Page 114 of Breakout
Clay nods. “Anti-hockey.”
“Well, lately his demands have gotten more out of hand than normal. He’s been pushing this chick on me that I have no interest in. He claims the blending of our families would be a good business move. He’s been pushing that I quit hockey immediately, and well, let’s just say it came to a head.”
“Clearly you aren’t going to marry the chick he has picked out for you. Or at least I’d assume not, since we haven’t met her,” Clay says.
I shake my head. “No, she’s the exact opposite of what I want.”
“And you clearly didn’t quit hockey,” Wyatt says.
“Not until I can’t play anymore.”
“Tell us what happened.”
“He gave me the ultimatum. I either do what he wanted, or he would cut me off.”
“And you didn’t cave,” Brett says, nodding in understanding.
“Rule number one, don’t negotiate with terrorists,” I joke, trying to lighten the mood.
“So I take it your cards didn’t work,” Clay says.
I blow out a breath and shake my head. “I have money in my account, but it’s currently frozen due to him basically cleaning me out. I have five hundred bucks to my name right now. Sorry, guys, looks like pizza won’t be on me for a while. It also looks like I need to open a new bank account with a different bank.”
Clay reaches over and squeezes my shoulder. “That’s not a big deal, man. Shit, I’m proud of you.”
“Wait, what?”
“You could have done the comfortable thing and given in to his demands. You knew that if you didn’t, you wouldn’t have the level of financial support you are used to, but you didn’t let that stop you. You stood your ground,” Clay says.
“I’ll be honest, man, I don’t know if I could have done what you did, but I respect the fuck out of you for doing it,” Brett says.
“Your parents wouldn’t do this shit to you,” I point out.
“You never know.” He shrugs.
“I need to figure out what I’m going to do to pull my weight around here.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Wyatt says.
“Yeah, man, we got you,” Clay adds.
“Are you guys sure? This is a big ask.”
“Dude, covering your portion of the groceries and bills is nothing. Seriously, don’t worry about it,” Brett says.
“It’s just until we graduate, and I get a job.”
“Or get drafted,” Clay adds.
“Or that. That would be ideal.”
“You’re going to get drafted. A team would be stupid not to pick you up,” Wyatt tells me.
“You think so?”
Brett rolls his eyes. “Bro, this whole humble thing doesn’t look good on you. You know you’re the shit on the ice, just like this one,” he says, tipping his chin toward Clay. “Fucking own it.”
“Plus, think about how pissed off it would make your dad if you got drafted,” Clay adds.
