Chapter Twenty Seven
CARTER
I’m home.
Passing by the large, wooden road sign that reads “Welcome to Ivy Glen” makes my heart feel ten times lighter. Being in the same town as Sophie again settles something within me.
As much as I missed her while I was gone, the team building camp had been amazing. My muscles ached every grueling day, but for the first time in my life, I played without Dad’s shadow looming over me. I had almost forgotten how much I love the sport. Jake and I meshed instantly with the rest of the team, and I’d be lying if I said playing for the fucking Boston Reapers didn’t make me want to do a damn cartwheel.
Despite how great the last six weeks went, there’s been an undercurrent of worry about how Sophie and I left things. I agreed to give her space, and didn’t push after she ignored my texts for two weeks.
That ends now.
I need her more than I need to breathe. There’s not a world that exists where Sophie and I aren’t together. I refuse to let it be that way for another second.
As soon as I can hold her, kiss her, and make her understand she is the only one for me, everything will be right again.
Now that I know how hard it is to be apart from her, there’s no question how tough it will be when I’m on the road during away games. But that just means that I’ll have to make every second we are together count.
Mom’s house is on the way to Sophie’s, so I’ll just drive by really quick and make sure everything is in order since Mom’s on her trip and I’ve been gone a while. Then I can go surprise my girl. The things I want to do to her…
My mind is consumed by images of Sophie naked on a bed and waiting for me, but the sight of a beat up truck in the driveway, dented and scratched to hell jolts me out of my fantasy, sending a chill to my bones. A man tries to get into the front door of Mom’s house, my childhood home.
What the fuck is he doing? Who is that asshole?
The man walks to a window, fogging up the glass as he peers inside the house. I’m just about to grab my phone and call the cops, when he turns around and I see the ugly sneer on his face, jolting with horrified recognition.
Dad.
His hair is grayer than when I last saw him, not to mention how much less of it there is. A beer-belly pokes out slightly from under his shirt, and his jeans have rips and stains.
Fuck.
Fuck fuck fuck .
My foot does not let off the gas as I pass the house, and I pull to the end of the street before flipping around and parking a few houses down on the other side of the road.
And just like that, I’m fifteen again, hyperventilating because Dad is going to be so mad when he sees me, and how we changed the house. He’s going to take it out on Mom, and it’s going to be all my fault.
Dammit. No. I need to get my shit together.
I’m not fifteen anymore, and he can’t do anything to me. He can yell and sputter all he wants, but I’m a grown-ass man. Mom is away, safe from his wrath. But when she gets back… I swallow roughly. When she gets back, the stakes will change.
What the hell is he doing back in town anyway? He was gone. Not a peep from him in over a year and now he shows up back home? I thought… shit. It had crossed my mind more than once that he might be dead.
Or in jail.
I nearly bang my head on the steering wheel in frustration. It was so stupid to assume that just because I hadn’t heard from him, he was gone. Thank fuck I sent Mom on that retreat and changed the locks, otherwise she might have had to deal with him. Shit. Mom. She gets back tomorrow. If he had come a day or two later, she would have had to see him again.
I’ve never been more thankful for the security windows I had installed than when I watch Dad try to pry the windows open. What the fuck should I do? Before I can spiral further, he finally gets into the beat up truck he’s parked in the driveway and drives away.
I put my car back into drive and follow him. This is probably a terrible decision, but I need to see what he’s up to. Maybe I’ll get an idea of why he’s back in town. The sooner I know why, the sooner I can figure out how to get rid of him.
Not knowing what else to do, I hit the button on my steering wheel to call Jake.
“Miss me already, hotshot?” Jake teases as his voice fills my car. “I know you love me, but don’t be getting clingy?—”
“Dude, shut up. I…” My heart pounds in my chest. I can’t get the words out. Like if I say them out loud, it’ll be even more real than it is already.
“Woah, Carter, what’s wrong?” Jake’s tone shifts instantly, concern filling his voice.
“My… fuck. My dad’s here.” I spit the words out, bitterness stinging my throat.
“What? I thought you said he was gone. Never coming back.”
“That’s what I fucking thought!” God damnit. This wasn’t supposed to happen.
“Right, okay, chill out. I know you weren’t expecting him to come back, but nothing is going to get fixed if you lose it.” Jake may not take much of life seriously, but he knows what my dad is capable of. I only started confiding in him after we were both in college, but it didn’t take long to catch him up.
A sigh leaves me. He’s right, I need to get it together. “Shit, I’m sorry. I’m just freaking out over here. Whatever this is, it can’t be good.”
“No kidding. Are you going to talk to him?”
“I’m following him right now. We just got off the highway and we’re on the outskirts of Willow Creek.” Jake curses under his breath. “I can’t let him near my mom. Fuck , I can’t let him near Sophie. I swear, if he gets anywhere near her…”
“What are you going to do?”
“Fuck if I know. There’s no way I’m letting him get his hooks back into me. I can’t leave Mom here, he could get to her at any time.” He already proved that much by trying to get into the house.
“Do you need me to stay in town until we figure out what’s going on? I could help keep an eye on things.” Jake’s always been a great friend, offering to come and stay with me over holiday breaks to keep my dad off my back. He had wanted to go back to Canada as soon as possible and pack up his apartment before the season started. I need to as well, but I need to get things sorted out with Sophie first.
It wouldn’t hurt to have an extra set of eyes looking out for Mom. “Maybe. I’ll let you know. He just stopped at some shady-ass motel. I gotta go.”
“Drop me your location and send me a proof-of-life text when you’re done.”
His words get a strangled laugh out of me. “Yeah, yeah.”
The long, single-story building looks like it hasn’t been repaired in the last twenty years. A half-burnt out sign reads “Willow Motel”, most of the letters flicker like they might go out at any moment.
Is this where he’s staying? Years ago, Dad wouldn’t have been caught dead in a place like this. But now, his thinning gray head of hair disappears into one of the rooms, the curtains drawn tight.
How did he even know I was back in town? Is he even here for me?
I pull my car off the side of the road and let my head fall back against the seat. Shit. This is not good.
What the fuck am I going to do? What does he want? If he wants more money, he has my number. Why did he have to show up here? Should I send Mom away or take her and run?
We could go to Boston, and I could still honor my new team's contract. But if I’m on the team there, the chances of Dad finding us again are too high. My name would be plastered on every bit of news related to the team, not to mention press conferences after. I’d have to pay to break my contract and move to a completely different state. Maybe California or something. Mom’s always talked about going to the beach there someday. We’ll put everything under an alias and he’ll never be able to find us again.
The thought of reneging on my contract and giving up hockey to move across the country makes my stomach sour… but for Mom? I would do anything to keep her safe, even if that means giving up the sport that I love.
Shit, what about Sophie? I would rather die than leave her again, but I have to think of her safety. Maybe I can ask her to come with us. No. I would never ask her to leave her family behind for a life on the run.
If I know dad, this isn’t a one time thing. He’ll keep coming, keep being a threat. I can’t stay with her, but I can’t let anything happen to her either. Dad may have been all threats ten years ago, but who knows what he would do now? The thought sends fire through my veins, anger lighting me up from the inside.
No.
He won’t be touching Sophie, Mom, or me, ever again. I’ll make damn sure of it.
Swallowing, I put the car in drive and turn around, heading back towards home. It’s getting dark, and I need to talk to Sophie. She’ll be done at the flower shop soon, and she needs to know why I’m leaving.
At least this time, we’ll have a chance to say goodbye.