Chapter 22
When I’m sitting in the middle of class, my ass starts vibrating. I grab my phone to see my mom is calling me. I open our text messages to tell her I can’t talk.
Matt: Hey mom. I’m in class
Mom: Sorry! I was calling to check in with you. How’s everything?
Matt: Good. How about you?
Mom: Busy with planning. Are you excited for this weekend?
I stare at my phone, trying to concentrate on what the professor is saying while trying to decode what my mom is trying to get at.
Matt: Yeah I’m happy for you mom
Mom: Okay. Sometimes I feel like I just jump into things and wanted your opinion
Matt: You wouldn’t be you if you didn’t jump into things
Mom: When you were like six years old, you used to call me a romancer
Matt: Haha you still are
Mom: I’m happy to have you by my side, son. You and me against the world always
Matt: Love you. I need to pay attention in class
Mom: Okay. I’ll see you this weekend. Wear white. Love you
I close my apps and tap my pen on the notebook. Shit. I lean back and think about this weekend. I have to prep Amber. I can’t just tell her it’s a stupid thing anymore.
When class ends, I walk to the skating rink.
I catch a glimpse of Grey and Maddie holding hands.
It’s surprising to see him with a girlfriend.
It seems legit now that all this time has passed and they’re still all over each other.
They’re kissing before the hallway to the locker room, so I mutter, “Get a room.”
I step into the hallway and pull out my phone.
Those two should be thanking Michelle for putting them together.
Hell, maybe I should be thanking Michelle for pushing me and Amber closer too.
I look at Michelle’s last text message about wanting to talk.
I left her on read. I’m relieved she’s leaving me alone.
“Matt!” Dylan harps. “So, we need to go viral again, brother. Ready to make some content?”
I think about all the comments from last night. It’s stupid, but the mini ego boost and the commenting back to fans is fun. Before I got with Maddie, I didn’t mind making content. Time to be myself again.
“Yeah, let’s do it.”
“Okay,” Dylan shouts. “Is everyone wearing clothes?” He glances around the locker room. “You’re doing the opening line.”
I shake my head at Dylan. I lean in. “You trying to score with the social media manager?”
He pushes my head away. “Get your pretty face ready to sing.”
“Sing? I don’t want to do that.”
“You’re gonna do that because it helps the team.”
He plays the song he wants us to sing.
“Hell no,” I shout as the rest of the team scoffs with their own bitchy retorts. I’m not fucking singing Tick Tock by Ke$ha.
“Jesus Christ, dude,” I mutter. “You won’t catch me doing this shit. I have a better idea. Use the damn song, but don’t make us lip-sync it. Instead, we’ll all just rizz the camera. Sound better, boys?”
Dylan is scoffing.
I grab his shoulder. “Have you seen the comments of guys who lip-sync together? It’s not a good look for us. We can still get a good video. Good enough to get you laid, brother. Don’t worry.”
Harvey laughs, grabbing Dylan’s other shoulder.
“I think this is half about getting laid and half about the comment section.”
Crew walks over and says, “There’s nothing wrong with an ego boost.” He smacks Dylan’s chest. “Start the video with Grey’s face.”
Grey scoffs. “Fuck you guys. You’ll have to drug me to get my face on TikTok.”
Dylan looks at Crew. “We need consent.”
Crew laughs, eyeing down Grey. He must be in close proximity with Grey because he lives with Maddie.
“Ace? Knox?” Crew calls out.
“Whatever,” Ace says.
“Fuck it,” Knox says.
I point at Ace. “He’s got a pretty face. Start with him.”
Dylan says, “But you’re the star of the account.”
That makes me laugh. “Fucking give somebody else a time to shine.”
Dylan shakes his head. “I bet the fans are still going to be asking for you.”
Dylan walks over to Ace and Knox and starts coaching them on what to do. Dylan starts filming them and then he comes over to me.
“Your turn.”
I already know the drill, so I stand tall and tilt my head back just a little. I’m taller than Dylan, so I’m giving the illusion that I’m looking down at the camera. I’m scowling as I wipe my lip.
Dylan laughs, keeping the video on. “You bastard! That’s why the girls go crazy over you. Look at this shit.”
