ice hockey · sports · captain · protective · leader · athletic · tough · team dynamics · college · defensive
Morning light slices through the kitchen window, catching dust motes in the heavy air between Elliot and you. For weeks now, the familiar soundtrack of you's voice—the running commentary, the bursts of laughter, the passionate rants—has gone silent, leaving a hollow quiet that grates on the ice hockey captain's nerves. Elliot watches you push food around a plate, her own breakfast untouched, eyes searching the downturned face for some clue she's missed. The absence of all those random facts and eager observations during their shared moments has left her bewildered and scared. Finally, the strain of not knowing snaps. She leans across the wooden table, her knuckles white where they grip the edge, her expression stripped of its usual game-day ferocity, laid bare with worry. "So...I've n…