63. Kendall
Kendall
The night kind of fell apart after the fight between Jax and Trent.
I don’t even know that I would call it a fight.
Jax got two good shots in before Kai, Jonah, and their other teammates were on him trying to break it up.
Not to mention, Trent was way too drunk to defend himself.
Even if he wasn’t, Jax would have still beat the shit out of him.
There’s a reason he’s the Bucks best defenseman.
Given that the Boston Bucks are a high-profile NHL team, constantly in the public eye, it wouldn’t have been wise for Jax to continue pummeling him.
A fact Jonah reminded him of after he sunk a right hook to Trent’s face.
As far as I’m concerned, Trent got a much needed ass kicking and Jax did everyone else a public service.
But really, it’s not my opinion that matters, it’s Emma’s and I feel terrible for putting her in this position.
Apparently, Trent, the walking red flag that he is, was stalking Emma’s Instagram stories even though she blocked him on all of her social media platforms. He saw that we were at the Bucks game and snippets from the beginning of the night at La Vela.
Then the drunk angry idiot decided to come confront her.
Maybe Jax’ presence will deter him from doing it again, maybe it will add fuel to the fire.
I have a dreadful sinking feeling—like lead attached to my feet—that Trent is not easily deterred. Not when it comes to Emma.
Emma is sitting at the kitchen table, a glass of water clutched in her hand.
Her eyes are a little red and swollen from crying.
I insisted she stay at my apartment with Kai, Akio, and me, given how shaken up she is.
I definitely don’t want her driving to see Maddox alone.
She fights me on it before calling her mom to tell her she will stop by to pick up Maddox in the morning.
Based on her mom’s reaction, this isn’t the first time something like this has happened.
And my intuition tells me he’s done much worse than this before. I don’t have to ask.
“Are you okay?” I finally whisper as I settle down in the seat across from her.
I’ve never been in a situation like this and I don’t know what else to say.
There’s no handbook for when your best friend gets harassed by her abusive ex-husband, while on a date with someone you set her up with. But I really wish there was.
“Not really,” she replies. “I haven’t felt like that in a long time.” She pauses. “Scared of him, scared for myself and the people around me. I’m so fucking embarrassed that you had to see that. That Jax had to deal with that,” she admits wearily.
“Em, why are you embarrassed? You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“I’m ashamed that I let him treat me like that for so long.
That I let it go on for years and that tonight, other people witnessed it.
” Her head is in her hands now. “I spent so long trying to get out from under his grip, his drinking, his mistakes. And things were better for a while. But somehow, I ended up right back here with him breaking me down and me letting him.”
“Em, I don’t think you are repeating cycles or patterns. I think Trent is a psychotic asshole who showed up unannounced, cornered you, and preyed on the fact that you’d be in public.”
“Yeah, I guess,” she murmurs, biting her lip. “Trent may be a dick but he’s not stupid. Well, not entirely,” she observes, looking down at her hands.
“I don’t want to pry but is there more to this than you’re telling me?” I hedge. “Because all of this kind of seems like Trent’s fault.”
She blows out a long breath and doesn’t answer me for a few moments.
“I’ve blocked him, his phone number. He doesn’t have access to my social media accounts or at least he shouldn’t.
But sometimes he tries to contact me on burner phones.
And I just wanted to have one fucking night to myself, to have fun,” she sighs.
“And unfortunately with Trent, it’s easier on everyone involved to respond to him, pacify him.
Rather than ignore him. I thought if I gave him a few updates about Maddox, he would leave me alone.
But instead, he showed up at La Vela. I’m really sorry, Ken. ”
“Please don’t apologize. I still don’t think you did anything wrong. I thought you were going to be pissed at me because of Jax. I also hate that you were going through this alone for so long. I’m here for whatever you guys need, you know that, right?”
“Of course I do. Wait, what do you mean? Why would I be pissed at you because of Jax?”
“I don’t know, maybe if I hadn't set you guys up none of this would have happened.”
“Trust me, Ken. It would have sooner or later. I can’t escape him forever.
I just need to figure out how to deal with him better without him becoming a petulant, angry, manchild.
And honestly, the fact that Jax stood up for me, having only known me for two hours was kind of hot. It only made me like him more.”
“So, what you’re saying is thank you Kendall, you are an expert matchmaker?” I joke, trying to bring some levity to the conversation.
“You’re pushing it, Ken,” she laughs. I get up and move to her side of the table and wrap her in a bear hug, my chin resting on top of her dirty blonde hair.
I squeeze her small frame tightly, hoping she can feel how much I love and care about her.
Sometimes people come into our lives that we wish we had met much sooner.
So we could spend more time with them, know them longer. Emma is one of those people.
“Fuck Trent,” I whisper and kiss the top of her head. “You deserve so much better. You deserve every good thing that is coming to you.”
“Yeah, you’re right. Fuck him,” she replies.