Fallen Angel

".. And the home of the brave."

I brushed the tears out of the corner of my eyes, removed my hand from my heart, and slipped my helmet over my head. There's something about hearing the national anthem that always gets me teary-eyed. For the moment though, I was also nerve-racked, and shakily skated toward my goal zone. This wasn't just another practice session - it was the real thing.

"And now the starting lineup for the Colts.." The words dully echoed in my head as our team was introduced.

"Hurry up!" Heidi scolded Mom as she scrambled to find a seat. There was a much larger crowd in the tiny bleachers, not to mention the parking lot, than they'd expected. Fortunately, the Hansons had saved a small area for them and she headed in that direction.

"Well, excuse me for wearing heels." Mom hissed in response to Heidi's prodding.

"Boy, people around here need to find better entertainment," Heidi grumbled, stepping over ugly plaid blankets and thermos mugs to the seats. Her eyes widened as she noticed how all the Hansons had adorned their entire bodies in a deep purple color, including purple sweat pants. Even little Zoë wore a purple jumpsuit.

"Hey guys!" She suspiciously eyed Zac's face, which was covered with goopy purple paint, as he greeted them and moved so they could step over him.

"What's with your face?" She snickered at him.

"Just showing a little support for your sister." Mom noticed a sad smile form on his lips before he greeted her warmly, "Hi Mrs.Williams."

"Hello Zac," Mom greeted him coolly, smoothing the wrinkles out of her suit and taking a seat on Heidi's left.

"Hey Heidi," A warm voice greeted my sister on her right. Far be it for her to ignore male attention, particularly an older man, Heidi glanced at him and smiled.

"Isaac.. Nice to see you again."

"It's nice to be here," he replied cheerfully. "I'm on spring break from UoT."

"You're on spring break from college, and you came here?" Heidi spoke like it was unheard of.

"A few of my friends headed off to Cancun, but I decided to come home instead." Ike explained. "You'd be surprised how your priorities change. I thought I knew everything before I left and started to miss home and the family."

"Right.." Her voice trailed off as the conversation turned dull in her opinion. Fortunately, Zac interrupted with,

"Hey, they're introducing Lindsey now!"

"Oh! Get your stuff ready gang." Mr. Hanson rallied the troops. As he raised his arms for everyone to get on their feet, there was a mad scramble of arms grabbing at flags and signs.

"And starting goal for the Tulsa Colts.. In her WMACHL debut, Lindseeeeeeyyy Williams!" The announcer claimed loudly, accenting the 'e' in my name just a bit much in my opinion, but erupting loud cheers from the group.

"All right Linds!" "Go Lindsey!" The Hansons cheered loudly. Mom and Heidi silently stared at them with wide eyes.

"What does WMACHL stand for?" Heidi hissed in a whisper to Mom over the cheering.

"I have no idea," was the whispered response.

"Women's Mid-American Community Hockey League." Having overheard, Zac explained.

"Oh.." Heidi replied lamely.

"Thanks." Hoping to avoid any further embarrassment, she turned her attention to the ice.

"So where exactly is Lindsey?"

"Umm.. in front of the goal? That is the goalie position." Zac sent her a strange look, pointing at me and wondering if the two of us were related. The long, blonde hair that tumbled over her shoulders reminded him of Samantha. Just thinking of his girlfriend put a funny twinge in his stomach, as he also remembered he hadn't told her he was here today. He'd already had to turn off his pager after she'd paged him three times this afternoon. Needless to say, it was quite annoying since lately it seemed like Zac rarely got time to spend with his family.

"Oh.. How long is this going to take?" Heidi interrupted Zac's thoughts with another question.

"Shouldn't be much longer than two hours."

"Two hours?" She echoed.

"Mmm-hmm." He nodded. "Their intermissions are only five minutes, so it shouldn't be much longer."

"Great." She pouted back in her seat, frowning as she felt a numb feeling take over her backside and grabbed the blanket at her feet.

"Why does it have to be so cold?"

".. Because it's ice?" Isaac fielded this question.

"Now shh.." Zac hushed her. "We're going to miss the opening face-off."