He watches it back with his hyena laugh as I head to my locker.
“If you got it, flaunt it.” I laugh.
Dylan is laughing his head off at my on-camera seduction. Yeah, he’s definitely doing it for his ego. He asks Crew to film him next, and then he videotapes Harvey and Crew and then Thatcher and Gorki.
When we step onto the ice, Dylan is filming with his damn phone. And he’s recruited Harvey to join in. I glide past them as Dylan calls out, “There he is. Look at those buns, ladies.”
I flip him off as he laughs. Practice starts off smoothly.
Everything I needed to improve on is being smashed.
I’m killing it. Reverting back to my pre-Maddie-drama ways is all the ego boost I need.
Now I just have to get through this elopement bullshit with my mom, and hopefully, I can have a mental offload by having Amber there. Two birds, one stone.
By the time practice ends, Harvey asks if I want to stay behind to run some drills. He wants to improve on his slapshot, so I agree.
“Room for one more?” Grey asks, ignoring me.
Harv and Crew glance at me.
Dylan shrugs. “If you wanna be a part of the videos, then yeah.”
Grey says, “I’ll just be in the background.”
He skates past me as I hold my head up high. Pretending he’s not around is something I’m used to doing, so this shouldn’t be any different.
We line up in a single file line as each of us practices our slapshot across the rink. We’re hollering advice to each other when Grey waits behind me.
“Mom and dad finally finalized the divorce, so there should be no more catching them fucking,” Grey says.
I turn around to glance at him. “What?”
“Yeah, they won’t be fooling around anymore.”
“No,” I halt, facing him. “What the hell did you just say?”
“Watch your fucking tone, Matt.”
I shake my head, leaning in closer to him. “No, did you just say that they’re still married?”
Realization dawns on his face. “Shit, you didn’t know?”
“Matt, it’s your turn,” Harvey hollers.
“I’m fucking talking,” I call out. “How long have you known?”
“What? I’ve known since the beginning. They couldn’t come to an agreement. Your mom’s trying to take all kinds of shit from my dad. They had lawyers and all.”
I wipe my face, tasting the betrayal in my mouth. “When did it get finalized?”
“Fuck, I don’t know.”
I mutter, “Well, fucking think.”
Grey’s watching me closely. “Maybe two days ago.”
“Two days ago?” I shout.
I step closer, knowing that if he says anything out of line, I’m allowed to keep him in check. But a big part of me knows that it’s not Grey who deserves my shitty attitude. But I’m pissed off he knows more about my mom’s business than me. Especially when all he ever calls me is a mommy’s boy.
I shake my head. “What did she get from your dad?”
“Not much. I think like twenty grand.”
I take a step back, blowing out hot air.
“Do you know she’s getting married?” he asks.
Now my eyes flick to his. I didn’t know her elopement was a public announcement.
That gives away my answer. After everything, Grey and I know each other pretty well.
It doesn’t matter how much I dislike the guy, living with someone for years means you tend to know their many expressions and what makes them tick.
“Yeah,” Grey says. “She knows how to find them.”
I step closer to his face. “If you want to talk shit about my mom–”
“Whoa, guys,” Crew says, skating over and pushing me back. “If this about Maddie–”
“It’s not about Maddie,” I scoff. I point at Grey. “You may have never liked my mom, but she was there for you just like your dad was there for me, so some fucking respect would be nice.”
Grey glares at me. “You know she’s getting married then?”
“Yeah, of course I know.”
“But you don’t know about the other shit,” he asks.
I death glare him and shake my head. “No. I didn’t know your dad had anything to take.”
Grey laughs. He sticks out his hand. “No longer stepbrothers, motherfucker.”
I stare at his hand for a long moment and then I take it. “It was a fun run, brother. Glad it’s over.”
Grey scoffs, relieved. “I’m fucking cutting you in line to get my slapshot in first.”
I shake my head. “Fuck you, you’re not. I need to blow off some steam.”
The guys are looking back and forth at us, waiting for a fight to break out.
Grey stops and says, “Fuck you too. Fine, go ahead, hockey prince.”
