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CHAPTER SIXTY

carter

I’m about to throw a cracker at Boston for definitely cheating during this game, but he catches me just as I am about to toss it, and his glare is piercing. I smirk, popping it into my mouth instead.

“I’m watching your hands, Black,” Saltzy murmurs.

“I’m not fucking cheating!” he says, throwing up his arms.

“Definitely cheating,” Penny mutters behind her hand, nudging Caulfield with her leg.

He only smirks, nudging her back with mischief in his eyes. “Stop stirring the pot.”

Hilarious, since it’s usually Caulfield doing the stirring.

“Make a decision, Boss,” Declan says, holding his cards to his chest while he brings his beer to his mouth.

I hear the patio door open and close, signalling that Arden’s finally back from the bathroom, but my eyes stay glued to Boston. He has won all four rounds. There is no way that’s just luck. The odds of that are astronomical.

“You have five cards, how is this so hard?” Saltzy snaps .

Boston glares at him and purposely looks at his hand even more slowly.

“For fuck’s sake,” Declan glowers.

I scoot over so Arden can slide in next to me, and watch as Boston pulls one card out to drop onto the table. My eyes are glued to it, but before he puts it down, he scrunches up his face and shakes his head, returning it to his hand.

“Boston, I am ten seconds away from punching you in the dick,” I snap.

Wyatt snickers with Penny in the corner. I’m glaring at Boss now, meaning my threat with my whole heart. He may be the other half of my on-ice duo, but I’ll risk losing him for a few games to smack some sense into him. He’s pissed we’re accusing him of cheating, so he’s making this unbearable.

He’s winning.

He lifts another card.

“Arden?” Penny says suddenly, and there is something in her tone that makes me go rigid.

I glance beside me and immediately drop my cards on the table.

Arden is standing by the door, her face white and ghastly.

She has her arms wrapped around herself, her eyes locked on the group of us, her bottom lip wobbling.

She’s frozen to the spot, but trembling so badly that she’s swaying on her feet.

I slowly stand just as Penny does. “Red?”

The game stops. Time does, too.

Arden’s eyes snap to mine. No tears. Nothing. Pure shock, it’s clear as fucking day.

“What’s wrong?” I ask cautiously, stepping toward her.

She tries to put on a smile, but a flash of pain breaks across her face instead.

The balcony is silent.

“I have to go,” is all she whispers .

I frown, slowly approaching her. “Okay…I’ll take you home.”

“No, I have to go. I… Uh, I need to book a flight and go.”

What?

Go where ?

I want to reach for her, but she’s gripping herself like she’s about to fall to pieces at my feet, and I don’t want to scare her. I don’t know what happened. She got up to use the bathroom and came back like this.

“Arden,” I say calmly. I lower my head to meet her eyes. “What’s going on?”

She sniffs, eyes snapping over my shoulder to where the audience watches. She’s shaking when she shrugs, meeting my gaze again. Still, no tears.

“I guess my dad died,” she says, pressing her lips together tightly as she nods. “So, I have to get home and pack a bag. I have to go to Maine. For my sisters, you know?”

Shit.

I hear Penny’s sharp intake of breath.

My heart tears in my chest. It’s brutal and painful to watch someone you care about get smacked with disaster over and over again.

I watch her, knowing this is the beginning of something much, much worse.

She’s composed now, but that’s going to be temporary.

She’s avoided her feelings, her pain, and her heartbreak for years.

She can’t avoid this. There is going to be a moment after the shock wears off when she is going to crumble.

“Red,” I whisper, finally attempting to reach for her. She jolts back a step and shakes her head, forcing a gentle smile. Let me take care of you. “I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be. It was coming, and I wasn’t exactly his biggest fan.

” She clears her throat and steps around me, facing the room full of stunned and saddened people who care about her.

We all fucking care about her. She waves awkwardly.

“I’m sorry to put a damper on the night.

I’m going to get out of here. I have a ride waiting outside. ”

I frown. “What? No. I’m taking you home.”

Her eyes darken, snapping to mine. “You’ve been drinking.”

“Then I’m coming with you.”

“No,” she says forcefully. She locks eyes with Penny. Sweets goes to step toward her, but Arden backs off. She’s cornered and she’s going to bite if anyone gets too close, just like Wanton. “I’m sorry.”

She turns on her heel and darts back into the house.

I stare after her, frozen to the spot. The whole balcony is dead silent. She can’t go alone. She can’t be alone. This girl has taken on the weight of the world for years, and she does not deserve to have it destroy her when she needs help the most.

I run a hand over my mouth.