Best of luck, he silently sent me a message. It was funny, when we were little, the two of us once tried to see if we had psychic powers.

"I don't think it's working," I complained, taking my hands off my forehead. "You don't know what I'm thinking."

"You're just not thinking hard enough," Zac scolded me, grabbing my hands and placing them back on my forehead. "Here, try again."

"Zac.. You can't read my mind."

"I sure can't," he mumbled outloud.

"Sorry Zac, can't what?" More than slightly confused at his random words, Mom asked him as he shook the memory from his thoughts.

"Oh, nothing," he wistfully replied, turning his attention back to the ice. Down there, I mused over thoughts of my own, though certainly none about Zac.

No room for mistakes today, I reminded myself, pacing nervously side to side as the other players took their places at center ice. My jaw nearly dropped as I looked up into the stands and saw not only Zac's entire family dressed in purple, but Heidi and Mom were sitting in the middle of the bunch. Aside from them, it looked like one big mass of grape juice spilled onto the bleachers. I grinned at the sight and lifted my stick at their cheers, but they also made me feel even more nervous. The last thing I needed was for Mom to make a snap judgement about my future based on one game. Suddenly, this game seemed much more important.

"Get a grip, Linds." I whispered to myself, crouching down into a stretch and bouncing back up. As the referee raised his left hand, positioning the puck above center ice, my heart nearly pounded out of my ears. In what seemed like slow, subdued movements, the puck dropped in a black blur to the ice. My eyes stayed glued to it bounced a few times, the two centers' sticks sluggishly swung at it.

"And tonight Tulsa's community league fans have a particularly exciting game." Ted Grabel, the public television announcer, greeted the public access television audience. "Not only is this the opening game for the women's league, but the opening game for Tulsa's rookie goalie Lindsey Williams. It's the first time in the eight-year franchise history of the Colts that they've started a rookie goaltender, but word from the Coach's office is that this is the girl to keep our eyes on this season."

"The Colts have a tough opening season challenge today, with Sandecki starting goal for the Flames." Ted continued. "After her consistent play the last two seasons, we should expect to see a lot of this girl as well. Though not a pretty play-maker, Sandecki is a strong, square, and smart player."

"And, strangely enough, Williams nearly missed practice this afternoon." Trusty sidekick announcer Mike Maudeville added. "We'll just have to wait and see how it affects her game."

"The Flames are coming off an impressive 4-0 win over the Annondale Archers three nights ago, although star forward and captain Allison McFarlan is out tonight with a sprained wrist.With the league's worst record last season behind them, this could be the stroke of luck the Colts need to jump start this year."

After what seemed like hours of fighting over the puck, my stomach flipped as the Flames' center swept it behind her to a teammate, who effortlessly shot it cross ice to her defensive partner. I tightened my grip on my stick and inwardly groaned with the audience as one of our own defensive girls, Jess I believe, got tripped on a forecheck and tumbled onto her knees. My eyes distracted by her struggle to regain her balance nearly made me miss the group charging in my direction. Unfortunately, Jess's absence had also created a three-on-one. I swallowed tightly as three extremely large-looking forwards charged toward me.

"And right off the draw, the Flames are off to an impressive offensive start." Ted continued. "It looks like they are off to reclaim their division leader status. Let's just see how the Colt defense stands up."

Right off the first draw? I couldn't help but wonder as my eyes frantically searched for the puck. One girl slowed her pace and skeered off slightly to my left - I made sure to keep her in the corner of my eye, but since her stick was empty she wouldn't get too much attention. Instead, I focused on center ice, where their assistant captain (of all girls) battled her way around the lone defensive Colt in front of me, the puck protected by the wood of her stick and she quickly faked then passed her defender.

Lovely.

"And the answer to that would be not very well," Mike commented. "Looks like the Colts are falling back on the rookie right from the beginning. Defensive breakdowns such as this plagued the team all last season, but if Williams is the ticket against a strong offense, the Colts still have a fighting chance."

