Guess I couldn’t avoid him, after all. This was the first time he’d sought me out in days. Could there be a chance he was finally willing to make peace?
I swallowed and removed my headphones.
“It’s looking good,” Dad said, nodding at the art on my wall. “But wouldn’t you be better working on your portfolio pieces? Can’t exactly submit a wall to art schools…”
Why was it that whenever my father took an interest in what I was doing, he always found something to criticize?
“Can I help you with something?” I asked, hoping he’d keep his visit as short as possible.
“Max is playing tonight. I thought you might like to come watch the game with Tess and me.”
“I can watch it up here.”
He nodded but stepped further into the room. His invitation to watch the game must have just been an excuse to come up here.
“You know, Mackenzie,” he started. “We’ve got another big game this weekend.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“The Chargers are one of the best teams in our division.”
“Okay…”
“Well, I just wanted to let you know that no one will think less of you if you decide to sit this one out.”
And there it was; the real reason my dad was here. I carefully put down my paintbrush as I turned to glare at him. “You’re trying to make me quit hockey again?”
“You’re not ready, Mackenzie. You’ve never played competitive games like this before.”
“And whose fault is that?”
He let out a short sigh but otherwise ignored my comment. “I know how much you and Max played together. But this isdifferent. Surely you realize that.”
“What I realize is that you don’t support me. That you probably never will. You pretend you’re giving me a chance, but you’re setting me up to fail all so you can say you gave the girl a shot, but she simply wasn’t good enough.”
“Mackenzie, I’m just—”
“Just what? Just trying to protect me?” I was getting so tired of that argument.
He paused, and for a moment I thought he might try a different approach, give me another tenuous explanation for why hockey was off limits for me and me alone. But eventually he just nodded.
“I might not be as big or as strong as the boys,” I continued. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t have as much potential. You need to stop thinking about me as your daughter and start treating me like one of your players.”
“But you are my daughter, and it’s—”
I didn’t want to hear any more, so I cut him off.
“You gave me three games to prove myself. If you want to go back on your word, fine, you can cut me. But I’m not quitting. I still have two games left. Until then, perhaps you should go back to giving me the silent treatment.”
Returning to my mural, I pulled my headphones over my ears. I turned the volume up even louder than before and allowed the music to scream into the void for me.
Chapter 19Mackenzie
“You’re extra snarky this morning,” Parker said. “Did you wake up on the wrong side of bed?”
We’d started training at six and I’d been feeling like crap all morning. Obviously, I wasn’t doing a very good job of hiding it. I’d slept badly, going over the latest argument with my dad all night, and now I struggled to focus. I was slow and sluggish, and it felt like every time a shot got past me, I was only proving my father right. Still, I pasted on a smile for Parker.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t have a wrong side of bed.”
