Page 87 of Puck Lust

carter

“What happened to Jack?”Mom asks, scooping scrambled eggs out of the large frying pan. “I saw him go out the front door a little while ago with his bag.”

“He left,” I say, grabbing a mug from the cabinet. I fill it with steaming coffee and take a long sip. The hot liquid scalds my tongue and the roof of my mouth.

Good. I deserve to feel pain after what I just did to Jack.

It only took half a second for me to realize that he didn’t really have to leave for a meeting.

He left because he heard what I said…about him, about us.

I can’t even look at my father right now.

Why the fuck didn’t I close the door to my room?

No.

Why the fuck didn’t I shut Dad down and tell him the goddamn truth?

I take another sip and wince.

Why am I not doing it now?

“Why didn’t he say goodbye?” Ally says, piling a plate with toast.

“He was in a hurry. His publicist wanted him to get back tothe city for a meeting and his Uber driver showed up earlier than expected,” I lie.

Why not keep piling on the lies? It’s what I seem to be best at.

Telling them, living them.

“My handsome hockey player,” Grandma says with a deep sigh. “I didn’t get to hug him one last time. Oohh, those muscles. I’ll miss them.”

“Mom,” Dad mutters with a shake of his head.

“He had a great time with you guys yesterday. Especially you, Gran,” I say, forcing a smile at her. Her eyes light up in return.

“I was a very lucky girl to have him all to myself yesterday,” she says, a dreamy look on her face. “At least I’ll have the memory.”

Mom chuckles and pours herself a cup of coffee.

I finally look up from my mug and my gaze tangles with Gigi’s. She doesn’t say anything but her gaze speaks volumes. She’s always been too perceptive for her own good. And now is no exception.

I gulp down the rest of my coffee and silence a yelp when it scorches the sides of my throat and splashes around in my empty belly.

“Well, I hope everything goes well for him,” Mom says. “He’s a very nice young man. It’s a shame what kind of damage social media can do to a person’s reputation.”

“Except those videos actually captured what happened,” Dad mutters, staring at his plate.

“You know what, Dad?” I turn toward him, ignoring his shocked expression. “If that guy really is doing bad stuff to his kid, would Jack still be wrong?”

“He attacked him on a hunch. That’s not okay.”

“He attacked him to protect the kid because he wastriggered by his own past. He only wants to help, to get the kid out of a bad situation. I agree that he should have handled it differently, but if the guy is really a scumbag abuser, then he deserves to have the crap kicked out of him. And…” I pause. “And I stand behind what Jack did.”

“You’re asking for a lot of trouble if that’s the stance you’re going to take,” Dad says. “Are you prepared for the backlash? Because Jack will be brought up on charges for that attack. Do you want to be associated with that kind of behavior? Do you think it’s setting a good example?”

“I think that ignoring the situation won’t make things any better for the kid.”

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