Jaxon
The call came in the middle of practice, which should have been my first warning that something was wrong, since my mom knew better than to interrupt training hours unless it actually mattered.
I almost didn't answer. Coach had drilled into all of us since day one that phones stayed in lockers during practice, no exceptions, but something in my gut told me to check anyway, ducking behind the bench to glance at the screen between drills.
*Aunt Rosa. Missed Call. Voicemail.*
My stomach dropped instantly. Aunt Rosa never called me directly. She communicated through my mom, through texts, through the family group chat, not through unexpected calls during practice hours on a Tuesday afternoon.
I stepped fully off the ice, ignoring Coach's sharp look, and called her back immediately,
