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doom was following them and there was nothing they could do to get away from it. That’s how I felt, except that I didn’t think it was after me; I thought it was after Taylor.
    I wanted to be with her. I wanted to protect her like I pro mised. But I wasn’t there. I was on the ice and I needed to perform. I just wasn’t in the right frame of mind to do it.
    In my first shift, I mishandled a pass and it resulted in a sco ring opportunity for the Kings. Lucky for me, our goaltender was on top of his game and made a big save off the turnover.
    On my third shift, I misfired on a pass to a defenseman at the point and caused a breakaway for the Kings. The unforced error led to a goal and groans from the crowd. As I sat on the bench, I could feel the hot glare of the head coach on the back of his neck.
    “Kavanagh,” the coach barked. “Get your head out of your ass or you’ll find yourself back on the bus to Northern Arizona.”
    The coach didn’t realize that was exactly where I wanted to be. Even though I was living my dream, playing in the NHL, I felt like it was only my body in Seattle. My mind and heart were with Taylor in Arizona.
    When I heard my name called, I hopped over the boards, changing on the fly. I was still completely preoccupied with my off-ice issues and not fully aware of my surroundings. I waited on the half boards as we setup the breakout from behind the net. Instinctively, I broke off the boards to center ice. The defenseman with the puck stepped out from behind the net and sent a pass straight up the middle of the ice toward the breaking winger. I was transfixed on the puck heading my way and didn’t realize I was in a bad position to receive the pass. One of the Kings massive defensemen read the play and arrived at the same point in space as me and the puck. The only difference was the defenseman wasn’t concerned about playing the puck, he was headhunting.
    The collision and air coming out of my lungs could be felt on both benches . The crack of my helmet hitting the ice was heard around the rink. I had been caught in the trolley tracks and the Kings blue liner lowered the boom, knocking me into another dimension.  Mayhem ensued as my teammates immediately went after the Kings’ defenseman. Even though the hit was clean, I had left myself defenseless. There’s still a code in hockey and that code calls for standing up for your teammate when he gets run over.
    While the players on the ice paired off and then squared off, our trainer hopped over the boards and onto the ice to tend to me. The trainer immediately waived for the stretcher and then went about immobilizing my neck.
    The last thing I needed was to be injured. But a hit to the head could have meant a concussion, and I knew I needed to be examined.
    ***
    “You need to take it easy,” the team doctor said.
    “Yeah, right,” I mumbled as I rose from the examining table. What I needed to do was get my shit together and play hockey.
    “I’m serious,” the doctor warned. “Before you leave, we don’t have an emergency contact listed. We need a name.”
    “Taylor Thompson.”
    “Is she a family member?”
    “She’s my girlfriend,” I responded. And the love of my life .
    “I need the name of a family member. Someone we can co ntact in the event you’re ever incapacitated. You didn’t fill that section out on your forms.”
    “She’s more my family than my biological family.”
    He shook his head. “I don’t think we can allow it.”
    “You have to allow it,” I stated. “I don’t have anyone else.”
    “Fine,” the doctor said finally. “I’ll put Taylor Thompson as your next of kin. You’re free to go. But take it easy. No more hits to the head.”
    I nodded as I grabbed my clothes. I had to get out of there. I had to contact Taylor. I just knew something was wrong and I had to talk to her.

 
    Eight
    Taylor
    Kyle glanced down at his watch for what seemed like the twentieth time in three minutes.
    “Are you