Page 9 of The Penalty Shot (Totally Pucked 5)

My eyebrows rise as I stare back at him. “Is that true?”

He nods. “Yup. Maybe I can cook for you one day. For all of us.” He looks over at Auden with hopeful eyes.

“Yeah, uh…maybe so,” she says. She extends the cookies out to me, and I take them, using my foot to open the door wider.

“I was thinking…would you guys want to catch a movie? There’s a new Marvel movie out and I need to see if it holds up to the others. Maybe this weekend? If you’re not busy?”

I’m hoping like fuck she’s not busy because all I want is to spend time with both of them. Auden looks down at Alex, who’s bouncing back and forth with his hands glued together.

“Mom, can we please? That would be so cool Ash. Mom? Please,” he begs, and she finally gives in, offering me a small smile.

“Sure, I’m off Sunday during the day.”

Fuck yes.

“Okay, so I’ll see you then? Here, take my number,” I tell them. She and Alex both pull their phones out and put it in their contacts as I rattle off my number. “I’ll go ahead and get us tickets, so we have good seats.”

Auden smirks. “Don’t be a popcorn hog.”

“Mom,you’rethe popcorn hog!” Alex says, shaking his head.

We say our goodbyes, and hours after they leave, my phone lights up with a text.

Thanks again for everything, Asher. See you Sunday.

-Killer

Chapter Four

Auden

Boom.Shatter. BOOOOOM.

What the hell? Groggily, I turn over and fumble for my phone in the dark. My hand connects with it on the nightstand, and I press the side button, illuminating the screen to see that it’s after two a.m. Another loud sound of something crashing to the floor has me sitting straight up, completely aware that something isn’t right.

Oh God, Alex.

I throw the covers off of me and fling my bedroom door open, my heart pounding inside my chest as I make my way down the hallway to Alex’s room. His door opens just as I make it there, and he stumbles out and into my arms.

“Mom, what’s going on?” His lower lip trembles slightly.

I cover my lips with my finger and lean down. “Stay here. I’ll be right back.”

He nods hesitantly, but retreats back inside his room. Quietly, I pull his door shut and walk into the kitchen. I should’ve probably grabbed something to hit an intruder over the head with, but I didn’t pass anything worthy of battle on my way down the hallway.

“Auden baby!” Jarrett, my roommate, slurs, slamming a bowl down onto the kitchen counter. His eyes are crazy, wild even, and he’s got what looks like blood all over the front of his white t-shirt. My eyes drift around the kitchen, and I see it’s all but destroyed. Half the contents of the fridge are strewn along the counter tops, there’s a gallon of milk half-emptied on the floor. One of the cabinets is hanging from the hinges, and there’s a huge hole in the door of the pantry. My kitchen looks like a tornado came through it, leaving a mass of destruction behind.

What in the hell is happening?

“Jarrett, it’s almost two a.m. What are you doing? Alex has school tomorrow, and I have work.”

Even with the distance between us, I can smell the putrid, sweet smell of liquor on him. Once again, he’s completely drunk. On a weekday no less. Drunk and destructive by the looks of my kitchen.

Stepping forward toward the mess, a sharp sting of fire pierces the sole of my foot. When I look down, bright red blood flows from it, dripping onto the stark white tile of the kitchen floor. Crap, is that glass?

Beneath my feet, glass is scattered along the floor. In the midst of assessing the damage, I didn’t even see the sharp shards all over the tile.

“What is going on, Jarrett? Why is there glass everywhere?”

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