First place in the western conference was ours. Tonight marked game one of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Hawks had home ice advantage, playing the Canucks in the first round. The standings were as follows in the West:

1. Chicago Blackhawks
2. LA Kings
3. St. Louis Blues
4. San Jose Sharks
5. Anaheim Ducks
6. Winnipeg Jets
7. Colorado Avalanche
8. Vancouver Canucks

As for the east, the competition began to get a lot more fierce, my Maple Leafs in the playoffs once more:

1. Boston Bruins
2. Montreal Canadiens
3. Detroit RedWings
4. Tampa Bay Lightning
5. Toronto Maple-leafs
6. Pittsburgh Penguins
7. Ottawa Senators
8. New York Islanders


I was discreetly cheering for the Leafs, careful to do so in secrecy. For if Jon or Pat noticed, I would be in for it for sure.

All of the Ladies of the Hawks and their kids sat in their usual seats, anxiously awaiting the beginning of the game. Gabby was keeping both Ryder and Aveyah occupied, much to my pleasure. This allowed me to talk with the girls more, and concentrate on the game. Having her live with us was turning out to be a blessing; she was a model child. She did chores, cleaned up after herself, and even helped out with meals; all without being asked. It was obvious she was repaying us for her generosity; I hoped it lasted for awhile.

"Greg has tried calling me everyday at least five times" I whispered over to Abby. She shook her head in displeasure, patting my shoulder sympathetically.

"Did you block his number?" She asked the question I didn't want to answer. "Don't tell me you'd feel bad for it?" She asked, jaw dropped slightly. "Addie!" She scolded.

"I feel bad for Gabrielle!" I reasoned, biting my lip and avoiding eye contact.

"She clearly wants nothing to do with her father, so why should you?" Abby countered. I knew she was right; Gabby hadn't so much as mentioned her mother or father since arriving. I wanted to bring it up, to ask her how she was feeling, but I wasn't sure how; so I left it alone.

"I've never really asked her about it though" I continued, earning a glare from Abby.

"Addie..." She scolded, yanking my iPhone from my hands. I frowned as I watched her fumble around for a moment, smiling in satisfaction before handing the phone back. "You can thank me later" she winked picking up Maddie who seemed disinterested in playing with Ryder and Avyeah.

"Mommy is right" Maddie told me as a matter of fact.

"Isn't she so smart?" Abby cooed, tickling her daughter. Maddie squirmed in her lap, shouting at her mother to stop. "Ready for game time?" She asked Maddie, as the players started to line up for the opening draw. she nodded vigorously, getting out of her mother's grip and heading back over towards the other kids.

"Predictions ladies?" Kelly asked, taking back up our tradition before Jon's accident.

" 3-2 Hawks" Sydney piped up, handing five dollars.

"4-2 Hawks" Abby nodded, handing in her money.

"3-1..: Canucks" Emma muttered, handing in her money.

"4-0 Hawks" Sarah shot Emma a glare for her guess.

"I think 5-3... Hawks, of course" Kelly trailed off. "What about you, Addie?" All eyes were on me. I bit my lip, and pondered for a moment. The Hawks had been playing very well, ending their season 8-1-1 in their last ten games. They averaged about three goals a game; Corey seemed to be on his game, and their PK was 100.0% in the last four games.

"You're all gonna hate me for this but... 4-0, Canucks" I but my lip nervously, fiddling with my wedding ring. I looked up to see some shocked faces; they didn't understand where my guess was coming from. "Crawford has been holding them in games as of late; they've been lucky to win. Tonight their sloppy playing will bring them a bad loss" I shrugged.

"Maybe..." Abby nervously agreed, biting her lower lip lightly. "But let's hope you're wrong" she added quickly. The other girls nodded, muttering to themselves.

"I hope I am. Jon will think he's a jinx or something" I remarked, laughing to myself.


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"Well Addie, I've got to hand it to you..." Abby sighed in frustration. With only a minute left in the final frame, the Hawks were losing 5-0. I was close on my prediction; but it was a lot worse than I had anticipated. Every bounce seemed to go the way of the Canucks. Passes were being intercepted or not received, shots seemingly going wide or right on Ryan Miller, the puck taking awkward bounces off the end boards... Not to mention they seemed to have played half of the game on the penalty kill. Ironically, all goals came at even strength, one short handed. They seemed to have done their best playing on the penalty kill; but that was no way to score.

"I didn't think it would be this bad" I shook my head, eyeing Sydney nervously. She looked on the verge of tears knowing how much this game would kill Corey's confidence. All the fans were getting up from their seats and leaving the arena; all except for the Canucks fans, who were enjoing every moment.

"I'm going to run away from home" Sydney muttered under her breath.

"It's not his fault though" Kelly piped up.

"The team wasn't there in front of him; this game isn't on him. Syd" Abby added thoughtfully.

"Yeah, he made a lot of good saves! They just got caught in the zone too long..." Emma offered her condolences. By the look in Emma's eyes, she knew Patrick would be in a similar humour following the game.

