Chapter Thirty-Six Moving
HADLEY
I’m down at the rec rink, finishing up my last class for the day.
God, I love this place. I love the quiet independence of earning my own keep.
Of doing something purely because I chose it.
I’m out on the ice helping clear the cones after a youth clinic, my gloves damp and my cheeks flushed with cold, and I can’t remember being so happy as I am right now.
Not only because of this job, but because of Julian.
My mind flashes back to what we did at the arena yesterday.
The way he felt inside of me. No barrier between us.
Stretching me until I felt the sweetest ache…
My cheeks flush, and I shake my head. Gah, focus! The sooner I finish up here, the sooner I can text him and see if he’s up for a repeat performance tonight.
When I make my way back into the locker room area to change my clothes, I dig my phone out of my bag, intent on messaging Julian. My heart plummets straight through the floorboards when I see I have twelve missed calls…all from Dad.
A heavy, suffocating weight drops onto my chest. He knows my class schedules down to the exact minute, and only ever calls me when I’m done with classes for the day. He expects me to be tucked inside my apartment right now. Sitting at my desk, studying, and available to answer his phone calls.
My fingers tremble as I shove my sneakers on, not even bothering to properly tie the laces.
I don’t try to call him back. Some sickening intuition tells me that the time for phone calls has already passed.
I throw my duffel bag over my shoulder and practically sprint out to my car.
I don’t want to have this conversation in public.
I doubt it’ll go well. The drive back to my apartment passes in a blur.
The moment I unlock my front door and push it open, the air inside hits me like a solid brick wall. The apartment is thick with a terrifying tension.
He’s here.
Dad is sitting on my sofa. His posture rigid.
His hands resting on his knees. He’s wearing a tailored charcoal suit, looking like he came straight from his office.
His hair is slicked back. His face doesn’t have a hint of stubble.
He glances up as the door clicks shut. His dark eyes narrow when they land on me.
“Where have you been, Hadley?” His voice is low and measured.
A shiver runs down my spine. “I’ve been calling you for two hours.
I came to Denver for a conference, thought I’d surprise my daughter, and instead I find an empty apartment.
Your classes ended at noon. I called your Grandfather, and he had no idea. Where have you been?”
I swallow hard, my throat feeling dry as sandpaper. I grip the strap of my duffel bag until my knuckles are white. I can’t lie anymore. The walls are closing in, and the truth is the only way out.
“I was at the rink, Dad,” I say, trying to keep him from hearing the slight, nervous wobble in my voice.
His brow furrows. “The rink? What rink? Why on earth are you wasting studying hours at a rink?”
“It’s the rink at a local rec center, and I wasn’t wasting time,” I reply, forcing my shoulders back and my chin up. “I was working. I took a job there a few weeks ago. I tried to tell you about it.”
For a second, the silence is deafening as he stares at me.
Dad stands up from the couch and starts moving toward me. “A job? Why do you have a job when your sole focus is supposed to be school?”
Frustration flares within me. Why does he continuously underestimate me?
“I can do both!” I insist. “My grades are perfect, Dad. I haven’t missed a single lecture, and my prep scores are higher than they were last month. I just…I wanted something for myself. Something I actually enjoy. That keeps me busy. That I don't have to rely on you for.”
His jaw tightens. “Something you don’t have to rely on me for? Hadley, look around you.” He gestures around my apartment. “Who do you think pays the rent on this place? Who pays your tuition? Who is funding the very future you are currently trying to jeopardize for a minimum-wage hobby?”
“I appreciate everything you do, I really do,” I answer through gritted teeth, stepping closer. My eyes search his for even a fraction of understanding. “I just need a little bit of breathing room. I need to be a person outside of a classroom. Please, just listen to me…”
“No, you listen to me,” he growls. “You’ve been lying to me!
You told me you were going to focus on your studies.
You are too young to understand what you want long-term.
You’re letting yourself get distracted by the romanticized idea of independence.
You’re completely blind to the reality of what it takes to build a real career. This little stunt ends today.”
Something inside me snaps. The quiet, compliant girl who always bowed her head and accepted his lectures vanishes, replaced by a raw, white-hot spark of defiance.
I’ve spent the last few weeks watching the friends around me taking charge of their own lives.
Watching Julian face down his own demons.
I’m done being a passenger in my own life.
I am not a child anymore.
