He didn’t hire Kellen and then promptly had a panic attack on the couch while his dad slept the afternoon away in the bedroom. I had the irrational urge to comfort him, but the moment the sketchy healthcare aid was gone, three more hockey players arrived.
I recognized one of them—the small guy on crutches, Boden—from the Boston sled team. But only because I knew his grandfather. His dad had billeted me when I was younger, but I didn’t think he knew that. He’d been living with his mom at the time, so we never met.
And I didn’t want to be the fucking weirdo who brought it up.
His eyes were on me though, zeroed in and intense, but he quickly turned his attention to Vanya, who was making himself right at home with everyone else. I was the only one standing in the corner of the room like an antisocial weirdo.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” Jonah said as soon as he was calm again. “That was the only aid they had available for the next three months, and I can’t just not fucking go to work.”
The guy with the long hair hummed, then said, “Why don’t we do it?”
Jonah’s head snapped up. “What?”
“I mean, we can come up with a schedule and take turns. This dickhead over here seems to have found the time, right?” He pointed directly at me. It was clear Jonah had influenced their opinions on me.
Or they’d watched me play and thought I was dirty on the ice—which was fair. I used to be. But it had been years since I’d fucked off like I had in my rookie season.
“I don’t know,” Jonah started.
“Ford’s right,” Boden cut in. “Between all of us, we can come up with a schedule that’ll make sure your dad isn’t alone for long.”
“Yes!” Vanya said. “I can help. Your dad, he like me a lot.”
Jonah managed a smile. “I…”
“No.” The word escaped me before I could stop myself. Everyone’s eyes were on me now, except Jonah’s. But I could tell I had his full attention.
“What the fuck do you mean, no? Who even is this guy,” the one called Ford demanded.
Jonah sighed. “Alexio Zeki. He plays for the Glaciers. And he and his brother have been apparently taking care of my dad before I found everything out. I guess he wants to continue to be a dickhead?—”
“Can we speak again?” I said.
“Christ, dude. Are you serious?”
I walked up near the couch and set my hand on the back, not close enough to touch him, but close enough I could. “Yes. I’m serious. And I don’t want a bunch of people listening in.”
“Um, fuck you?” Ford said, standing up. It was then that I noticed he had a prosthetic leg sticking out of the bottom of hisshorts. I wondered if he was on Boden’s team, but he didn’t look familiar. “You don’t get to decide what we do and don’t hear.”
I wasn’t going to let this go. I didn’t know much about Alzheimer’s or anything like that. At least, not until I’d met Peter. Then I fell down the YouTube rabbit hole and learned as much as I could in a single weekend.
And I knew that this whole thing—this circus—couldn’t happen. It would make things so much worse for Peter, and in turn, it would make it worse for Jonah.
“It’s important,” I finally said.
Jonah groaned. “Fine. Everyone, fuck off for twenty minutes. I’m going to talk to Zeki alone.”
Vanya sucked in a breath to protest, but I held up my hand. “You too, Vanny. Please.”
He met my gaze, then nodded. “Is okay. There is amazing bakery down the street. We go and buy some treats. I think we all deserve after today, yes?”
None of the guys protested, though they did take their time shuffling out of the room. When the door closed, there was a single moment of silence, and then Jonah turned.
“Are you still here?”
“I am.” I walked over and sat near him. “And all I really want to say is that you can’t have a bunch of people coming in and out of the apartment to watch him.”
Jonah scoffed. “Really?”
