“It’s fine, Nat,” Ellie promises.
“Oh, we’ll talk about the two of you..” She looks between Nat and Ellie, tone dripping with disapproval, before Candace whips to me. “But first…did you ever plan to tell me my daughter islivingwith you?”
“How do you even know that?” Ellie asks.
“I was curious as to how your tuition was being covered, and since you wouldn’t answer my calls, I had to inquire about it myself. I found out you were still enrolled under the faculty dependent credit, which would only be possible if…” she turns back to me, “she was living with you. Do you know how incredibly inappropriate that is when we’re no longer married?”
“I suppose you’d think it’s inappropriate of me to be fucking him too, then?” Ellie snipes.
Nat chokes on a laugh.
Candace’s eyes burst, nostrils flaring as her skin pales. “That’s a sick joke, Elenor.”
“Almost as sick as your boyfriend cheating on you with your own mother, huh?”
Candace is shaking with rage, eyes narrowed. “So it’s true?” she asks me before spinning to face Ellie again. “Is this some kind of revenge? To get back at me?” When she addresses me again, every word is laced with venom, “Are you that stupid? Allowing yourself to be used like that by a student? You could ruin your entire career. Her reputation. Her future!”
She shouts with mock concern, but I know it’s a threat.
“Screwing Hudson for revenge would mean I gave a single shit about you, Mom,” Ellie
responds, voice calm and clear. “I don’t. I don’t want anything to do with you. I simply fell in love with the man you were too stupid to see the value in.”
Candace rears back like she’s been punched, bottom lip quivering as her eyes well before spilling over with crocodile tears.
“I have a question.” Nat raises her hand, pressing off the wall. “Why not find Ellie on campus? Or at practice during her own team’s season? Why wait until today? The day your ex-husband’s team faces off against the team of the student you’ve been fucking.”
I wasn’t going to voice it, but the thought certainly ran through my head.
Ellie’s brows draw together before her mouth drops open. “Oh my God. You’re still seeing Bodhi, aren’t you? I bet you’re dressed like that to catch Hudson’s attention too. Was that the plan? Shove your fucking boy toy in your ex’s face?”
Candace cuts her gaze to the floor.
“You only came to find me today because it was convenient for you!” Ellie exclaims. “Because you happened to be here to watch your little fucking boyfriend play, and you wanted to catch Hudson’s attention.”
She lifts her eyes, rage seething in her brown irises. “You’re not better, Elenor. You’re fucking your step-dad, and that’s not even scratching the surface of whatever this situation with you two is.” She swipes a finger through the air between Ellie and Nat.
“We all fuck each other—mostly at the same time. We date each other too. Love each other, sleep in the same bed. Sounds pretty fucking simple to me,” Nat mutters.
Candace’s face drips with disgust, but Ellie ignores it. “At least I’m not pretending I’m interested in having a relationship with you just because we happen to be in the same room.”
Candace softens. “That’s not why. You’re my daughter. Idolove you.”
“Honestly, I don’t think I can say the same to you. I don’t trust you, and I don’t respect you,” Ellie says sternly, and pride surges in my chest at the way she’s stood up for herself.
Another tear falls from Candace’s eye, and I know it’s genuine this time.
“If, someday, you ever find the ability to be honest with me, to accept my relationship, and to be truly fucking sorry for what you did, then I’d be open to a conversation.” She brushes pastme, grasping the door handle. “But until then, I don’t want to hear from you.”
“I could report him, you know?” Candace snaps, as if the words are a lasso—a last-ditch effort to halt Ellie from walking out—and I see the moment they land around her neck, tugging tightly. “Do you really want to be the reason he loses everything?”
She’s a fucking conniving woman, and I’d hoped I’d be able to make it out of this situation without sharing the news so I could properly relay it to the girls later, but…
“Actually, I’ve already put in my notice with the university. I’ll be starting an assistant coaching position with Seattle’s professional team this summer.”
Natalia and Ellie both gasp, but I keep my gaze pinned on Candace. “So, the question is: Doyouwant to be the reasonsheloses everything? I’m done here as soon as this team finishes its season, but you report us, and Ellie could be the one facing expulsion when she has a year left of school.”
Her nostrils flare, limbs trembling with rage. “Honestly, I don’t even care. Do what you feel like you need to do, Mom, but it won’t change anything. Report Hudson, and the only thing you’ll be proving is that you’re every bit the monster I’ve been creating in my head over the past year.”
