Lived and Learned --4--

I apologize for taking forever to update this. Swim season and musicala re now over so I have more freetime, which means more posts hopefully.




*KRIS'S POV*

I sighed as she practically ran out of the room. What the hell had I done? Mario glared at me from outside the room as April ran away. I seriously would love to know what I said or did to make her run. I was trying to be nice and find out more about her.

As I watched Mario walk out after April, TK came into the training room confused.

"Tanger, seriously, what the hell did you do?!" He was looking out the door trying to see where she went while he spoke. I kept my head down, trying to figure out exactly that.

"Merde. I don't know TK. I guess I said something she didn't like." TK rolled his eyes and went back into the locker room.

*APRIL'S POV*

I walked out the doors at the end of the hallway and was met by the cold, crisp air and light rain. I stood up against the wall, eventually sliding to the ground as I cried. Who the hell was this guy to think he had any right to know my life? Who was he to question me? I sat in the cold rain for a few minutes until I heard the door open.

"April?" I recognized the loud, but gentle voice. Mario.

I immediatly jumped to my feet to face his.

"I'm so sorry Mr. Lemieux. I just needed a second. You know with the air in the locker room, needed some fresh..."

"April, we've heard about Bryan from your professors. We heard you took it hard."

I froze and turned away. New tears were forming, on the verge on spilling over.

"I'm sorry to hear about your loss," He walked towards me and put a comforting hand on my shoulder, "I've lost close friends in life too. But I've lived and learned. There comes a time when you must let go. You may not want to, but you have to live and learn what Bryan never will." He looked at me understandingly while he spoke.

"Thank you. You can't understand how much that means." I wiped away my final tears before Mario pulled me into a hug. He walked me back into the locker room towards the training room, where I froze in my tracks.

"Tell Kris your story. He's a great kid, he'll understand. He lost his best friend." Mario pointed me in the direction of the training room.

As I walked in, Kris looked up, confusedly.

"April..." I cut him off before he could start.

"My fiance died a few days before I met you. I still haven't grasped it. That's why I flipped." He continued to stare at me with that same confused look before he finally spoke.

"I lost Luc..." He stopped mid-sentence to stare off into space.

"Kris, tell me. Like, about him." He looked at me and I gave a small smile back.

We spent the rest of the intermission exchanging stories of Bryan and Luc. Before we walked out of the training room for the third Kris stopped me.

"Listen, I know you love Bryan still, but that doesn't mean you don't have room for a friend, no?" He smiled at me and I knodded and watched him walk back to the ice.

After the game, I hopped in my car, but didn't drive home. I drove for a while thinking, before I finally pulled up to the cemetary gates. I parked my car and walked up the hill to the stone marked "BRYAN ANTHONY MANTAGLIA." I sat on the wet ground, millions of thoughts in my head. I laid my head down and cried in the rain for a good while, I don't even know how long. I finally sat up and pulled the ring off of my left ring finger and set it on the stone, leaned down, and whispered "I love you."