ASHLEY’S POV
Most nights lately ended the same way for me: curled up in bed with my laptop glowing in the dark and YouTube playing endless streams of hockey games.
Not just highlight reels—full games. I was watching full games. I had to watch it to get a hang of the sport since I knew nothing about it. I wanted to get close to Lucas and being on the hockey team in some sort of way was the best way to do it.
I paused constantly, scribbling notes in the margins of my little black journal. I noted everything: the defensive formations, how wingers moved when the puck shifted. I also watched the games of our high school competitions. I noticed Lucas’s skating patterns, the way he barked silent orders with a tilt of his chin, how teammates seemed to expect his movements without words.
He wa