Catching sight of a slight turn in her stick, I bore my feet into the ice and prepared for a shot. However, none came and she quickly zipped the puck off to my right, to the other forward. However, this girl took her time lifting her stick to shoot and I had more than enough time to clear her shot with my stick. Not wanting to give either of them the rebound, I angled the puck straight left, unfortunately right to the sneaky girl who'd hid there while the play had developed on my right.

Oh shit, I realized my mistake of perfectly passed the puck to her as soon as it left my stick. Scrambling to the left side, I knew there was no way I'd be able to get my body positioned in front of her as she fired the puck low. Doing what felt like my only option, I gritted my teeth and dove Superman-style across the net, hoping to at least block the shot but banging my ribs onto the ice in the process. I squeezed my eyes tightly as all three stopped in front of the net and a shrill whistle from the referee indicated a stop in play. Hearing a roar in the crowd, I opened my eyes and stared with amazement at the small black puck nestled in the palm of my right glove.

"And Williams makes the save!" Ted cheered loudly. "Right off the draw, the rookie bails her team from an early grave, giving the Flames no shot for a rebound."

"All right Lindsey," Meredith came up and thumped her glove on the top of my head, knocking it forward.

"Oof," I grunted, struggling to my feet and adjusting my helmet.

"Thanks.. I think." The whole thing was still a whir to me - it had all happened so fast.

"Let's look at the replay here." Mike said. "Here's the quick move by the Flames' center around the defenseman, creating a trap on all sides of the goal."

"But, smartly, Williams didn't panic, she waited for the offense to make the move first." Ted picked up where Mike left off. "She follows the puck to center, then left wing to block the shot. She got lucky on the dive save from a bad rebound to right wing, but boy was it a beauty!"

"Great save." Meredith's eyes beamed beneath her helmet. "Just.. give the ref the puck back now."

"Oh, right." I tossed the puck to the referee's outstretched hand.

"Lindsey Williams, the fifteen year-old rookie makes her name known right off the bat." Mike announced before they went to a commercial.

"All right Linds!!" Zac bellowed loudly. "Wasn't that awesome?"

"Oh my goodness," Heidi glanced at Mom's uttered words, grimacing at how her face was completely drained of color.

"And if you're just joining us on Tulsa' public access television, Colts' rookie goal tender Lindsey Williams saved her team from a one-goal deficit just thirteen seconds into the first period." Grabel greeted the television cameras.

"The face-off starts in the right corner, since Williams covered the puck on that side." Mandeville added as the referee took his place. Once again, our center failed to clear the puck to our team as the Flames took possession, flipping the puck back to our blue line, where their defenseman again fired a shot toward me. Fortunately, I saw this develop way in advance and, catching sight of Meredith unguarded on my right, I stopped the shot and redirected it toward her.

I'll give the girl credit, I thought with relief as she picked the puck up and quickly skated off, carrying it into the Flames' zone.

I don't need any more heart attacks, let alone sore ribs, I thought, rubbing my side slowly. My eyes widened in amazement at the quickness in Meredith's feet as she passed the puck on the right side, ending up one-on-one with a Flames defenseman.

Go, go, go! I beamed proudly and chanted in my head as she faked left then right around her defense. My voice was the first cheer echoing throughout the arena as she casually flipped it over the left shoulder of Sandecki.

"Score by right wing, Meredith Silva!" Boomed over the announcement, with an added, "And assist to goaltender Williams."

"Let's go Colts! Let's go Colts!" I gladly banged my stick on the ice to the chants of the crowd. Sure, it was just parents, but tears welled up in my eyes as pride and happiness surged through my body. To put it mildly, it felt pretty damn good, especially when our five girls on the ice came down to my end and tapped gloves with me.

"Great goal," I grinned at Meredith.

"Hey, thanks for the pass," she winked before heading over to the bench, slapping gloves down the line and taking her seat.

"Not bad, eh Coach?" She grinned, grabbing a bottle of water.

"Not bad, Silva." He agreed, nodding tightly.

Well, as you can guess, the rest of the game continued. There wasn't too much more excitement on our end, so I'll spare you the details. I didn't have any more Superman impressions, but I was faced with what seemed like hundreds of shots, particularly in the third period. I don't know what came over me though, but I was always able to stay one step ahead of the Flames, despite everything they threw at me. We didn't produce a whole lot more than Meredith's goal either, though.

