“Hit me.”
He hesitated for a second, then said, “I want to help. Like, officially on a schedule. Your dad knows me. He likes me. And with my wife and mom out of the country for the next few months, my place is quiet and lonely. I wouldn’t mind doing overnights with him until you can find a place for him to go.”
I let out a rush of air. “Nikos…that is too much.”
“It isn’t.”
I grimaced. “He can’t possibly be the nicest person to you.” Hadn’t he implied that my dad had gotten a little nasty when I first met him?
Nikos huffed. “No. He’s not always, but it’s not entirely his fault.”
“You know this isn’t, like, a breakdown thing, right?” I stopped when I heard Killian come into the room, but I didn’t mind him hearing this stuff. He knew a lot of it already. “Hewas a shitty person and a shitty dad when we were growing up. He hated that we were disabled, blamed my mom for it. He resented the fuck out of her because she made our blindness her whole personality.” My voice began to shake, and I took a deep, calming breath. “She treated us like performing circus monkeys, and he never said a word to stop her. I think he liked it because it kept us occupied and he didn’t have to deal with our, you know,needs.”
“I’m sorry,” Nikos said softly.
“I’m saying this because I need you to understand he’s not becoming a worse person. He was already not that great.”
“He’s still a person and deserves dignity,” Nikos answered. “And…and I think you deserve a little support.”
That was a surprise. I hadn’t expected that at all. I jolted when Killian touched my shoulder and squeezed. “He’s not wrong, bestie.”
Bowing my head, I shook it. “Fine, but you have to let me pay you.”
“Jonah—”
“Nope. I’m going to pay you, okay? I have money. Not Alexio’s fuckin’ Glaciers contract money, but I have a good salary. Plus, I have a ton of sponsorships and shit. And I invested.” I lifted my head and hoped my face was pointed at least near him. “If I was going to pay some asshole to rob my dad while he was passed out, I can at least pay you to listen to him talk bullshit until he falls asleep.”
“I can do that,” Nikos said. “If you can arrange care for him in the afternoons while my shop is open, I will be there for the rest.”
“You’ve got us,” Killian said. “I get Alexio’s point about not freaking your dad out, so what if it’s just me and Ford? Between us, we have the availability. And it probably won’t be long until you can find something. And you know if Bodie and Tuck are onthe case, they’ll have a dozen places to call in the next twenty-four hours.”
I cleared my throat. “Okay. But I have a roadie though?—”
“I know, bud,” Killian said. “We’re on this, okay? You can breathe.”
“I’m trying, but this should be my problem. I mean, he’s my dad.” I lay back, hungry, but my stomach was in too many knots to even try and eat.
“Yes, but you’re taking this on by yourself,” Nikos said, “so we can stand in for now.”
I felt a little too lucky and a little too antsy—like if I accepted this gift horse, a bunch of Greeks were going to jump out of its mouth and stab me to death. But what choice did I have, really?
It was what it was, and I still had a life to live.
I was on my way to the arena to get on the bus for Salem, then New York, when my phone rang with Caleb on the other end of the line. We hadn’t talked in a while, and I knew that was on purpose. He didn’t want to know what was going on with my dad, and if he knew, he’d probably feel guilty enough to help.
And then he’d resent me for it, and I didn’t think I could handle that.
“What’s up?”
“You’re heading to Salem today, right? What time is your game?”
I wrinkled my nose. “Puck drops at six, why?”
“Will you see Micah before?”
I rarely did. Sometimes, if we got into town on time, we’d grab our pregame protein shakes, but those moments werepretty rare. “He’s not really talking to me right now. I’m surprised you are.”
Caleb sighed. “Look, I know there’s shit going on with Dad.”
