Chapter 5
Addison
“You’ve been spending too much time in the house,” my mom declares as she struts her way into the kitchen.
I’m half dead, getting no sleep, too wound up wondering what the hell my life has become.
I blink my heavy eyes up at her, wishing she would just turn around and leave. “What?” I grumble.
How is she so put together? It’s hardly nine. I hate morning people.
She scowls at me. “In the house, Addison, keep up. You’ve been rotting in here all by yourself for weeks.”
And that's how I like it. She’s wrong though, I haven’t been stuck in the house, I’ve gone to the beach quite a bit to lay in the warm sun and swim. Letting the waves carry me away for a bit has been nice and relaxing. I’ve gotten a nice tan, too.
“And your point is?” I sigh, and take a sip of my coffee. It’s the only thing giving me life right now. Although as my mother speaks, I wish I slipped a shot of vodka in there.
“Do not take that tone with me, young lady,” she huffs.
“What do you want from me?” I’m too irritated to deal with her right now. Can’t a girl at least finish her coffee before being reminded how much of a disappointment their mother thinks they are? “I’ve been following your rules. I’ve goneon one or two more dates with that pack.”
“That pack is a well respected pack. You should be honored that they have asked for another date.”
“Another one?” My eyes bug out. “That’s three this week, they want a fourth?” Kill me, please. Can the world just open up and swallow me whole? If I have to sit through another dull dinner and listen to them drone on about their business, I’m going to stab myself with a fork.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for listening to a love interest’s passions and life, but shouldn’t they give me the same courtesy?
They hardly let me talk, and the one time I did, they inquired about my hobbies, asking if I liked to golf.
No, no I don’t like to golf; nor do I do yoga, nor pilates.
All of which they asked. When I told them what I do like, playing video games, they looked at me as if I was offending them.
They told me video games were for children.
That shut me up. I spent the rest of the night scrolling on my phone until they got angry with me.
So I forced myself to listen, all while imagining taking the steak knife and stabbing them in the hand with it.
You know the situation is bad when I’m thinking about murder. I’m not a violent person, I apologize to furniture when I bump into it for fuck’s sak. But these men, these Alphas? God, I dislike them with a passion.
So why the hell do they keep asking for another date!? There has to be something going on. Did my mom make some kind of deal with them? Is she in some way selling me to this pack? Some kind of arranged marriage or something?
I sure as fuck hope not, because there’s no way in hell that will be happening. Over my dead body.
“Believe it or not, they do. Why? I have no idea.” She waves her hand.
“The point is, they do. I think this pack is great for you. There is a gala in Los Angeles this weekend. I’ve cancelled your date with the other pack I had lined up for you.
Instead, you will attend the gala with the Bancroft pack, as their date. ”
“No. I won’t.” My cup makes a loud sound when I place it down on the table a little too roughly.
“You said you would be setting me up with packs. Plural. You said I’d have a choice in which pack I pick from the ones you set me up with.
You’re not giving me that choice, you’ve just decided this pack was best for me.
News flash, Mom, they’re not. They’re boring and self-centered.
They don’t care about anyone but themselves.
I want to meet with the other packs for more choices because I can tell you, this pack will not be the one I pick. "
“Plans change, Addison,” she states, glaring at me. The look tells me she’s not going to budge on this. It fills me with dread, causing a spike of panic. “What is the point of meeting with other packs, when this one has asked my permission to court you?”
My eyes practically pop out of my head. “W-what?” I splutter. “What do you mean asked your permission? What about me? Does what I want matter?”
“Not when it comes to a pack who is willing to give you everything, Addison. Grow the fuck up. They will take care of you, giving you everything you could ever want. Stop being so stubborn. If you put up a fight with me on this, you can pack your bags and get the hell out of my house tonight,” she shouts, then turns on her heels and storms away.
My chest is heaving, tears prickling the back of my eyes. She can’t do this! She can’t fucking do this.
“Fuck!” I grab at my hair, trying to hold myself together.
“Hey.” Elliot’s soft voice has me looking up.
My lower lip wobbles and I’m out of my seat before I even know what I’m doing. I throw my arms around his waist, bury my face against him, and squeeze tightly.
He hugs me back, a large hand gently rubbing up and down my back. “I hate her,” I sob. “I hate her so much. How are you with that witch?”