"And what an impressive introduction to the WMACHL for Colts rookie goaltender Williams." Ted concluded, listing the game's summary off his fingers. "Thirty-seven saves, first shut-out of the season, the Colts first shut-out since March of '95, and a 1-0 start to the season, including an assist on the only goal of the game at one-forty two of the first period. Outshot thirty-seven to ten, the Colts capitalized on a bit of luck from Williams' deflection to Silva, who fired it over the shoulder of Sandecki like it was nobody's business."

"No doubt, Ted." Mike finished with a grin. "There is probably much celebrating in the Colts locker room at this moment."

"You're terrible!!" Coach roared loudly at us, throwing his clipboard down on the floor. "Didn't you learn anything after last season? We can't have that many breakdowns in the neutral zone, let alone in our own end."

"And ten lousy shots on goal the entire sixty minutes of play!" He attacked the forewords, stepping toward their bench.

"But Coach.." I timidly came to their defense. "We won."

"Yes.. And do you know how we won today, Williams?" He scared me with the quietness in his voice, coming over and looking me directly in the eye. I dropped my eyes and shook my head.

"Sheer luck, that's how!" He answered for me. "Thirty-seven shots on you. It was just a matter of time before you let one of them in."

"But she didn't." I smiled as Heather patted my shoulder, coming to my rescue.

"A goalie should not be a crutch. We'll go over this in more detail tomorrow. Two hour practice then viewing, so don't make any plans tomorrow evening. Dismissed." Coach waved his hands in frustration at us, departing into his office. At least he was kind enough to add,

"Williams, in here."

"Great.." I mumbled, smiling at the sympathetic glances I got from the girls as I stumbled past them on my skates into Coach's office, before timidly asking,

"Umm.. yeah Coach?"

"Nice work today." His chiseled face cracked a smile.

"But I thought- I mean, you said-" Confused, I pointed out into the locker room, where he'd just grilled me in front of the rest of the team.

"You kept us alive today. But don't let it get to your head, now. Last thing we need is a cocky goaltender." He reminded me, glancing up as I stood there floored, watching as he flipped a familiar small, black object in my direction.

"Game puck, for the first win - here's hoping for many more this season. Now get outta here."

"Oh- yes sir!" I shook myself awake, snapping my fingers around the cool, hard rubber of the puck. A small smile formed on my lips as I headed back to my locker.

"All right Linds," Zac whistled loudly to me as I left the locker room, my equipment bag as usual slung over my shoulder. "That's my girl!"

"Thanks," I cast up at him in a wary voice, wondering if Samantha had actually given him permission to be there. Nothing more needed to be said to the boy, so I was greatful for the injection of his mother.

"Wonderful game, Lindsey." Mrs. Hanson called warmly, Zoë wrapped in a blanket in her arms as she made her way down the bleachers to the ice floor.

"Thank you," I replied shyly.

"Great job," Walker added.

"Obviously two and a half hours of hockey is too much excitement for some people, huh?" I grinned at Avery, who was fast approaching sleepiness in his arms.

"Yes Lindsey." Mom spoke up tightly and brushed past them. "People like us. Let's go."

"We're going out to eat, why don't you join us, Lynn?" Diana suggested.

"Thank you for the invitation, but we must be going." Mom replied curtly. I threw the Hansons an apologetic shrug.

"Thanks for coming to my game." I smiled at the Purple People, the nickname my team had given my little cheering section. They'd been more than loud at every one of my saves. While it was more than kind, it was also a bit embarrassing. I wondered if they'd be at any more of my games. One look at the cross expression on Mom's face was more than enough of an answer whether she'd be back or not.

Now the question is if I will too, I wondered as I silently trailed behind her. Suddenly my victory turned to a shallow glint of happiness in the pit of my stomach.

The silence during the car ride was unbearable. Leaning against the back of my seat, I shut my eyes and sighed softly. It felt like I could barely breathe, as if I'd sufficate from the thickness that awkwardly hung around teh three of us. The soft rumble of Heidi clearing her throat echoed loudly against the back of my ear drums, snapping my eyes open in the process.

