Page 80 of Puck My Life

Vae stares at me with a white face.

“Sorry, I uh. I have to go. Work.”

She turns and walks out, leaving the broken plate on the floor and the distinct feeling that I’ve done something wrong. I just have no idea what.

PRESENT

I slam into the coaches’ office and glare at Marilyn. She looks completely unaffected by me, which just pisses me off.

“You don’t get to fuck with Vae.”

“Do you want to lose your spot on the team?” She asks with a cool authority that does nothing to quench my rage.

“I don’t give a damn if you boot me or bench me. You do not get to fuck with my Vae.”

“Your Vae?” Marilyn raises one cool eyebrow. “But she’s not yours, though, is she?”

I glance at our coach, who is watching me with his fingers locked together over his stomach.

“She is mine and always will be,” I snap back.

“Uh-huh. Listen carefully, Katz, Vae is a grown adult and can do whatever the hell she wants. If she wants to date Jansen, she can. If she wants to date the whole damn Iceberg wrestling team, she can do that, too.”

I open my mouth, but Marilyn stalks towards me, and I find myself backing up a step.

“Now, I would have thought someone who cared so much about their family would be happy to see them finding someone, not being so completely alone, being taken care of, especially after how much she’s done for you-”

“I am!”

“-unless.”

I glare at her, willing her to burst into flames and reveal the damn horns I know she has.

“Unless what?” I grind out.

“Unless you have feelings for her?”

“What? No! I love her, she’s family.”

Her expression hardens. “Then what does it matter if she goes on a date? Jansen is a respectable alpha, a man who works with charities and plans events. He can support her with her dream of opening a café, he will protect her from vicious rumours, he will help her be more. What more could you possibly ask for?”

I struggle to find something, anything. “He’s not right for her.”

“Oh, Katz, you’re grasping at straws. He’s perfect for her, and you know it. Now get out. I’ve got a phone call to make.”

“I’m not going to tolerate any more interference from you. If something else happens, I’m going to see to it that I make your life a personal hell.”

Marilyn whips around, her eyes blazing. “My life already is hell, but there’s plenty of room for two. Remember that, Deacon Katz. And maybe, while we’re here, let me give you a bit of advice, one alpha to another. Sometimes, being an adult is worth it. Sometimes, losing something we think is important is worth the gain. So, take a really long and hard look at yourself, your life, and your motivations, Katz, and consider what you could possibly gain and what you’re about to lose with this ridiculous childish behaviour. Grow up!”

Somehow, she’s walked me out of the office, and her last word on this scathing speech is to slam the door in my stunned face.

What…what just happened?

I don’t go home, and I don’t answer my phone. I end up at the park where I was found. Whoever didn’t love me enough to keep me left me in a car seat on the park bench in the middle of winter.

They never did find whoever it was. When I was growing up, I used to hope they would come find me, but then I reached a certain age, and I hated them.

Did I ever get past the hating them phase?