Chapter 006

ELIANA

After a twenty minute drive, my car pulls up at the school’s parking lot at my usual parking spot. I turn off the engine and grab my backpack from the backseat then alight the car. 

I look around the parking lot and my lips curl  into a smile when I spot Ethan's car parked a few metres from mine. I can't help but feel that ache in my heart, the desire to see him. 

Without a second thought, I turn on my heels to go find him. Today is an important day to him, to both of us and I want him to know that I have his back. I will always do.

Always.

We have been dating for two damn years now but it feels like yesterday. He's my first boyfriend, my first everything and we have made so many plans together. We have a whole future planned out and I can't wait for it to turn into reality. 

A simple house with a picket fence, a dog and two or three kids, him achieving his dreams of being a professional hockey player, fulfilling my dreams of becoming a sport's doctor since I love hockey and I would like to take care of him when he's injured…

My eyes find him across the field. The smile on my face fades away slowly and I crease my eyebrows when I notice he's talking to a redhead, laughing and they seemed to be comfortable around each other.

There’s this uneasy feeling at the pit of my stomach. I have never seen the girl and they look so close. I know all of Ethan's friends because most of them are his teammates. Taking a deep breath, I push the feeling away, trying not to allow negative thoughts to get in my head and walk to him.

“Ethan?” I call in a gentle voice and he turns to look in my direction and so is the redhead.

“Eliana?” He responds with a little surprise. Perhaps he wasn't expecting me to show up or something. However, the surprise is replaced with a soft smile. That kind of smile that he always puts on whenever he lays his eyes on me and I relax.

The redhead looks at me from head to toe and she makes a face which I don't care to read since I’m used to those kinds of looks anyway.

I hold her stare, not backing down, “Oh Eliana, meet Tess. She's my mother's best friend's daughter. She transferred to Crescent Hill in senior year a day ago. She hasn't made any friends yet and that's why she's hanging with me. She’s my childhood friend too.” I turn to look at Tess and nod to Ethan's words in understanding. 

Now it makes sense why they looked so comfortable while talking and laughing. There was this familiarity between the two which I couldn't wrap my head around. It felt like they knew each other too well.

“Nice to meet you, Tess.” I respond with a smile since I don't want to look rude to Ethan's friend. He has always respected my best friend Zoe and I think it's only fair if I respected his friend too.

“Tess, please meet Eliana. She's the one I have been telling you about. She helps me a lot with hockey.” Ethan says and I nod with a smile. Tess goes quiet for a minute but she manages a subtle smile.

“Nice to meet you, Eliana.” She says. However, I could tell that she isn't that…happy to meet me.

“I think I should get going. I wish you good luck with your game today, Ethan. I will be cheering for you.” She turns her attention to Ethan, smiling at him sweetly then turns to me.

“ I guess…I’ll see you too, Eliana.” The corner of her lips twists into a smile and I nod at her word, smiling back.

She turns around and walks away.

“Don't mind her, she's a little distant when she isn't used to you but once you get to know her, she's a good person. I promised her mother that I would  help her get through the struggles of adapting to the new environment. I hope you get it.” Ethan explains to me briefly and I nod in understanding as I know the feeling too well.

“How are you feeling? Ready?” I ask, brushing off the Tess topic.

Ethan releases a deep breath, “ Hell yeah! We have been training for this particular day!” He says in confidence and the corner of my lips lifts up into a smile.

“ I hope you and your team won't disappoint. You need to win the first match so that you can have the advantage over the Hawkers for the remaining two games to present Python in the tournament championship.”I remind Ethan and he smiles at me.

“I won't disappoint you, Eli. You have to believe in me.” He assures me, cradling my face.

“I believe in you. Don't forget about what I told you. He has weakness on his left side and he experiences tunnel vision too. Use his weaknesses to your advantage. And don't let him know about your weaknesses because he will exploit them and use them to his advantage. You know how it works, never let the enemy find out your weakness.” I remind him and he smiles broadly.

“I can't forget about such important information. Have you ever tried being a coach? I heard it pays well. Perhaps you can be Mathew’s assistant coach.” Ethan jokes, referring to Python's coach. I roll my eyes playfully at his words.

“Well…you can say I learned some tips from the best.” I joke back, referring to uncle James.

“I can't debate about it.” He raises his hands in surrender since  it's the truth. Uncle James used to be one of the top hockey players in the country. However, his career ended a little early because of a serious knee injury. He retired early and decided to become a coach to stay connected to hockey. My heart tightens when I give it a thought. He's one of the reasons why I would like to be a sport’s doctor…

“My team and I are going to give it our best.” Ethan's voice cuts through my thoughts. My attention shifts to him and I see the fire burning in his eyes.

The corner of my lips curls into a smile. I dart my eyes around the open field and my eyes easily finds him. He's kissing a girl, grabbing her arse.

'I hope you're ready, dear brother.' I say in my head, the smile broadening.