Chapter 73

Carol’s POV

“It’s good to have you back, Carol,” Mr. Whitlock says, giving me his award-winning smile as I walk into the locker room with Aiden on my tail. “And you too, Aiden. Are you well enough to start training again?”

“Yes, sir,” Aiden says. He gives me a quick kiss before going toward his locker on the far side of the room. I turn to Mr. Whitlock and fold my arms across my chest. I know that I should be happy that Katrina was caught and I’m off the hook, but I haven’t forgotten the fact that they accused me in the first place.

I’m still hurting over the fact that they thought I could do something like that.

“So, you received the documents I sent?” I ask, eyeing him carefully.

Mr. Whitlock nods and runs the palm of his hand over the back of his neck.

“Yes, I did. It was well received and reviewed. I’m in the process of speaking to the banks now and getting the account back in order. Katrina agreed to repay the funds, which knowing where she comes from won’t be hard for her to do.”

“And my record has been wiped clean?” I ask, already knowing the answer, but needing him to confirm it.

He sighs.

“Look, Carol. It wasn’t personal. But I couldn’t just ignore the fact that the evidence pointed to you initially. I know you would never steal from the team like that, but I had to do what was right. I’m sorry that things got out of hand, and that you had to deal with media abuse. They should have never found out about something like that while we were investigating the situation. I wanted to keep it as quiet as possible and I’m so sorry that it happened.”

I raise my brows at him.

“How did the media find out about this in the first place?”

“Someone from the news department overheard some of the team members talking about it. They have been dealt with properly and it won’t happen again. Now they know to keep their mouths shut unless they are told otherwise,” he explains.

I nod, feeling a small weightlifting off my shoulders.

The door of the locker room opens and Coach Bower walks in along with a few team members who immediately catch sight of Aiden and rush over to greet him. Coach Bower immediately sees me, and the look of guilt isn’t missed.

“Carol,” he greets, giving him a short head nod. “Welcome back.”

He holds out a hand for me to shake; I just stare at it.

“Thank you, Coach,” I say, closing myself off. I don’t want to get too attached and comfortable around them anymore knowing that something like this could happen again and they could turn on me at any moment. It hurt that they turned on me so quickly before I could prove myself innocent and I’m determined not to make that mistake again.

Zach made a fool out of me once, and now I’m starting to feel like a fool again.

“I hope we can put this in the past now and focus on the future,” Coach Bower continues.

I nod, still not trusting his words.

“I appreciate that,” I tell him.

He drops his hand and runs his fingers through his hair sheepishly.

More of the team piles into the locker room, bantering and laughing with one another. When they notice me, they freeze, and I can see the look of pure guilt on their faces. I knew they must have been the ones who were blabbing to the media.

“I hope you can forgive us,” one of them blurts. “We are so sorry, Carol.”

“Yeah, we didn’t mean to cause you any unnecessary stress. We were just talking, and we didn’t know they could hear us,” the other said, lowering his gaze to the ground.

“We will do anything for you to forgive us,” the third said, placing his hands together like he was praying.

They look so pathetic begging for my forgiveness that I can’t help but smile at the gentlemen.

“I’m not angry with you,” I confess. “You don’t need to grovel. It’s okay.”

The look of pure relief on their faces makes me laugh and shake my head as they scurry over to Aiden to welcome him back.

“Just so you know I’ve been working with the media to get every negative story about you removed and a correct statement will be released this afternoon clearing your name from all crimes,” Mr. Whitlock surprises me by saying.

I look up at him, raising my brows.

“Really?” I ask him. “You did that for me?”

“Of course; it was the right thing to do,” he says, giving me a small smile. “I truly hope that you can forgive us.”

I find myself smiling in return and I nod at him.

“Thank you, sir,” I say and then I look at Coach Bower, offering him my hand.

He’s surprised, but he takes it, and we shake.

“And thank you,” I tell him.

He nods and within a few minutes, he’s gathering the team around for a meeting before practice.