"Thanks for trying guys; but I think I speak for all of us when I say tonight isn't going to be pretty" Sydney sighed heavily, getting up from her seat. As the final seconds of the game ticked down, the fans began to boo their home team. The booing continued until they left the ice; something that rubbed salt in the wound.

"Fuck" Abby mouthed once the booing stopped.

"As if it couldn't get any worse" Sydney scoffed.

"Ready to go, kiddos?" I asked Gabby, Ryder and Aveyah. Ryder nodded vigourously, seemingly upset.

"Mommy why are they booing?" He asked the most innocent question only a young toddler could. I felt my heart break; and judging by the looks on the other girl's faces, theirs did too.

"The team had a rough game, sweetie" I asserted. "They're not happy we lost, honey" I added gently. He seemed to accept the answer, for he shrugged, holding Gabby's hand as we all started to walk down towards the dressing room.

I knew Jon would be the last one out, the same if he had of played. I knew he didn't take the loss lightly, especially since he was unable to contribute anything to help turn the game around.

The girls and I wanted together, nervously awaiting the guys to file out of the dressing room, one disappointed face after another. As much as I wanted to offer my condolences, I remained silent; I knew even mentioning the game would piss them off. I held Aveyah asleep in my arms, and Gabby took Ryder out to the car to watch a movie while we waited. And just like predicted, Emma and I stood alone, everyone else having left first.

"Let's go" I breathed quietly as to not disturb Aveyah. She nodded grimly, both of us sighing heavily before opening the door to the dressing room.

When I got in, I inhaled a sharp breath as I took in the scene before me. It was as if Patrick and Jon had completely traded places. Patrick sat in his spot, fully dressed, helmet included. He sat still, eyes focused heavily on the floor in front of him. I looked over to Jon, who sat where his empty stall remained, eyeing the same spot on the floor.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer" I chuckled, gaining each of their attention. They looked up, simply acknowledging my precense, before tilting their heads back down to that seemingly interesting spot on the floor beneath them. Emma looked around awkwardly, having no idea what to do in the situation. She had only experienced the wins, where the locker room was lively and talkative; where everyone would have been out celebrating at a bar by now. I gave her a look of empathy; this was a hard first time to experience the post game blues; especially after a blow in game one of the playoffs.

"I- Pat I'll meet you outside" Emma blurted out. She didn't even wait for an answer; before I could even blink she was out the door. Patrick looked up, gazing strongly at the door where his girlfriend just left. He swore under his breath, tossing his helmet into his bag in fury.

"Pat-"

"I'm not in the mood Addison" he snapped immediately. Jon's head shot up at the tone of his voice.

"Don't talk to her like that" he threatened his best friend. Patrick's eyes met Jon's, anger rushing through them.

"Tell her to fuck off then; she shouldn't be in here!" He snapped back furiously. I felt my face go white, my heart beat rapidly beating in my chest; did he really just say that?

"Excuse me?" Jon asked in aggravation. "What the hell did I just tell you? Don't you EVER speak to her like that" he raised his voice to better send the message. Patrick stood up, as did Jon. He threw his gloves off to the floor beside him before speaking.

"What you gonna do about it, huh?" Patrick smirked. "You're nothing compared to me; you can't skate, can't lift, can't do a goddamn thing" he hissed. It was blatantly obvious Patrick was trying to get a rise out of Jon; he was begging for a fight. Jon's face went white, obviously hurt by his former teammates words. He balled up his fists and launched himself towards Patrick, planting a punch to his right cheek. Patrick stumbled back in surprise, before launching himself at Jon. He jumped on top of Jon, who tried to fight back as best as he could. Aveyah had awoke at the commotion, so I took this time to set her down on the bench and try to break apart the fight.

"Patrick!" I yelled, trying to pry him off of Jon. "Stop this!" I shouted louder. Emma must have heard the commotion for she came bursting through the door, face fallen in surprise.

"Patrick!" Emma yelled, coming over to my aid. Patrick stood up, pushing me as had as he could to the side. I landed on my side, closing my eyes on impact. I saw Patrick's face go white; as did Emma's. I was on the ground, body aching in pain, shocked at the events that had just transpired.

"Addison..." Patrick trailed off, trying to approach me. I shot to my feet, lip quivering, hot tears streaming uncontrollably down my face. He was supposed to be my best friend; he was never supposed to hurt me.

"Stay away from me" I threatened, running towards Jon to help him to his feet. Emma ran over to help, Jon breathing heavily, blood dripping down from his lip. He shot Patrick a glare, steading himself using my shoulder.

"Addie please" Patrick begged, eyes still wide. "I didn't-"

"Don't come home tonight" Jon barked; the look in his eyes told me he wasn't going to take no for an answer. "Let's go" he took my hand, pulling me from the room. I picked up Aveyah on the way out, feeling stiff with shock the whole way home.

Notes