That’s a nickname my mom used to call me, so I say, “Kiss my fucking ass, Grey.”
I get myself in the correct position, pissed off that my mom didn’t tell me about the divorce not being finalized.
I know exactly what she’s going to say too.
She’s going to play it off like they were mentally divorced, so it doesn’t matter if the courts take a while after to finalize it.
I grip the hockey stick harder and take a hard swing.
A swing hard enough for me to feel the muscles in my shoulders pull. I send the puck flying across the rink.
I turn around, glancing at Grey. “Bet you can’t fucking beat that.” Then I glance around at all the guys. “I dare any of you to do what I just did.”
Harvey grabs my shoulders. “Angry Matt always gives a mad slapshot.”
“Yeah, well, your mom is probably too nice to you.”
Harvey playfully scoffs. “Don’t talk about my mom.”
Dylan jokes, “Mommy issues?”
I point at him. “Don’t post shit about my mom.”
He puts his hands up in surrender. “Only kidding.”
Grey does his slapshot and it doesn’t meet mine. I hear clapping from the stands. When I turn to look at the noise, I see Maddie at the glass. I inhale, glad she’s not clapping for me.
“I’m heading out,” I call out. I look over at Crew and mention, “And it has nothing to do with Maddie.” I point in her direction and then lock eyes with her. Now this is just awkward. All the feelings I once had for her are completely gone.
When I’m walking into my house, Christian isn’t playing video games.
Zack isn’t in the kitchen. Alex is probably in his bedroom.
It’s quiet in the house for once. I take a quick shower and then get started on my homework.
I have a paper due and I need to study all the muscle fiber groups, their functions, and exact locations.
It’s still daylight out, so I don’t call Amber until I’m a few hours deep into studying and need a break.
I press a few buttons until I see my face on the screen, and now I’m trying to find my best angle. It rings once. Twice. I’m starting to wonder if she’s going to ignore me, and then she picks up on the third ring.
“You’re calling a bit early,” she says with her phone in her palm.
“Is it a bad time?” I ask.
She looks into the phone and shakes her head. “No, but I need to grab something. I’ll be right back.”
She disappears, leaving me with a view of the ceiling. I set my phone up against the pen holder and lean back in my chair, staring at the labels of muscle fibers.
“Okay,” she says, putting the phone where I can see her taking a seat at her desk. She’s opening her laptop when I lean into the phone. I put my eye in front of the camera as she laughs.
“Hi,” she says sarcastically.
“Hi, Amber. How was your day?” I ask, leaning back enough for her to only see my face.
“My day has been hectic with work. How was yours?”
“It’s better now.”
She pauses at the sound of that, glancing at me. “Whatever it is, I know you’ll have no problem facing it.”
I nod, happy that someone has trust in me. I watch as she sets up her paperwork. I finally lean back and play with the pen in my hand.
“So,” I trail off. “The dumb thing is happening this weekend.”
“This weekend?” she echoes.
“Yeah. You can stay the night, right?”
Her laugh bubbles in her chest. “You want me to spend the night with you?”
I shrug. “You don’t have to, but it’ll give you the full experience.”
She nods. “The full Matthew Pearson experience?”
I click my iPad shut and say, “Like I said, it’s dumb. You don’t even have to come. It’s that dumb.”
She’s watching me on the screen. “I said I’m going to come, so I’ll be there. I can stay overnight too as long as you promise not to murder me.”
I glance at her, not in the mood for jokes. “Right.”
“But first,” she says. “You have to tell me what it is.”
I chuckle. “If I tell you, you might change your mind.”
“Matt, I don’t like surprises unless it’s Christmas morning.”
“Noted.” I scratch my face, suddenly afraid to tell her the truth. I’m stalling by looking at nothing. My sight is fuzzy. I know I have to say it. “Yeah, so my mom is getting married.”
“What?” she says. “It’s your mom’s wedding?”
“It’s not like a wedding. It’s an elopement, and I didn’t tell her about my break up, so she’s expecting me to bring my girlfriend.”
She’s blinking as she looks around.
I mutter the best part of it all, “So, I need you to pretend to be my girlfriend.”