“Are you?” I asked. “In college, you were not his biggest fan.”
“I know I’m your dad so this might be hard to believe, but I do get things wrong sometimes.”
What was happening? Was the moon full? Did I have a fever? My dad was always the softer of my parents, but admitting fault was neither of their strong suit. “Okay,” I managed, still unsure if things were about to flip somehow. But he went on.
“Well, I don’t know what you’ve got going on, but your mother and I were thinking about coming to visit you. Seeingwhere you live. Maybe . . . you could show us what you’ve been working on. And we could have dinner with you and Colton.”
My mouth flapped, still completely stunned. “Um. Yeah. That would be amazing. I could show you the lab, and if you want to see Colt, we can work around his schedule.”
“Who knows? Maybe we’ll finally see him play. Nouri says he’s fun to watch.”
I laughed to myself. Of course it took Nouri and Maya’s influence for them to wake up.
“You? At a sporting event?” I gasped.
“I know. But your mother and I have missed you since you moved,” my stomach dropped at that phrase, “and we want to be part of your life.”
Tears pricked my eyes. They still didn’t know all of what was going on in my life, but maybe we had a chance of starting a new era. “Even if it’s at a hockey arena?”
Dad laughed. “I’ll try it for you, lovey.”
FORTY-NINE
COLTON
NOVEMBER | DENVER, COLORADO
Breakfaston our last road day was quieter than usual, every face buried in a phone. I accidentally overslept because I stayed up late talking to Vi. I regretted nothing, but it did make me the last to arrive at breakfast.
“And in shocking news to no one,” Royce said, scrolling to the bottom of some article.
“Fuckin’ figures,” Leroy grumbled.
“The patriarchy strikes again,” Owen said, but he only got one stray “shut up, rookie!”
“Wait, what’s up?”
Sorrento sat up and took a deep breath, giving me a quick look. My phone buzzed in my pocket. “Dropped you the link.”
“Thanks.” I filled a plate at the buffet and slid into his table. When I opened his text, my blood halted in my veins.
Then, my heart took off at the headline.
Dallas Goalie Doyle Arrested for Sexual Harrassment and Assault
“Holy shit.”
My thumb quivered as I paged to the link. Did Violet comeforward? I was pretty sure she didn’t want to, a choice I fully supported. Did she change her mind without telling me? I wasn’t sure whether to call her first or read the article first.
I chose the latter. A nurse from the hospital in Columbus filed a complaint for sexual harassment and sexual assault. Apparently he made inappropriate comments and advances on her while he was in the hospital, shortly before he was released.
“That’s really what happened to Vi, isn’t it?” Sorrento asked, voice low.
I bobbed my head. “Yes. But . . . everything.”
“That fucker.” He patted me on the shoulder. “Sorry, man. You okay?”
“I need to talk to her.”
