Page 38 of Absolutely Pucked (Punk as Puck #3)

He snorted and shrugged. “I’d rather be blind than dead, so…

it worked out. Blind hockey’s more fun anyway.

Unless you get stoned with your teammate and decide a midnight hike is the best idea ever.

Spoiler, it is not the best idea ever.” He thumped his leg on the ground, and it was then I noticed he was in a walking boot. “Anyway, what’s your sad sad story?”

“My brother hates me because I slept with his ex, and then I slept with his best friend, and now he hates me more.”

“Dude.”

“To be fair, his ex was a manipulative monster, and I didn’t know it was his best friend until it was too late and I’d already fallen in love with him.”

“You need to go into script writing. That would be an amazing soap opera.” Asa leaned back and grinned at me.

“I do not have a talent for writing. Just for screwing up.”

“Then you need to make more prolific friends than Jonah.”

Right then, faint music fired up, and the guys began to skate around the ice. I spotted Jonah right away. He was doing complicated splits in front of the goalie net. “Jesus, are all of you that flexible?”

“Hmm? Oh, nah, just the goalies. We’re bendy.” He froze. “Wait, are you screwing Jonah?”

“No. No, God. I mean, he’s nice and all, but no.

” I coughed, trying not to sound like such an awkward turd.

I almost said Ford’s name, but then I realized that even though this was a professional team full of professional athletes, they probably knew Ford, and I wasn’t about to make things worse for him.

Not to mention, Tucker was about to become their head coach, so… yeah.

“Yeah, he and Micah are weird dudes. But I like them. He’s basically trained me, and he’s much better than any teacher I ever had.”

“He’s the only reason I’m not falling apart right now,” I confessed. It was a near thing, but it was the truth. I looked over at Asa and saw that he had his hands on what looked like a super-thin, mini air hockey table. “What is that?”

“What’s what?”

“The thing in your hand.”

He laughed. “Lets me watch the team practice. They each have a magnet in their sweaters, and it moves the dots around the board.” He leaned over to show me how it worked.

Tiny movable pieces skittered around the board, and although it didn’t make sense to my eyes, I could see how it would make sense with touch.

“I’m trying to pay attention so my skill doesn’t atrophy before my ankle heals. ”

I should probably try to do more of that.

I was rotting in more ways than one since the whole thing with Delia, and it hit me that I’d all but given up.

That was not the person I had become. After all the years of metaphorically fist-fighting my insecurities, I didn’t want to be shoved back into that hole.

“Hey, I need to go make a phone call.”

“I’m happy for you?” Asa said with a frown.

“No, I…I was letting you know. I didn’t want to just walk away.”

He softened. “Oh. Yeah, thanks, bro. See you later, or are you taking off?”

“I’m stuck with Jonah for a bit, so yeah. I’ll be around.”

“Sweet. Good luck. Your shit sounds serious.”

It was. In a way.

But I deserved all of it.

I paced the front of the welcome desk with my phone pressed against my ear. Part of me wanted him to answer. Part of me hoped it would go to voicemail .

The universe decided for me. Daniel answered after the third ring. “You’re calling me?”

“Yes. I’m done. I’m going to fight you.”

There was a profound silence, then a sigh. “You really want to add an assault charge to everything else you?—”

“Oh my God, not literally, you jackass. I mean I’m done letting you fuck with my life. I don’t care who you tell or how you try to blackball me. I don’t care who you know. If you try and stop me from getting work or taking the bar here, I’m going to expose you.”

He was silent for a long beat, then said from behind a sigh, “I don’t care what you do, man. Go nuts.”

I froze. I was standing outside the arena, expecting to have to go to blows with this man who had spent months tormenting me, and now he was giving up. “What? Why?”

“Because I’ve got enough on my plate. That bitch of yours?—”

“Come on, man,” I said. “It’s bad enough you slept with her. You don’t need to call her that.”

He choked on a laugh. “Did she get to you already? Is she back in your bed?”

“Fuck no. In fact, the last time we talked, she told me her happy news. She tried to pin it on me until I demanded a paternity test.”

He sighed loudly again. “She said she was on the fuckin’ pill.”

“Yep, and instead, she trapped you. Karma is the bitch.”

I could almost see the face he was pulling. “I have a shitstorm going on with me right now. I don’t give a shit about you or your divorce, okay? I’m not paying for her representation anymore, so just…I don’t know. Tell her you’re done with mediation and set a court date.”

I had no idea what to say to that. “My credit cards?”

“Call your bank. They’ll fix it.”

I realized I probably could have done that the whole time. I’d let them cow me and make me believe they had total control. I felt like such a fucking fool. And yet, if I hadn’t been one, I never would have met Ford, and as much as it hurt me now, I couldn’t regret that.

“So, if that’s all—” he started.

Was it all? It wasn’t like he was going to give me an apology—not that I’d take one from him.

And whatever happened between him and Delia wasn’t my business.

Daniel had been my boss, not my friend. He’d taken sick pleasure in seeing me at my lowest and probably got a lot of attention from Delia for it.

He’d played games with the both of us, and for what?

“I hope you have the life you deserve,” I told him.

He snorted. “Trust me, man. I’m good.”

I knew he meant it. I knew he was going to be fine—at least, in his own mind. He’d never know what it meant to love and be loved the way I’d fallen for Ford. The way Tucker loved Deo. Probably the way Boden loved Hugo.

But I wasn’t sure a man like him was capable of that anyway.

There was nothing left to do except hang up, which was the easy part. It was in the ringing silence when it all hit me at once, and nausea overwhelmed me. I shuffled backward until my calves hit a bench, and I sat down. Hard. I was inside the lobby—I’d almost forgotten where I was for a moment.

The sound of my breath was echoing around me, but there was no one there to hear it. The center was open, but the middle of the week in the afternoon, it felt like I was completely alone. I stared down at the phone in my hand, realizing that it was over.

At least the hardest part was.

I could move forward.

Pulling up my texts, I scrolled to Delia’s name and hesitated before sending my one, single message. The message that was going to end all of this.

Me: I know it’s over between you two and I’m done.

No more mediation, no alimony threats, no child support.

No nothing. I want my car returned to the parking lot you took it from or I’m reporting it stolen and I will have you arrested.

I’ve kept all the evidence, and I will expose everything if you don’t comply. You have seventy-two hours.

After that was done, I hit the button to block her number, took a breath…

And then burst into tears.

It was finished.

It was actually over.