"So, Linds," she cocked her head around the front passenger's seat to cast her voice at me.

"Yeah?" I stared dully at her face.

"I hope you're all ready for your big day tomorrow." She grinned knowingly.

"My what?"

"Shopping," she smiled widely, probably at the joy of a subject she was quite knowledgeable about, for the first time this afternoon.

"Shopping?" The mere word created a crease in my brow and scowl on my lips. In other words, I despised the activity and avoided it at all costs.

"For your dress," Mom added over her own shoulder, speaking up for the first time since we'd left the arena. I noticed that her voice had also lost its crispness.. and couldn't help but wonder why she was colder than the ice I skated on.

"Oh, right." I mumbled, relieved when I saw the view of our house pull up into my window. My fingers fumbled with my seat belt as I hastily climbed out of the car, eager to avoid this conversation. While apparently necessary in the eyes of my family members, it didn't mean a hill of beans to me.

"Now, you know that pink is absolutely out of the question," Heidi's voice chirped brightly as she walked behind me up our front sidewalk. "Not with the color of your hair - that would be disastrous."

"We, we certainly wouldn't want that. Talk about a natural disaster waiting to happen." I replied sarcastically, my ears perking up at a muffled ring through the locked door. "Is that the phone?"

"Oh, it's probably Nelson calling," she rushed past me, leaving me to ponder who this Nelson was as she jammed her key in the lock and shoved open the door. My eyes followed her tiny frame as it bounded into the kitchen, obviously eagerly anticipating this call. I smiled with amusement at the wide open door, grabbed the set of keys she'd left in the lock, and nearly bumped into Mom in the process.

"Watch your step, kiddo." She warned me, placing her hand on the soft of my back as she brushed past me. I shivered slightly at her touch.. it just felt.. odd. There wasn't any other way to explain it other than uncomfortable. Realizing I probably looked more than a little stupid still standing on the front porch, I quietly shut the door behind me. Besides that, I was 'summonded.'

"Phone," Heidi announced sullenly to me on her way upstairs. Given that she didn't offer one to me, I guessed she'd left it in the kitchen for me.

"Hello?" I lifted the cradle to my ear, dropping my hockey equipment on the linoleum.

".. Lindsey?" A male voice asked. It sounded vaguely familiar, yet for some reason I couldn't place it.

"Speaking," I replied with as much politeness as I could muster, which wasn't very much. Physically, after the game, and emotionally, after the car ride, I was drained.

"Who is this?"

"You don't know who this is?" Mystery boy sounded surprised.

Why else would I ask? I wondered. Instead, I opted for the nicer,

"No sorry, I don't. Who is this?"

"Umm.. Zac?" The question in his voice normally would've sent a sarcastic, 'Are you sure about that?' from my lips. However, given my day, I immediately felt a sense of irritation and my words reflected that.

"What do you want?"

".." Zac was silent for a moment. "Now, that's not very nice."

"I'm sorry," I sighed.

"Long day and I have homework to do." As if that was an explanation.

"Well.. I.." he said each word slowly, as if he was unsure of what he was saying. "I just wanted to say good job today."

"Oh, thanks." I said quickly. Again with the silence.

"Well, I.." he repeated, as if waiting for me to add something or had that something on his own mind but just wasn't saying it. Whatever it was, the silence was killing me - again.

"That's it." He finally said. ".. I didn't call to say anything else."

"Oh."

".. Actually, Lindsey, I-" He stopped when I sighed again. This seemed like the kind of thing that would take a few hours to filter, and quite frankly, I didn't have the time.

"Sorry Zac, I've gotta go." I interrupted. "Homework's still not done."

"Oh, ok.." I didn't let the deflation in his voice change my disposition. If anything, it only made me more irritated.

"Ok, bye then."

".. Bye, I guess." Click.

Forget that. This ongoing saga with Zac was the last thing I wanted to think about. Grabbing my equipment bag, I squeezed the handles between my fingers and started the trip upstairs. If the mountain of homework in my bag was any indication of how much work I had to catch up on, this night would only get longer.