. I really hoped there wasn't anything going on that caused Justin's hockey practices to go down and that he was only having a bad day.

       He loved ice hockey a whole lot and I didn't want him to jeopardize his hockey career before it even began.

       I had to admit, when lunch came, I was a bit nervous to ask Justin about what was going on with him. I didn't want him to get mad at me, even if I knew it was very rare for him to get mad.

       I've never seen him get mad before for the three years I've known him and I didn't want to be the first one to see it happen to.

       Before Justin and I could get to the cafeteria for lunch, I asked, "Can we talk?"

       "Why does that make me feel nervous?" Justin asked. "Are you breaking up with me?"

       "What? No," I said. "No, definitely not. I just... Have to talk to you about something."

       "Okay..." Justin said, sounding a bit unsure. 

       I really hoped everything was okay.

       Justin and I found a quiet spot in the school to sit at so nobody would overhear our conversation. We sat down on a bench that was there and I mustered up the courage to ask him. "Is everything okay?" I asked.

       Justin furrowed his eyebrows. "Yes? That's what you wanted to talk about? To ask if I'm okay? I told you before first period that I am."

       I sighed. "The thing is... Was it really a blister that was causing you to limp after your last hockey game?"

       "Yes, it was," Justin said. "Why?"

       "Dalton told me that you've been very off during practices," I said. "You can't skate straight or pass properly or shoot at all."

       "It's stress," Justin said. "Just stress with theatre and homework and... Yeah."

       I could tell Justin was lying. We always told each other the truth so when it shifted to one of us lying, we could easily tell.

       "Justin, if you have an injury, you shouldn't be playing on it," I said. "You need to sit out and let it rest."

       "I don't have an injury," Justin said. "I'm fine. There isn't anything wrong."

       "Come on, I know you're hiding something. And you can tell my anything."

       Justin hesitated before saying, "Okay, my ankle maybe hurts a bit. But it's not big."

       "It doesn't matter if it's big or small," I said. "Skating on it can make it worse. You need to sit out this game."

       "I'm not going to make things worse," Justin said. "I know my limits. That's why I was sitting out for a bit last game. I knew I shouldn't push it. I won't make it worse."

       "Are you sure?" I asked.

       "Yes, I'm sure," Justin said. "I promise if it does bother me, I'll sit out like last time. You don't have to worry about it."

       I was still going to worry about it but at the same time, Justin was right. He knew his limits. And he did sit out during the second period of the last game because it was bothering him. He knew he shouldn't push it.

       Unfortunately, Justin didn't know his limits.

       At all.

       During the hockey game, Justin stayed on the ice the whole game like always but I could tell he wasn't doing well. Like Dalton said, he could't skate straight. He couldn't pass properly. He couldn't shoot.

       And near the end of the game, Justin ended up falling. Dalton immediately skated over to him and tried helping him stand up but Justin couldn't stand. Whatever injury he had got worse.

       A lot worse.

       Paramedics had to come onto the ice to take him off and while they were doing so, I got off of my seat to hurry over to where they were taking him.

       "Justin, are you okay?" I asked.

       "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Justin said. "It's just a sprain."

       "It's not just a sprain," one of the paramedics said as he examined his injury. "And this didn't happen just now. This injury is definitely a few days old. Did you skate on an injury?"

       "I thought I knew my limits," Justin said.

       "It doesn't matter if you know your limits," the paramedic said. "You should never skate on an injury. You can make things a lot worse, like right now."

       "Is he going to be okay?" I asked.

       "Eventually, yes," the paramedic said. "He'll need more tests to determine how long he's going to have to stay off of his ankle."

       "But what about my other hockey games?" Justin asked. "Or dance class?"

       "You're going to have to sit them out," the paramedic said.

       "But--" Justin began but the paramedic cut him off.

       "No, you need to sit them out. You can't make things worse."

       Justin sighed heavily, looking a bit irritated about the fact that he was going to have to stay off of his ankle. I didn't say anything about it, about how he should have at least sit this game out. I couldn't make him even more irritated and telling him, "I told you so" definitely would.

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oof justin you shouldn't have skated on your injury 😔

anyway i have to go to bed because i have to wake up early so stan larkin for clear skin (is that their ship name? larkin? or should it be justark?)