I honestly think he’s trying to show how brave he was for me
Who the fuck was Ben? Oh, right. Mikey’s real name. Hockey names would never cease to amaze me.
I would definitely put my money on them being up to something
Same
Good talk. Let’s get lunch sometime
(salute emoji)
FIFTY
JACK
MARCH
Mara lookedup from her e-reader. She sat at the kitchen counter when I walked in at home. The house was quiet, as the kids would have been long off to bed.
“Hey, sweetheart,” I tried, and she cocked her head to the side, not looking amused. “Didn’t think you’d be up this late.”
Mara pursed her lips and crossed her arms. “What did you do.”
It was a statement, not a question. I licked my bottom lip, trying to buy some time.
Mara did not look amused. “A fight over what?”
“Look, you don’t want to hear it, but Mikey said some pretty nasty shit about you?—”
Mara pulled up her phone, opened a social media app, and pressed play on a video. The sound that came out was the clip of Mikey saying she thought she was so pretty with all that ginger hair, followed by me saying the thing about him being ginger too. She scrunched her brow and puffed out her lips.
“Sounds real nasty,” she pouted. “Tell me, is this how you fight on the ice too? Over very serious accusations like these?”
I put my head in my hands. I was an absolute fool to think she’d not see completely through our ruse. She went on.
“You know what else is interesting? Jessie texted me to see if we had beef. And I told her, no, we do not.” She rolled her lips between her teeth. “Care to explain?”
I swallowed and looked at the floor.
Mara strode toward me slowly. “Is this all some ploy for a big punishment, Jack?”
Oh my god. What a perfect coverup. “Yes. Yes, it is. I was very bad, ma’am.”
Mara lifted my chin with her finger, forcing me to look at her. “I think you’re lying. But the good news is I’ve been saving a very special punishment for an occasion such as this. What time is your practice tomorrow?”
“10, ma’am. Then we fly to Calgary.”
She nodded. “Lucky for you, I can be there. Can’t wait to see you on the ice.”
Fuck. How was that the punishment?
She gave me a sweet peck on the lips and a pat on the head and said, “I’m off to bed.”
I had never been more terrified in my life. Not even when I stabbed Bryce. This did not bode well for me.
But I’d done it to myself.
The next morning,Mara came back from dropping the kids off at school and daycare with a glowing smile. “Ready for your big trip, Jackie?”
