Page 10 of The Recovery Coach
They got him settled on the cot, and a hand reached through the sea of people surrounding him to grasp his own.
“It’ll be okay,” someone assured him, fingers squeezing around his.He returned the affectionate gesture.
“Let’s get this fucking over with,” Hazy said as the medical team carted him out of the rink.
Chapter 5
Olivia
Oliviawishedshehadn’tlong outgrown wearing Connor’s jersey.The few times she’d used Connor’s tickets over the years, wearing his sweater had gotten her side-eyes from the other players’ family members.
It was unfair.She always got held to WAG standards, but she didn’t get any of the benefits.She shouldn’t have to fit in with them, but sticking out like a sore thumb amongst them sucked.At least this time she was blonde, no wild hair drawing attention to herself.
They were all so perfect, it almost felt pointless to try.The WAGs were invariably stunning.Thin and fit, blonde, polished, and clad in designer everything.Eyeliner drawn on in flawless sharp points and straight edges.Their children never cried, screamed, or threw tantrums.
Olivia, with her tattoos and vibrant hair, and a few extra pounds, had never been comfortable with them.She was an outsider in more ways than one.
Connor promised Daisy was different, and that she would teach Olivia who to be friends with and who to watch out for.Olivia wouldn’t be holding her breath.
She curled her hair and painted on the same concealer and lipstick combo she’d used a couple of nights before to cover her tear-stained features.Then she slipped into a black dress that had shrunk in the wash.Olivia refused to entertain the alternative.The dress zipped but dug into her ribs.She examined herself in the full-length mirror and sighed.It would have to do.She slipped on a pair of Vans and brushed her curls out into soft waves as the doorbell rang.
When she opened the door, a cheerful, beautiful woman dressed in athleisure wear greeted her.
“Um, sorry.Connor isn’t home,” she said and moved to close the door.
The woman gave her a bright smile, putting Olivia at ease.She stuck out a hand to hold the door open.
“I know, I’m here for you.I’m Daisy.”
Olivia blinked a few times, speechless.Daisy was nothing like Olivia had expected.About the same height as Olivia, wild dark hair fell to just below her shoulders.Beautiful freckles dotted her cheeks and nose.She wore no makeup, and her outfit consisted of leggings and a Seattle Freeze sweatshirt.
Daisy stepped into Olivia’s personal space and looped her arms around her waist.She smelled like strawberries.“I’m excited to meet you!Hazy has been talking about you forever.We were all worried when you moved to Seattle, and we never met you.We were convinced he’d either made you up, or something terrible had happened.”
Olivia’s cheeks grew warm as she awkwardly returned Daisy’s embrace.“Nothing terrible happened.Life got in the way, I guess.”She stepped aside, letting Daisy into the house.
Taking in Daisy’s appearance, Olivia decided she didn’t want to sit for four hours at the arena with her breathing constricted by a dress nobody would appreciate.
“Can you give me a second?”she asked.
Daisy nodded and walked through Connor’s house like she owned the place, settling on a barstool at the kitchen island after grabbing herself a sparkling water from the fridge.
Olivia raided Connor’s room for Freeze-branded clothing.His room was organized chaos.Clothes littered the floor; half-read books collected dust on his nightstand; and his wastebasket needed emptying.She snagged the first sweatshirt she spotted, a blue athletic material hoodie.
In her own room she rushed to change, yanking the stifling dress over her head and slipping into Connor’s sweatshirt and a pair of joggers.She breathed a sigh of relief.
The sweatshirt she’d commandeered still smelled like Connor.He’d been using the same Old Spice body wash since high school, and the familiar scent calmed her nerves.She lifted the neckline of the sweatshirt to her nose and inhaled, letting herself enjoy this little piece of him she’d denied herself for far too long.
Once, she convinced Lance to use the same body wash.It made him smell weird.On Connor the scent was perfect.Whiffing the bottle got Olivia close to the same sense of calmness, but not quite.
She might steal his shirt for good.And maybe a couple more before she left.If she ever could leave.Staying with him a little longer might be her only option if she didn’t want to go home.And she really didn’t want to move home.The town sucked her soul out within seconds of arriving.Living there again wasn’t a real option long-term.
Fuck.She needed to talk to Connor about that.
Daisy met her in the living room.“Ooh, you look comfy.”
“I am,” she said, resolving to enjoy the evening watching her best friend play hockey before she focused on solving her financial crisis.“This is much better.”She stuffed her wallet and keys into her sweatshirt pocket before leading the way out the door.
Olivia loved Daisy.The woman put her at ease, gave her unspoken permission to be comfortable, and blasted early-aughts pop music as loud as the speakers would go for the entire half-hour drive to the rink.Then she’d grabbed a bag from her trunk on the way in and shown off a stash of snack food and beer.
