Page 58 of How We End
I finally looked at him.“Yeah.It is.”Why the fuck should I care?I had been taking care of myself since I was eighteen.Not to mention I was an adult.I didn’t need to ask my parents’ permission for what I did.My mother already thought I was a whore.
“And that Maverick man, is he…?”
“Yep.”I wasn’t sure if the lightheadedness I felt was from the truth being out or that the truth was out.Either way, I couldn’t take back the words.And as Julian had said, it was just a job.
“Oh god.”My father walked into the room and sat down on the gaming chair.“For how long?”
“Since I was nineteen.”I ran my finger over the numbers on Julian’s sweatshirt.Thirty-five.“It’s not like you think.I’m not…” I took a breath.How the hell did you explain to your sixty-year-old father what I did for a living?“I’m not standing on the street corner.”
“And that makes it better.”
“Yes, because I make a lot more money and I can be little more selective with my clients.”I was lucky I had Maverick and my clientele.I was safe.Not all girls were as lucky as me.
My father grimaced at my words, shaking his head.“I thought you were a model in LA.Your mother said you were doing good.Then the casino job.I thought…” My father dropped his gaze to the floor, and his hands shook.“This whole time?”
“Yeah, pretty much.”
“Why?I thought we raised you better.Your mother and I.Oh god, your poor mother.She’d…”
“She’s the reason I’m in this profession.I called her from LA, begging her to help me, to let me come home.”She wouldn’t do it.She thought the prize was worth the price I had to pay.I guess losing her mind had been a blessing.She didn’t have to live with the consequences of her actions.But I did.
“Don’t you say that.”My father pointed at me.“Your mother was a good mother.She loved you girls.She did the best she could do.”
“She left me in a jail cell, beaten and bloodied.She told me to do better.To try harder, that dreams were called dreams because you could only see them at the darkest time.”I had been arrested after a client got a little rough and then claimed I stole from him.I called her again, begging her to help me.
“Liar!”my dad shouted at me.“Your mother would never do that.You girls were her life.She gave up her dreams so that you two could have a better life.We both did.”
I scoffed.“Okay, keep telling yourself that.”I tossed the rest of my clothing in the bag.I didn’t care if I had five layovers and one of those was in Bangkok.I was leaving this fucking state.
“You were always ungrateful.Nothing was ever good enough for you.That’s why you left.You thought you were too good for this town.”
“Oh my fucking god.So this is where Morgan gets it from.It’s always someone else’s fault.Not yours, not Mom’s.Someone else’s.”I zipped up my suitcase.“You had two daughters who got knocked up, one at sixteen and one at eighteen.You’re right, you two were great parents.”
“We did the best we could.You had a roof over your head, food in your stomach, and clothes on your back,” my father shouted.“You can’t keep blaming your problems on your childhood.”
“Wow, you did the bare minimum.Great job,” I said, yanking my suitcase off the bed.
“What the hell is going on?”My sister came up the stairs.
“Nothing.I’m leaving.”
“God, this is so typical of you,” Morgan said, following me down the stairs.
“Well, then I guess you shouldn’t be surprised."I grabbed my jacket and crammed my feet into my shoes.“I’ll have the lawyer I’m fucking draft up legal papers so that Halliday’s and this house will be yours.As for Mom, I don’t give a shit what you do with her.She made her bed.Now she can sleep in it.”I slammed the door and ran into my brother-in-law, Hunter.
“Whoa, Wyatt.”He steadied me.
“Sorry.”I tugged my coat around me.
“Are you leaving?”
“Yes, it’s for the best.”I stepped by him.“Oh, and Hunter?”I turned to face him.Ferris and Remington were standing in the doorway.My sister behind them.This was like some scene from a movie.I was the villain, the rich city girl who didn’t understand how small towns worked.But I did.“Julian Silver is not an asshole.He’s not mean to his fans or a shitty player.He is a human being with the same feelings as you and your smart-mouthed kid.”I yanked open the car door and threw in my suitcase.
“What?”Hunter looked at me.
“Stop teaching your son to hate people he doesn’t know.”I yanked open the driver’s door.
“What does some washed-up hockey player have to do with any of this?”Hunter grabbed the door.
