“What did they want?” Harrison asked gruffly, unable to keep the irritation out of his tone. “Money?”
“Yeah.”Arlo let out a shaky breath.“They asked me for a hundred grand. I was so stunned I couldn’t respond before they just…moved on to the next topic like it was nothing.”
Harrison rubbed his face, preparing himself for whatever Arlo was about to say.
“There was this picture the press took of me,”Arlo said, his voice tight.“A couple of teammates and I got swarmed, and Colson’s wife got spooked and grabbed onto me. Colson’s one of my defensemen. Anyway, the shot made it look like I was shielding her like she was my girlfriend, because I had my arm around her.”
He exhaled sharply.“My parents didn’t know she was married. My mom went on this huge rant about how happy she was that I’d finally gotten over myhomosexual phaseand was dating a pretty girl. Then she started talking about grandbabies and asking when I was bringing her home to meet them. Just...endless bullshit about how we were going to be a happy family again now that I’dchanged. How they forgave me because I was finallynormal.”
The Townsends were the luckiest people in the world, and they didn’t even know it. If Harrison was still in Nova Scotia, he wasn’t sure what he’d do, but he knew it wouldn’t be good. The rage curling inside him made that much clear.
His angry train of thought was stopped when he heard Arlo’s breath catch in a sob. He was heartbroken for his cousin.
Fuck, he wanted to go to Montreal to see him and make sure he was okay.
“Harri…son,”Arlo said through harsh intakes of air.“Can I ask you…something?”
“Yeah,” said Harrison as he clenched and unclenched his hand.
“Can I…change my last name to Killinger? Would that be too weird for you?”
His eyes burned. Harrison pinched the bridge of his nose to distract from the pain.
“It’s just…my father went on about how he was so proud that the nameTownsendwas on the back of an NHL jersey, like he was part of my accomplishment. I realized it was the exact opposite of how I felt as he said it. Townsend isn’t a name that I have pride in, and it’s not a name that should share in my accomplishments. The name I should be wearing…I think it should be Killinger.”
Harrison had to sit down. He couldn’t describe the emotions that were going through him if he tried.
“You were the one who pushed me,”Arlo continued.“You were the one who took care of me and made sure I went to class and practice. You are the one who got me to where I am now, and I know it’s stupid, but I feel like I’ll go crazy if I have to wear this name. Knowing my parents are sitting there watching my games with a smug smile is freaking me out. They disowned me because they thought I was broken, and I want to return the favour by disowning them because they’re assholes.”
Arlo stopped crying when his sadness shifted to anger, but Harrison could hear that he was nervous too.
He didn’t even have to think about it.
“Arlo, use my name. It’s not stupid, not even close. You’re brave for taking the last step to get away from them. They win whenever you touch the ice with their family name on your back. I should have told you to change it years ago.”
The sniffling returned, followed by a breathy,“Thank you.”
Harrison forced himself to relax and relieve the tension in his shoulders. He wasn’t ready to let go of his anger, but he needed to put it on the back burner until he was sure everything was okay.
“Do you need me to come see you?”
There was a frantic sound on the other line, and Harrison could almost see Arlo shaking his head frantically.
“No, I’m okay. My captain has my back. He took the phone from me when he realized what was going on and very politely told my parents to fuck off andnever contact me again. I was torn up about changing my name because I wanted to ask you, but I didn’t know how. I played like shit tonight…I should have just asked you before the game started.”
“It happens to the best of us, kid.” Harrison slumped into the couch cushions and stared at the insanely high ceilings. “We have a day off after the game tomorrow, and then we’re going on a string of away games. You should visit. I know you have a day off too.”
Arlo fell silent, minus the sniffling.
“Okay, I think I will. I miss you guys. Mostly Jett, but it will be nice to see you too.”
“Jackass,” said Harrison, grinning.
“Jerk.”
Jett reappeared, looking flushed from his speedy shower, wearing only a pair of grey sweatpants and a smile. Harrison was momentarily distracted by his gorgeous boyfriend, so much so that he almost didn’t hear what Arlo said.
“Can you translate that?”
