My Hockey Alpha



Nina

The morning light filtered through the hotel room curtains and cast soft blue shadows on the furniture. I began to stir, but my eyes were slow to open. After last night, I felt as though! had been hit by a train.

Enzo was already awake. I could hear him moving about in the bathroom, and when he came out, he was drying his hair with a towel.

"Morning, sunshine," he said, catching my gaze as I sat up. "You look wide-eyed and bushy- tailed."

I stuck my tongue out. "I didn't sleep well last night."

He sat on the edge of the bed, his hand gently finding mine under the covers. "I noticed you got up. Is there anything you want to talk about?"

I took a deep breath, feeling the weight of his gaze on me. For a moment, I almost mentioned my dream-but I decided against it. "I've just been thinking about what you said last night," I admitted. "About not getting to go on enough dates."

Enzo's eyes softened. "Nina, I didn't mean to keep you up with that."

"No, that's not it," I said, shaking my head. "I was just thinking... we still have time before the baby comes. Why don't we make the most of it?"

He smiled, a glint of hope in his eyes. "That's a great idea. I was thinking, too, how about a date tonight? After work, we could have dinner, see the city. It would be nice."

The idea brought a small smile to my lips. "That sounds wonderful," I said, feeling a flicker of excitement at the prospect of a normal date night.

Enzo squeezed my hand. "Then it's a date. I'll be back after work and we can go out."

He stood up to get ready for work, and I watched him, a part of me wanting to tell him about the terrifying dream that had jolted me awake. As he reached the door, I almost called out to him.

"Enzo," I said, my voice faltering.

He paused, his hand on the doorknob. "Yes?"

My heart raced, but I hesitated. "Nothing, have a good day at work," I said, forcing a smile.

Enzo looked at me, a hint of concern in his eyes, but he nodded. "Okay, Nina. I love you."

"I love you too," I replied as he left the room.

Once I was alone with my thoughts, however, the dream came flooding back in full force-the shadow entity, the sense of impending doom, the image of our unborn child dead in my arms. I couldn't get it out of my mind, no matter how many times I tried to push it away.

Finally, I decided to give Jessica a call. I chewed my lip as I waited for her to pick up, and when her voice finally crackled through the speaker, I let out a breath I didn't know I had been

holding.

"Nina?" Jessica called out. She sounded far away, accompanied by the sounds of banging pots and pans. She was in the kitchen, and I was on speaker.

"Hey," I said, managing to keep my voice steady. "Just wanted to chat. What are you up to?"

"Oh, just making my famous pancakes," she replied, and I could hear the smile in her voice. You-know-who is on her period. It was either chocolate chip pancakes or my sanity, so I chose chocolate."

Somewhere from far away, I could hear Lori's voice call out, "Hey!" Jessica and I burst into laughter, and for a moment, everything felt normal.

"So," Jessica said, "how's the city?"

I sat up in bed, running my hand through my hair. My gaze caught the reflection in the mirror opposite the bed. For a moment, I just took in my appearance, my tangled hair, the dark circles under my eyes.

When I called Jessica, it was with the intention of venting about my dreams. But now... Now, in the morning sunlight, hearing the sounds of my friends squabbling on the other end of the phone, I felt just a little bit better.

"It's... It's good," I said, smiling slightly. "I went to the museum yesterday. And tonight, we're going on a date..."

As our conversation continued, I could feel my tension lifting. We talked about everything, just like we always did: parties, classes, books, art, relationships. Before I knew it, I was milling around the room on FaceTime, holding up various dresses for Jessica to critique for my upcoming date tonight before I finally settled on a short red dress that showed off my legs.

"You know, I can picture you and Enzo being city people," Jessica mused as she popped a bite of pancake into her mouth. Lori sat beside her on the FaceTime call, looking a little haggard but otherwise satisfied with chocolate and coffee.

*Really?" I chuckled as I held the dress up to myself in the mirror, trying to decide on shoes and jewelry for the evening. I finally decided that I would just go with my boots, the old tried and true. "I don't know about that. I like the peace and quiet of Mountainview."

"Yeah, but the city has its perks," Lori chimed in. "Perk number one being: Jessica and I could come and visit."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Or, we could all just go on trips together," I teased. "The city isn't going anywhere."

Lori considered this, but finally shrugged. "Trips are a lot different when you're a new mom, you know?"

Lori's words gave me pause. It was an innocent comment, but she had no idea what it really meant after my argument with Enzo last night. And the thing was, Lori was right, I was gaining so much by becoming a young mom, but there would be losses, too.

I sank down onto the bed then, and it was then that Jessica noticed the somber expression

on my face.

"Uh oh. What's up, buttercup?"

I shrugged. "Nothing, it's just... I hope we don't all drift apart once I have this baby. That's all."

Lori and Jessica were silent for a moment before Jessica finally spoke. "You really think I'd allow that to happen, Mrs. Rivers?"

Her words made me pause again. I shook my head, realizing that I was being silly. This was just another manifestation of last night, nothing more. "You're right," I said with a wry chuckle. "I'm just being sentimental."

Lori grinned. "Sentimental is good," she said. "It means you still like having us around." Before I knew it, our conversation was going off the rails again. It was soothing to talk to my friends, and even long after we said our goodbyes and I began to get ready for my date with Enzo, I couldn't fully wipe the smile off of my face

Last night... the argument, the dream, all of it. I couldn't let it get inside my head like this. Not when I was surrounded by people who loved and cared for me. Not when I had already been through so much. I was stronger than some nightmare.

After all, I had to be. Not just for myself, but for Enzo, for my friends, and most of all-for my baby.