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Chapter Seven
Killian
Now that I’m on the final stretch before graduation, I don’t have any room for error. Jade is a complication I wasn’t expecting. A headache I don’t need.
Even though graduating with honors is not something I need to play in the NHL, I still want a backup plan in case it doesn’t work out. I’m the only person in my family to attend college, let alone graduate. None of my crewmembers were even close to getting high enough grades to come along with me for the ride. Not like any of them were interested. School wasn’t for Rome and the guys. They had their lives planned out before we graduated from high school.
Instead of partying with my teammates at the Delta Sigma Phi house, I have to go out and make some cash, so the bank won’t foreclose on my mother’s house. She’s clinically depressed to the point she can’t get off the couch most days. After my father died when I was twelve, we lived off welfare. They still do. Our food stamps were barely enough to survive. And now that I’m older, she only gets money from Social Security for my younger brother, Finn.
When I received my acceptance letter to Strick U, I vowed to turn my life around. I promised myself I would use my degree to take care of my family. But four years is a long time. I have mouths to feed, the mortgage is due, and tuition to pay. That’s why I was so open to working with Chase and the rest of the guys. I never had to steal a single car until last weekend. Everything was perfect until that night.
After Jamie hooked me on hockey, I dreamed of playing for the Philadelphia Flyers, a dream that will hopefully come true by the end of the school year. I need it to work out. Because I’m afraid the alternative is a life of crime. Hockey has been my life for so long that I’ve never thought of what I might want to be other than a professional hockey player. With my grades and skills, I could easily work for a tech company. Jameson has even offered me a position at his company. But I want the NHL contract and the fame that comes with it.
Last night, I stopped by the house to check on Finn. He begged me to stay and play Mage Wars with him, and before I knew it, an hour had turned into seven. So, I crashed in my old bedroom for the night.
On my way down the stairs, I pass my mom on the couch. She’s been dead to the world all day, medicated to the point where she has no clue I’m here. Unfortunately, this is the norm. My only hope is that one day I will make enough money to send her to a decent treatment program for her depression. With help, she could turn her life around. For Finn’s sake, I hope she can.
Finn is fourteen now and in his freshman year of high school. After dinner, he left to stay the night at his friend’s house. Thank God. I hate it when he has to see our mother like this. He’s the parent when he’s home with her just as I was when I was his age.
Some days, my mom is functional enough to microwave us dinner or clean the house. Other days, like this one, she’s a complete zombie, doped up on her meds.
Once I’m outside, I fumble with the key ring in my pocket and click the key fob. The lights of my Mustang Shelby GT350 illuminate in the darkness, the deep impact blue paint concealing the car.
I bought Adrian two years ago, right after a big score. One of the buyers we used to work with gave everyone in my crew a deal, and when I saw Adrian in the back of a truck, I knew I had to have her. She spoke to me.
I run my hands along the steering wheel as Adrian roars to life, purring as she warms up. I’ve never loved a woman, not unless you count Adrian. She’s the love of my life.
The streets of South Philly are crowded with the Flyers playing at home tonight and the Wells Fargo Center letting out. I hope one day to get the chance to play hockey there. A few minutes later, I park out front of Tony Luke’s, a popular cheesesteak shop, where I meet my crew before races. A long, open window spans most of the space where people wait in line to have their orders taken.
Sifting through the crowd, I shuffle to the tables where I find my crew.
This shit is dangerous.
Why did I tell Jade to meet me here? Why am I even allowing her to ride in the front seat next to me?
