Brandon Montour opens the front door, spotting who is on the other side. His eyes immediately fly open.

On the other side is Nick Ritchie with his typical small smile. Instead of his business suit and cloak, he is now wearing his regular attire of his white, gray polka dot shirt, khaki pants, and sneakers.

“Hey, Monty,” he says in his warm, dull voice. “Am I still welcomed here?”

Brandon gawks up at his teammate. He spots that his hard stare is nonexistent, replaced by his usual warm mein. “Ummm…,” is all he can croak out.

“I dropped the plan,” Nick continues on. “You were gonna be traded to Buffalo. I didn’t want that to happen so, I dropped the plan and left Dustin.” He then pauses. “I’m sorry. Can you forgive me?” A look of sympathy is shown on his face.

Without a single word, Brandon steps aside, standing parallel to the doorjamb. Nick steps inside and lumbers to the right, where the living room is located.

Brandon closes the door and follows him into the living room. He halts next to him, spotting what he is witnessing.

Matt Hackett, Ryan Faragher, and Stu Bickel are staring at Nick shocked expressions. Joseph Cramarossa has the back of his head facing him since he cannot see.

Brandon peers up at the teammate who betrayed him. “I forgive you.”

Joseph narrows his black-coloured eyes at the card-spewed coffee table. “Is that you, Ritch?”

Nick lays his eyes on the back of his head. “Yeah.”

“What are you doing here?” he spits out bitterly. “Aren’t you busy wrecking our lives?”

“I’m done with the plan. I’m back with you guys,” Nick tells him gingerly.

“How do I know if you’re telling the truth? How could I trust you?”

Brandon peers ahead at his roommate. “I believe Nicky is telling the truth.”

Joseph straightens up with a scowl. “Wow, after all Ritch did to us you’re going to believe him that easily?”

Brandon shrugs. “Yeah.” He holds his hand out at Nick. “I mean, he even got rid of his cloak.”

“Yeah, like he was running around with a cloak before,” he snarks sarcastically, shooting his eyebrows up at the wall.

“I’m sorry, guys,” Nick yammers softly at the other three. “I didn’t know how much damage I was causing until now. I will never betray you guys again.” He places his hands on his chest. “Will you forgive me?”

Matt nods with a small smile. “Yeah, I do.”

“I forgive you,” Ryan tells him.

Brandon, Nick, and the two goalies gaze at the tallest skater.

Stu lets out a heavy sigh. He looks up at Nick. “Even though you traded Bryan, I forgive you.”

A warm smile appears on his face. “Thank you.”

Then their gazes revert on the blind man.

Joseph stays silent, his eyes aimed at the coffee table in an indifferent manner.

“Will you forgive me, Joey?” Nick asks from behind him in sorrow.

“Over my dead body.” Joseph then harshly gets up and paws his way around the sofa, storming away from it.

Brandon follows his fuming friend with his eyes, spotting him flouncing toward the wooden wall. “Joey—!”

Matt also spots the predicament. “Wait, Crammer, you can’t—!”

Joseph slams himself against the wall, inches from the entrance of the foyer. “Stupid wall!” He punches it in retaliation. “OW!” He bangs the wall with his other hand, then uses it as a guide to exit the living room.

Now it is the five left in the room.

Nick peers down at all four of them with a small, bright smile. “Thank you for forgiving me. I promise to never do anything like that plan again.”

Matt smiles at him timidly. “That’s good.”

Brandon pats his burly shoulder. “Glad to have ya back, Nicky.”

Nick gazes down at him. “Yeah. It’s good to be back home.”

“If only Crammer will forgive you,” Matt points out sadly.

Brandon turns to the goalie. “He’s going through a rough time. Give him some space. He’ll forgive Nicky soon.”

“In your dreams,” they hear Joseph snarls from behind them.

Brandon and Nick turn around as Matt, Ryan, and Stu gaze ahead. Joseph is nearby the wall to his left with his hand on it, inches away from the space in the wall; his back facing them.

“After what that bear did to me, I will never forgive him,” Joseph continues through gritted teeth. “I can’t believe you guys forgave him. He’s gonna backstab you guys. Just watch.” He huffs. “At least I have a realistic mindset and not open myself to betrayal. Don’t come crying to me when he trades you guys to the corners of this world.” He then resumes hobbling down the hallway with his hand sliding against the wall.

The other teammates stand in the living room in silence, processing what their blind teammate just threw at them. Then the slamming of a door is heard, indicating that Joseph has found his bedroom, or a room, safely.

Stu is the first one to speak: “I gotta go now.” He lifts himself to his feet, then turns to face rest. “It was nice playing Apples to Apples with you guys. I’ll see ya all soon.” He gives them a wave as he ambles toward the foyer. “Bye!”

The others return his wave. “Bye, Stu,” they say in unison.

Stu then enters the foyer and exits the house.

Ryan then peers at the two skaters. “We should go home as well.” He gets up; his goalie buddy follows his same movements. “Bye, guys.” He nods to them as he breezes by them.

Matt follows him, waving at them. “Bye-bye.”

“Bye, Matt,” Nick says with a small smile.

“Bye Ryan!” Brandon returns to him his nod.

The two goalies then exit the house, leaving the two roommates alone in the living room.

“We should get ready for bed,” Brandon points out.

Nick looks down at him with a slight frown. “What about Joey?”

Brandon holds out his hands from his sides. “What about him? There’s only so much we can do with him.” He lets out a huff. “Let’s go.” He then turns around and ambles into the foyer.

Nick follows him out of the living room.

Notes

E.19 "Calculating The Aftermath"
Part 1/10
Episode 19/20