“No, it doesn’t end today,” I declare, my voice ringing out clearer and louder than it ever has before. I push back, hard. “I am twenty-one years old, Dad. You want to cut me off? Fine!”
Dad narrows his eyes at me.
“You wouldn’t make it a week,” he states flatly. “You rely on me for too much.”
The words seem to slice deep into my sternum, a physical ache that makes it hard to draw air. His roof.
“I’m doing what I want, and I’m done talking about this,” I whisper, tears burning hot behind my eyelids.
He blinks, clearly surprised.
“Excuse me?”
“I said … I’m done. I love you, but we’re not talking about this anymore.
” My voice shakes with a mix of fury and heartbreak.
Before he can say another word, I turn on my heel and storm down the short hallway into my bedroom.
I slam the door shut so hard the frame rattles, then lock it so he can’t follow me inside.
I press my back against the wood, sliding down until my knees touch my chest, burying my face in my hands. Outside, I hear the heavy thud of his loafers walking to the front door. He pauses, his voice muffled but crystal clear through the drywall.
“You’ll see I’m right when you finally grow up, Hadley.”
The front door opens and shuts hard.
Silence settles over the empty apartment like a suffocating blanket. The reality of what I just did crashes down on me in waves, and the tears spill over. I cry into my knees for what feels like hours, the raw hurt of his words echoing in the quiet spaces of my room.
When the crying finally tapers off into hollow, exhausted breaths, I reach for my phone. I speed-dial Lainey.
When she doesn’t pick up, I momentarily panic, but then remember she has a big exam today. Of course, her phone is probably off.
I’m not sure what else to do, so I go to dial Julian, but before I even bring his name up on the screen, another call comes in.
It’s Stacey.
“Oh, thank God,” I murmur, answering the call.
“Hadley! Hey, sweetie, how are you?”
“Hey, Stace,” I whisper, my voice cracking.
The line goes dead silent for a beat, then Stacey speaks in a concerned voice. “Hadley? What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
“No,” I choke out, a tear slipping down my cheek.
“My dad…he’s here in Denver. We just had a horrible fight.
He found out about the job at the rink and he…
” I swallow past the massive, aching lump in my throat.
“He told me I had to quit…that if I’m living under his roof, I have to follow his rules… ”
“Oh, hell no,” Stacey snaps, her usual gentle tone hardening into pure steel. “Hold on. Do not say another word. I am putting you on hold for three seconds, Hadley. Don't you dare hang up.”
The line clicks. True to her word, it’s not even a minute before my phone screen lights up, transforming into a massive group FaceTime.
One by one, the boxes pop up, revealing the girls.
Skyler is sitting at her work desk, wearing big gamer headphones with a mic next to her.
Grace is at her kitchen island with a cup of coffee.
Sutton is looking up from a stack of paperwork at her desk.
Rylee is on her couch, a giant bowl of popcorn in her lap.
“Okay, everyone is here,” Stacey declares, her face filling her frame as she looks at me with deep concern. “Hadley is on speaker. Hadley, honey, tell them what you were just telling me.”
I take a shaky breath, gripping the edge of my mattress as I recount the fight.
“He said what?” Skyler yells, her eyes flashing with pure fire through the screen. “Oh, absolutely not. I will personally go find this man and key his car!”
“He is completely out of line,” Sutton chimes in, her elegant features sharp with anger.
“Using financial control to dictate your autonomy is textbook manipulation. Trust me. Jayce and I have both been through similar experiences. Independence is the only way out. You cannot stay there, Hadley. It will stifle you.”
“Wait, wait, guys, hold on,” Grace cuts in, her calm, authoritative tone taking over the chaos.
She leans closer to her camera. “Hadley, babe, look at me. I know he’s your dad and you’re hurt.
This is hard, and he will always love you, but you have to prove to him you can do this on your own, because he’s clearly not listening.
Carson’s old apartment…the Night Hawks stopover place.
It’s still fully furnished, sitting completely empty. It’s yours. Move there.”
I blink. “Grace, I can’t just take Carson’s apartment. That’s too much. I can’t pay that kind of rent right now…”
“Did anybody ask you for rent?” Skyler interjects. “No! It’s sitting there catching dust. You are moving in. Period.”
“She’s right,” Stacey nods. “You need a space where he can’t hold a key over your head, Hadley. Take the apartment.”