“You need to go, Carter,” Penny says, gently touching my arm. “I know she said not to, but you have to.”

“I know,” I mutter.

“I’m sober,” Wyatt announces, rising to his feet. He fishes his keys out of his pocket. “We’ll go pack you a bag, pick her up, and get to the airport.”

“I’ll book your flights,” Declan announces, pulling out his phone. “Send me her details.”

I can’t think. My head is spinning.

“Coach,” I hear Boston grumble in his deep voice. “Yeah, hey. I’m calling on behalf of Fork. No, no. He’s okay. Yeah, listen?—”

I can’t think ! My heart is racing.

Sweets squeezes my hand three times just as Wyatt and Saltzy head for the door.

I look down at her, mentally pleading with her to help me.

What do I do? How do I be there for her?

She pushes me away in these situations. She pushes everyone away.

Penny used to do this. She was a professional at this.

Penny swallows, tears brimming in her eyes. “She’s going to fight you. Let her. She’s eventually going to need someone to fall apart with. She won’t do it with them. She needs you. Just be there until she admits that.”

Her sisters.

I dip my chin, my eyes shutting as I digest the gravity of this. He died. She’s an orphan. Those three girls are fucking alone, just like that. “Fuck.”

Penny nods sadly. “I’m so sorry, Carter.”

Don’t be sorry for me. Be sorry for her. She keeps losing everything. She keeps having to deal with this same fucking pain in different ways. How many times, in how many different ways, can you lose the same person? I am so angry for her. She deserves so much more, and I can’t fix it.

“Fork, let’s go,” Saltzy says from the door. “We have to make it quick.”

I nod, turning to look at my boys, but their heads are down and they’re at work. Declan is getting us tickets to get the hell to Maine, and Boston is sorting out my days off with Coach. They’re helping me in their own way. I have to do the only thing I need to do.

I need to be there for Arden.

When we pull up to her apartment, her front door is cracked open, like she planned on walking straight in and out with nothing but her purse.

I slowly enter and find the living room and kitchen empty.

When I make my way into her bedroom, she’s sitting on the floor, trying to zip her overflowing suitcase closed .

“Arden.”

She jumps, glaring up at me. I swear I see relief in her face for a moment before she’s tearing at the seams of her suitcase again. I eye the bit of fabric hanging out, but she’s too overwhelmed to slow down and fix it.

I drop down next to her, placing my hand over hers. “Here. Let me.”

She looks like she’s going to argue with me, but instead leans back on her knees and lets out a sharp breath.

I unzip her suitcase and find the culprit.

Stinky.

I glance at her, taking him out. Her eyes stay locked on mine, still no tears. Her throat bobs.

“He has to come.”

I nod, but he won’t fit. “I’ll put him in my bag.”

Her brow furrows. “What?”

“Our flight leaves in an hour,” I say, handing her the stuffed animal. She takes it slowly. I zip up her suitcase and it closes easily. “Do you have your ID to get on the plane?”

She nods, face still full of confusion. She’s numb. Her thoughts aren’t processing.

“Any records you’ll need for the funeral home, doctors, or anything like that?”

She shuts her eyes, like she forgot. “They’re in a shoebox in my closet.”

I nod, standing. I retrieve the box and let her go through it with shaking hands. When she finally pulls out all she needs, I kneel down beside her again and run my hand over her head until I’m cupping the nape of her neck.

She won’t look at me.

“Do you have something in there that you can wear to the funeral?”

Her hands stop playing with the papers and her shoulders sink. She shakes her head, still not looking at me, still not able to think straight.

“Okay,” I murmur, brushing my thumb over the back of her head. I lean forward to press a kiss to her hair. “Let’s pick something out and then get in the car, alright? I have room in my bag.”

She nods, and I reach for her hand. She lets me take it, lets me guide her to her feet.

“I don’t want you to come, Carter,” she admits under her breath.

I reach up and cup her jaw, forcing her to look at me. “I know, but I’m coming. Okay?”

Because she needs me to. I know that. I see it all over her.

She bites on the inside of her cheek, pondering this. She finally nods and guides me to her closet, where she stares at the rows of clothes until she finally picks out a black dress.

I drape the dress over my arm and look at her. Her face is so starkly pale that it scares me. Her eyes are haunted. Vacant. What if I can’t take care of her the way that she needs me to? What if I fail her?

“Ready?”

She slowly retrieves her suitcase and brings Stinky to her chest, squeezing him tightly. When I take her luggage from her hand, she winds both arms around that stuffed animal and pushes her shoulders back.

I see both a woman and a little girl marching out of that room toward something that terrifies her.