“Listen up! I know we’ve had a hell of a week, but things are finally getting back to normal. We now have Cruz back and ready to practice with the rest of us. We also made a grave mistake in accusing our assistant coach and administrator of stealing money from our private funding account. That’s not a mistake we are going to make again. We are a team and that includes Carol; if she goes down, we all go down. Is that understood?”

“Yes, Coach!” Everyone chants.

My cheeks flush at their sentimental words.

“Championships are right around the corner, and we need to practice our asses off if we want a chance at winning. That means everybody needs to be on top of their game and on time to practice. Now that Aiden is back, we can practice at full level once again. I don’t want any more injuries from any of you. Is that clear?”

“Yes, Coach!” They all chanted again.

Coach Bower turns to me and motions for me to step closer.

“Is there anything you’d like to add, Carol?”

I’m surprised by this, but I smile and step beside him. My eyes immediately find Aiden’s and he gives me an encouraging and reassuring smile. When he winks at me, I feel butterflies take flight in my belly.

“As Coach Bower just said, we all need to be on our A game. We can’t afford to make any more mistakes and we can’t afford any more injuries. This means not only do we need to practice hard, but also don’t overdo it. Make sure to take time to care for yourselves and if you feel pain in any place around your body, please make sure to tell someone so we can properly care for you. I know the championships seem scary and our anxiety is through the roof, but nothing is more important than your safety.”

I watch as each player, including Aiden, relaxes and a calm sense wash over the locker room. I wondered, not for the first time, if that was because of me.

“Let's get out there and practice our hearts out!” I concluded my speech.

They all clap once in unison before they disperse from the locker room. Aiden stays behind and his grin is wide as he wraps his arms around me.

“That was a great speech,” he says, kissing my temple.

I chuckle against him, feeling my face heating.

“No kissing in the locker room!” Coach bellows, but there’s a grin on his face as he says that. “Get out there with your team, Aiden.”

“Yes, Coach,” he says before winking at me and quickly rushing after the others.

I only chuckle and follow everybody out into the stadium. The team was already practicing by the time we reached the ice. I have my notebook and a pen in my hand while I watch the team practice. It almost seems as if Aiden hasn’t missed a single day of practice. He moves around the ice effortlessly and he already made a shot, causing his entire team to roar in excitement that their star was back.

I can’t help but smile as I watch him glide around the ice with his stick. A pink glow outlining his body like it had the first time we met, and I feel a surge in my heart before it begins to beat even quicker. I had to keep myself in my seat and refrain from going to him. I want, more than anything, to wrap my arms around him and pull him in for a kiss. But I know I can’t right now; not while he’s so focused on his practice.

“It’s like he was never injured,” Coach Bower praises. “I’m relieved by that. I thought it would take some time for him to adjust.”

“You should know that when Aiden sets his mind to something, there’s no stopping him,” I say to him, that smile never leaving my lips.

The pink glow faded, and I was once again left wondering if I had imagined that.

“Oh, I left my phone in the car, and I wanted to take some pictures and videos of practice,” I say as I jump to my feet. I like capturing certain highlights of practice so the players can see their strengths and weaknesses. “I’ll be right back.”

Coach Bower nods but he’s so focused on the game, I don’t think he even realizes I’m stepping out. Aiden notices though and gives me a curious look as I pass the ice. I smile at him reassuringly and mouth, “I’ll be back.”

He nods before turning back to the game at hand. I quickly walk up the stadium steps and rush out the door. I run past the locker rooms and through the front lobby until I reach the main entrance. I’m glad that we decided to drive ourselves to the stadium today instead of using Aiden’s personal driver. We took my car instead because I needed to feel in control of something; driving is a good way for me to feel in control.

My car sits in the farthest part of the stadium lot, and as I walk, I greatly regret my parking decision. But then I froze when I felt a set of eyes on me, and a chill raced up my spine. I know this feeling well; somebody was watching me.

An uneasy feeling sits in the pit of my stomach as I glance around the large stadium parking lot until my eyes find a familiar face.

My entire body goes cold.