I punch the steering wheel, pissed off at myself the most.
Today has been a total shitshow, only exacerbated by the fact that I haven’t had the guts to tell my father the truth.
I’ve never been man enough to do it. I’m Scotty Hendricks Jr. after all. I should like the attention, shouldn’t I?
I roll my head to the side and glance out the window to Laura’s house. After spending a couple of hours driving around the vicinity of the rec center with Brooks and Alex looking for her, we finally gave up and they drove me back to my truck, full of apologies.
I accepted, but they didn’t matter. None of them know me well enough to know how much I hate all of this. How I just want to be another person playing hockey instead of Scotty Hendricks Jr. the heir to a hockey dynasty I didn’t build.
When they see me, they see my father.
Laura didn’t.
The lights are on, and Lyss’s car is in the driveway so I assume she’s home by now—a fact I tried to confirm by texting her, but my message was left on read.
It’s probably for the best. This conversation deserves to happen in person, not over text.
I finally force myself out of the car and haul Laura’s bag over my shoulder. The walk up the path feels endless. My hands tremble, and there’s a sick, acidic curl in my stomach that won’t ease.
My heart is pounding so hard I can feel it in my throat as I ring the doorbell.
I want to make this right, but it feels impossible.
Long seconds pass. I'm about to ring again when the door finally opens, revealing not Laura, but Lyss. Her expression shifts from neutral to ice-cold the moment she recognizes me.
“You fucking asshole.” That's all she gets out before she slaps me clear across the face.
My head jerks to the side, my cheek burning, my vision flashing white for a spilt second, but I don’t complain. I don’t even move because I deserve so much more than that.
“I'm sorry,” I manage to get out, forcing her to meet my gaze. I didn't hurt her, but I feel Laura's pain through her. “I'm so fucking sorry; you have no idea.”
Lyss doesn't soften. Not even an inch.
She plants herself in the doorway with her arms crossed, making it impossible to move past her. She’s an immovable wall with perfect eyeliner. Her glare is so sharp I swear it makes my balls shrivel.
“Sorry?” she spits, stepping forward until she's toe-to-toe with me. “You don't get to show up here with your sad puppy eyes and saysorrylike that erases what you did.”
I don’t move when she yanks Laura’s bag off my shoulder. She sets it down inside the house without breaking eye contact, then comes right back and jabs a finger into my chest, and I’m surprised by the pain.
“You don't get points for showing up with her bag after you humiliated her in front of your entire team.”
My stomach drops.
“I didn’t know—”
“Oh, spare me,” she snaps.
“I promise I had nothing to do with what happened today.” My voice cracks with frustration. “My asshole teammates thought they were doing me a favor.They knew I liked her and have been giving me shit about it for weeks, but they had no idea that we'd…” I can't finish the sentence, and I raise my hand toward the swing.
“Don’t you dare mention Nana Lou’s swing.” Her eyes roam my body. “It’s all your fault it’s broken. Laura's as light as a feather, but you—you're just a giant brick wall with a donkey dick.”
“Donkey di—” I shake my head, not wanting to finish that sentence, or get an explanation. “Look, I had no idea they were planning this. I would never, ever have agreed to it.”
Lyss's expression doesn't soften. “It doesn't matter. Maybe you didn’t plan it, but you told them about her job. You let people film her like she was doing some damn circus trick. You broke her trust, and Laura doesn’t…trust easily.”
“I know,” I growl out in frustration. Not at Lyss. Everything she is saying is right. I broke everything I was building with Laura because I didn’t have the guts to stand up to people in my life. “I’m going to fix this. Whatever it takes. Can I come in? I really want to talk to her. Just five minutes. That's all I'm asking.”
Lyss looks through the door and then back to me. “I really don't think that's a good idea. She said she never wants to see you again.”
