Page 87 of The Penalty

“Is Kylie with you?” I ask.

“Yes.”

Annoyance rubs at me with his short, one-word answer. I know I fucked up, but Kylie is still my daughter. “Can I talk to her?”

There’s some shuffling and whispering in the background before he comes back. “No. She doesn’t want to talk right now.”

I sigh. I can’t force her to talk to me. “Ok. But she’s safe?”

“Yeah. She’s staying here tonight.”

I hate the idea of my daughter staying in a house with a bunch of hockey players, but I don’t have a leg to stand on right now.

“Alright. Thanks.”

He hangs up. As much as I hate that she’s there and not here, I’m glad she has somewhere to go.

I finally head upstairs and attempt to get some rest. It’s the first time I’ve been alone in this house in months. I’ve lived alone for as long as I can remember, but I’ve grown used to having Kylie and McKenzie here.

The silence is deafening.

I stop by Kylie’s room. She’s got clothes scattered across her bed and a few textbooks. She’ll have to come back eventually, so I need to give her time. I know that. It just kills me knowing she’s mad. I want to fix it. As her dad, it’s my job to fix things, not create the problem.

My next stop is McKenzie’s room.

Her bed is made up. Her bag that was in the corner of the room is gone. Her phone charger, her school stuff. Everything is gone.

She must’ve come back at some point during the day to get her things because when she left this morning, she only had a few books and her laptop.

It feels so final being in this empty room. Like maybe she’s not planning on coming back.

Everyone is leaving me.

Maybe I deserve it.

THIRTY-FIVE

MCKENZIE

I haven’t been back to the Danvers’ house since the incident. I’ve tried to reach out to Kylie a few times, but every text and every call has been met with silence. Tyler has checked in a few times, but even he hasn’t been able to get in touch with Kylie.

I was able to stay on a friend’s couch for the first few nights and then was lucky enough to find a posting for a roommate on the La Vista U social media page. The girl’s old roommate dropped out of classes and moved home right after the semester started. She needed someone immediately, and it would only be until the end of the semester. It’s exactly what I needed. Like maybe the universe was finally throwing me a bone.

Tyler has asked me several times to come back to the house, but it feels wrong to do that while Kylie is hurting because of our decisions.

But I miss him.

I miss them.

Part of me worries that Tyler will walk away from us. That would be the easy choice, and I’d understand if he did. But my heart hurts just thinking about it.

So, I’m surprised when I walk out of Alessandro’s one night after my shift to see him leaning against my car.

I run into his arms, and he squeezes me so tight, like he’s afraid I’ll disappear if he lets go.

“What are you doing here?” I ask, almost in tears.

“I needed to see you. I’ve missed you so much.”