Page 59 of Unwritten Rules (The Sunburnt Hearts #1)

Not waiting for his response, I toss my gym bag on the ground beside the black leather lounge and walk through the open plan living space to the kitchen.

I flick the dark grey cabinet open and reach for the scotch bottle.

Dad’s presence on the other side of the granite kitchen island looms, but I barely register it as I reach into another cupboard and pull out a crystal glass. Only the best for a fine scotch.

“Sin, are you serious?” Dad demands, gesturing to the scotch flowing from the bottle, half filling the glass. “Is that wise?”

I shrug and take a long sip. The liquid burns as it slips down my throat, but I welcome the pain.

It’s exactly what I need to relax my tense muscles and soothe the ache burning in my chest. I don’t give a shit if my father disapproves of me drinking.

I’ll add it to the long list of things he is already disappointed in me about.

I lean against the counter behind me, swirling the amber liquid around the glass. “What do you want, Dad?”

He’s dressed in another one of his many expensive suits, likely having just got done with commentating for a game and following it up with punter recaps and interviews afterwards.

His hair is well-kept, along with the black leather shoes without a single mark on them.

But despite his professional exterior, the anger swirling in his eyes doesn’t go unnoticed by me.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

Here comes round two for the night.

“Tell me why I got a call from Phil tonight telling me you have been sleeping with his daughter behind his back for a month when he gave you and the rest of the team strict instructions to stay away from her.”

There it is. The same disapproving look I have seen far too many times to count.

It hasn’t changed from when I was ten and didn’t get my pen license in primary school with the rest of my class, when I was sixteen and got the lowest mark in my maths class, or when I was twenty-two and got my first sin bin for a high tackle. Nothing has changed.

No matter what I do, my father will find a way to be disappointed in me.

“It’s none of your business,” I bite out, jaw clenching.

“But it is,” Dad retorts hotly, the vein at the base of his throat throbbing. “You were seconds away from losing everything you worked so hard for all because of a girl. Phil could’ve ripped the new contract you’re gunning for at the end of the season from under your feet. What were you thinking?”

“It doesn’t matter what I was thinking,” I snap, heat sizzling in my veins, “because she’s gone now.”

God, it fucking hurts to say it out loud .

Dad runs a hand over his gelled hair, pacing in front of the island. It’s not often I see him lose his cool like this, which means we could be heading for an all-out war. It’s been brewing for months now, so there’s no time like the present to lay it all on the line.

I have nothing else left to lose.

“I can’t believe you would do something so reckless, Sin,” Dad bites out, tone disapproving. “You need to focus on your career and not someone you can get a quick fuck from. Rugby is the most important thing in your life, and if you’re not careful, you’re going to piss it all away.”

Heat burns my skin along with white-hot rage. My fingers tighten around the glass as I bring it to my lips, sculling every last drop. My throat burns, but I welcome the pain. Every inch of my body vibrates as the last of my self-control dissipates at my fingertips.

My fingers curl around the edge of the counter, eyes locking with my father’s.

“Just like how you pissed away your career with an injury?” I mock, arching a brow at him. “And now you’re projecting your failed career onto me by trying to live out your glory days.”

His body stills, eyelids fluttering as my words sink in. It’s like watching a deer in headlights try to figure out what the fuck just happened, all before they freak out and go fucking crazy.

“What did you just say to me?” Dad’s voice is low, menacing even. But it does little to faze me.

“I told you what I’ve been too afraid to admit for years.

” I push off the counter and stalk toward the island.

I’m walking into the lion’s den, ready to fight with my bare fists, and I could care less how much carnage is caused.

“I’ve never been good enough for you because you’re jealous you’re not me . ”

“Sinnett!” he roars, chest heaving and eyes wild. “How dare you speak to me like that!”

“What? The truth?” I chuckle but it holds no humour.

“You will never admit that you pushed rugby onto me because you wanted to have a career through me, not because you wanted me to love the sport. Your injury ended your life early, so to compensate for all of the goals you wanted to achieve but never could, you figured you would do it through me. But nothing I did to get to where I am was ever good enough for you because I didn’t do it the way you wanted.

” I shake my head, jaw ticking. “It took me far too long to realise it.”

“That’s enough, Sin,” Dad snaps, slamming his hands down on the island. The contact doesn’t make me flinch. “You don’t know everything I’ve been through since that injury, and the pain I still deal with to this day.”

“I understand you have your own shit to deal with, but so do I,” I retort hotly.

“I spent years trying to make you proud of me and all I got in return was mildly displeased looks and minimal support when I needed you the most. Now I know it’s because you’re jealous you never got to finish out your career while I’m at the height of mine.

It pains you to see me succeed because you wish it were you instead. ”

“Sin…”

“No!” I shove my hands through my hair, ignoring the bite of pain from my busted knuckles.

“I’m tired of being the family disappointment in your eyes when all I’ve ever done is my best. It’s just one thing after the other and I’m fucking sick of it.

I can’t do it. I can’t do this career for the both of us anymore. ”

Dad’s face falls at my words, shoulders slumping forward. “Sin, I’m sorry if I made you feel that way, but…”

“I don’t want to hear it,” I interject, deflating with exhaustion. “Just get out.”

His jaw ticks as she shoves his hands into the pockets of his dress pants. “Sin, come on. Let’s talk about this.”

“I’m done talking.”

I turn my back to him and reach for the bottle of scotch, mostly as a distraction for my hands and because my body is fucking craving a hit of something to take the edge off.

“Sinnett…”

When I don’t respond, focusing instead on the amber liquid filling the glass, Dad takes my silence as a hint and leaves the apartment quietly, the front door locking in place behind him.

The breath I had been holding releases in a rush, and my hands flatten on the counter, head dropping between my shoulders.

How has my life become such a fucking mess in one day?

Twenty-four hours ago, I was sitting on the beach with Tatum by my side, watching the sunset. The happiness I felt in that moment, coupled with my growing feelings for her, had me contemplating risking everything just so I could make her mine.

And now I have nothing. Tatum walked out of my life, my head coach can’t stand to look at me, and now I’ve gone and fucked my already strained relationship with my father.

Hitting rock bottom is fucking painful.