He doesn’t say anything, just holds me, being there for me. Why couldn’t he have adopted me? Then he would have been my dad.
Speaking of dads. As much as I want to stay in the US, I’m thinking it might be time to call my dad up and ask him to help me get the hell out of here.
He’s been asking me to move to Australia for years since I was no longer under my mother’s care. Back then the idea terrified me. It would have been such a big change and I was still finding my way in the world.
Maybe now it’s time that I leave. I’m sure I’ll see Cae again. We text all the time and I’ll come back to visit.
“What are you up to tonight?” Elliot asks.
I was going to stream tonight, but I’m just not in a good mood. I’d have to fake it, and even then I’m not sure I'd be able to pull it off.
“Why?”
“Why don’t you come to the game tonight? I’ll get you front row seats.” He winks, a smile forming on his lips.
He’s a good looking man. An older version of his son.
Come to think of it, I’ve never attended one of Damien’s KP games. The last time I saw him play would probably have been high school.
“Okay,” I agree. Because, why not?
His grin grows. “I’m leaving here around four, is that too early for you? You’re welcome to hang around the arena. There’s also some shops around the place that could keep you busy.” He reaches into his pocket. “I’ve been meaning to give you this.” He hands me a black card.
I blink at it in confusion. Taking it in my hand, I realize that it’s a credit card. “What?” I whisper, looking up at him with big eyes.
“So you don’t have to ask your mother for money. Use it for whatever you want Addie, don’t worry about the price.”
Tears sting the back of my eyes, emotion clogging up my throat. “I don’t understand.”
“I don’t agree with some of the things your mother does, but I have to pick my battles. It might not seem like I’m always on your side, but I am.” He kisses the top of my head and walks away. “See you tonight, Addie.”
I stand there, dumbfounded. Did he really just give me a credit card with no limit?
I’m about to cry in relief. I’ve been pretty much starving myself because I didn’t want to use too much of the money that I’ve been making, knowing it would set me back from my goal. Now, I can eat without my mother bitching at me for eating all their food and not paying for any of it.
Despite the morning encounter with my mother, I’m in better spirits for the rest of the day. I avoid her like the plague, streaming earlier than normal, not wanting to waste time when I don’t really have much of it.
When it gets close to the time to leave, I shower and change. Not wanting to draw too much attention because this is my stepdad’s and stepbrother’s place of work, I try to go for something more subtle than my typical style.
What does one wear to a hockey game anyway?
I decide on pastel pink jeans and a pink tube top. I leave my makeup light, still keeping to my signature baby pink eye shadow and lip gloss. My hair is curled but I put two cute small messy buns on the top of my head.
I finish it off with a white and pink letterman jacket that says Pink Princess on the back, and a pair of pink sneakers.
Okay, so it looks like a bottle of Pepto-Bismol threw up on me, but that doesn’t change the fact that I look cute as fuck.
Happy with my outfit, I grab my purse and phone, before heading downstairs to meet Elliot.
“Hey.” I smile. “Ready to go? Hope you weren’t waiting too long for me?”
He chuckles. “You look beautiful,” he says and god, it makes me love the man even more. Best stepdad ever. If my mother saw me in this, she would have said I looked tacky and told me to go change.
“Thank you,” I say, looking around. “Is Damien coming with us?”
“He’s out with some friends. He’ll meet me there before the game.”
I nod, not knowing what to say, or why I asked, and follow him to the car.
The ride is quiet, but comfortable. He lets me control the radio. I go easy on the guy and decide on music that wouldn’t cause him to do a double take. It’s okay, Ashnikko isn’t for everyone.
When we get there, Elliot gets me set up with a VIP badge, and I can’t help but feel excited.
It’s not that I’ve never been to a hockey game before, it’s just that I never felt welcome at any of Damien’s games after we started to drift apart.
I can’t wait to go to my first KP game.
Elliot stays, but I decide to go for a walk, checking out the shops nearby. I mostly just browse, but there are a few things I can’t leave without.
Before I know it, it’s almost time for the game to start. I speed walk back, cursing myself for not paying attention to the time.
I didn’t get a chance to grab something to eat, so once I’m inside, I beeline for the concession stand. A nice hot dog and soda sounds good.