Page 83 of The Penalty Shot (Totally Pucked 5)

I can feel Asher tense next to me, so I place my hand on his arm to calm him. I’m going to handle this, and I don't want there to be a nasty confrontation.

“Well, I wasn’t expecting you. I’m pretty sure that I told Mama that I wasn’t going to be speaking to either of you again.”

My father scoffs, spittle flying in the process, and he turns an even darker shade of crimson. He begins to speak animatedly, and only then, do I see the folder in his hand that he’s waving around in front of us. “Yeah, well, I’ve had about enough of your dramatics. I thought maybe having your mother reach out to you would make you think clearly, but obviously, I was wrong. I need to speak with you. Now.”

“How about you watch how you speak to her?” Asher mutters low, his voice laced with anger. “You’ve got a lot of nerve to speak to her that way, standing outside of our home.”

I blow out a deep breath and brush past them, unlocking the door.

“Alex, please take Groot into your room for a while, okay?”

He tugs on Groot’s leash and looks between all of us before pushing through. I hear his door shut, and I walk into the living room, setting my purse down on the table next to the front door.

Asher follows behind my parents. His face is a mask of ire, the anger radiating off of him in waves. I’m just as angry.

Once the front door closes, I whip around to face my mother. “I told you that I no longer wanted to see you, or speak to you, what could you possibly need to say to me that I didn’t already say?

My father stalks over and opens the envelope, tossing a stack of photographs onto my coffee table and pointing toward them. “These.”

My hands shake as I pick up the color photos of me, Alex and Asher walking around downtown. It looks like they were taken on the night that we visited the gallery.

“What are these? How did you get these photos of us? Is this from your PI? Has he been following us?” The questions tumble from my lips as I accuse my father, holding up the photos as they shake in my hand.

Asher steps closer to me, sliding his arm around my waist, and carefully lifts the photos from my hand. He shuffles through them as I wait for my father to answer.

“I don’t need a PI to follow you, Auden, all I needed was your address. These are from theChicago Tribune. They were sent to my office last night with a lovely fucking letter threatening to expose our family for its lies.”

I laugh lowly. “Ourlies? Don’t you meanyourlies, Daddy? I’ve never lied about who I am, or hidden my son. We’ve been in Chicago for his entire life, just the two of us. You can’t replace the truth, and it doesn’t take an investigative reporter to see it.You’re the one who wants to spin a false narrative that never existed. Or did youforget?”

I watch as the muscle in his jaw ripples as he clenches his teeth together. I can practically hear the sound from here.

“This will fucking ruin me, Auden. My platform is centered on traditional values. What do you think it’ll look like when they find out my daughter has been hiding away in Chicago with her son after a teenage pregnancy? That the gubernatorial candidate’s daughter had a baby in sin at sixteen. That our family is actually broken?”

The words shouldn't hurt, but they do anyway, and the longer he stands in my living room, the more that I want him to leave. Our familyisbroken, and it is their fault, not mine. And I am not a campaign strategy. My son is not a political liability.

I’ve given them too much of myself over the years, and I truly meant what I said. I’m done.

“This isn’t about you. This is about me. It’s about freeing myself from your hurtful actions. Don’t you see that?” I walk over to where my father’s standing, and for the first time in my life, I stand up forme.I’ve spent the last few months of my life finding whoI am.Not as Alex’s mother, or Asher’s girlfriend, or even MJ's friend. As Auden.

I realize in this moment that I’ve been holding on for so long, and our relationship canneverbe fixed. They will never see or understand the things that they’ve done wrong. They’ll never realize how toxic they are, which means they’ll always remain the same. I don’t want their approval any longer, or to even be civil with them, because for the first time in my life I’m prioritizing myself. I’ve learned that love can be healthy, and good and selfless. I am not ashamed of myself or of the beautiful life I’ve built for Alex and I, and I damn sure will not be part of any story spinning that takes advantage of my son or myself. I will not benefit the very people who have done nothing but hurt me. The people who kicked me out and abandoned me without a second thought, and now suddenly come in out of nowhere and want to try to control the version of our life that the world sees.

It’s not happening. Not now. Or ever.

“You made this mess, Daddy. You are the one who deceived others to believe that you are something you aren’t. I had nothing to do with this, and now you can handle the mess thatyou’vemade. I will no longer be a pawn you can manipulate. I told Mama, and I mean it, I don’t want to see you again. I want you both to walk out of that door and never contact me again. I need to be free from the chains you’ve had on me for too long. Now, please leave.”

I point to the door with a shaky hand. Adrenaline courses through me as I hold my breath and brush past him to go to Asher’s side. When I do, my father reaches out and grasps my forearm, yanking me towards him so forcefully that my entire body jerks back.

His fingers dig brutally into my flesh as he leans close to me and spits, “I willnotlet you ruin this for me. Do you hear me, Auden? I’m fucking done with this conversation.”He shakes my entire body to bring the point home.

I whimper in response, trying to pull free. For the second time, I’m being assaulted in my own home, and the feeling nearly cripples me. Panic claws at my throat and I feel it tightening, my anxiety beginning to spiral.

“Get your fucking hands off of her,” Asher says menacingly, surging forward until he’s nose to nose with my father, “Now.”His chest is heaving, and the look in his eye is nothing like I’ve seen in him. Asher is positivelymurderous.

The second my father drops his hold on my arm, I stumble backwards, my eyes raking over the angry, red marks on my skin.. Of all the things my parents have done, of all the hateful things, as many times as they’ve manipulated and hurt me… this is the worst. God, I was so strong, standing up for myself after being a door mat for so long… and he physically assaults me as a result.

What if Alex saw this? What if he saw them hurt me?

“I’m s-sorry, I can’t... Please don’t follow me,” I cry, covering my mouth to prevent the sob escaping, and failing. I can’t hold it in any longer, the dam inside me finally breaking.

---