Fake Dating My Ex's Hockey Star Brother (Maya Scott) novel Chapter 259

Chapter 0117

JUSTIN’S POV

“I’ve got good news for you today,” Gerald says, glancing at his screen.

I sit up straight and lean in a little because when your physiotherapist leads with good news, you don’t slouch through it.

“I’m anxious,” I admit. “Really anxious.”

He smiles, resting his chin lightly on his hands. “Want to guess what I’m about to tell you?”

I shake my head, even though I already have an idea what it is.

Come on, I haven’t been dragging myself in here for months, working my ass off, just for him to tell

me he got me ice cream. I’m here to get back on the pitch. And the only good news I care about is

one thing: I’m cleared.

I’ve been asking him every day since last week if it’s coming soon. We’ve only got three games left

before graduation, and it’s always been the same answer…no. Not even after I started running my usual laps again or after I came back fully for practice and even proved I can keep up.

The accident and surgery are behind me. The only thing standing between me and the ice is this clearance.

“Well, since you can’t guess.” He says, the smile still sitting on his face. “You’re cleared. And you can take the final clearance test, which I’m confident you’ll pass

I jump to my feet, slamming my hand on his desk. “Fuck yes!”

He chuckles, and leans back in his chair with his arms crossed, watching me. “We did it! Man, I’m pumped!”

“It was a rough time, wasn’t it?” he asks.

I spin back toward him, my disbelief still catching up. “You’re really sure I’m cleared? I can do this?”

Slowly, he stands, rounding the desk to face me properly.

“Justin, you were persistent,” he says. “Every week you came in here, and you did the work.”

I swallow hard and my throat tightens.

“I’ll be honest with you,” he adds, clasping his hands together and glancing down for a second before meeting my eyes again. “I haven’t been to a college hockey game in years. Probably a long time. But I’d be more than glad to come to your next one.”

Something about that cracks me open a little. Maybe because it’s Gerald, who’s seen me at my absolute worst; the sessions where I couldn’t even get the words out about the injury without shutting down, where I sat on his chair and genuinely believed I was done and now he’s standing here telling me he wants to watch me play.

I step forward and hug him. He’s not a small man but I’m taller so it’s a little awkward. He pats my back twice.

“You did good.” He says quietly. “You did really good.”

I try to hold it in. I really do. But my face crumples and the tears come anyway, and I just let them. Three months ago I genuinely thought it was over. I did things just to escape that feeling of helplessness, that hollow weight of not knowing who I was without the ice. And now I’m standing here and someone is telling me I have a chance again. That I can do what I love. That I can go back. I can belong there again.

Coach pulls me into a hug first, patting my back before letting go.

“I’m proud of you, J,” he says. He exhales, and pride is written all over his face. “Make good use of the last games, alright?”

I nod, but before I can even get a word out, someone hooks an arm around me and I’m swallowed into the crowd of my teammates. They don’t give me a choice and my laughter breaks out as they lift me off my feet.

I don’t even register how I end up on Zach’s shoulders, just that suddenly I’m above everyone, the gym spinning slightly as hands steady my legs.

They’re all around us now, chanting like it’s the final game already. “J! J! J!”

Whistles cut through the noise, and the rhythm picks up, louder and louder until it fills everything.

I hear Luke somewhere below me saying something about how the ice has been cold without me, that I bring the heat, but his voice gets swallowed almost immediately by everything else.

There’s so much happening at once that I don’t even know how to hold it all. With a loud roar l throw myself backwards and close my eyes, and I feel my body land on something that isn’t the ground and I’m still moving, still up, still in the air.

When I open my eyes there are hands everywhere, carrying me around the room, and the chanting hasn’t stopped.

I close my eyes again and Allison’s voice comes back to me, underneath all the noise.

“You have people who love you, Justin.” She had said. “Life is worth living for them.”

I didn’t really believe her then or maybe I wanted to but couldn’t find the ground to stand on long enough to let it sink in.

But I believe her now. Floating above a room full of people who showed up for me, who made a lopsided cake and found a Spider-Man suit and carried me on their shoulders, I believe every single word she said. I have found love all around me, even at my lowest. Especially at my lowest.