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They wouldn’t come. There wasn’t any way my old man would step foot into Dawson Stadium unless it was to watch me playagainstthe Raiders. And it wasn’t fair to put Mom in the middle.
“Of course, I listened. I’m so proud of you, Kaiden. Of how you’ve handled everything.”
“The team froze me out.”
“I’m sorry, baby. They’re just loyal to their captain, but they’ll come around.”
“Yeah, it still sucks though.” I leaned over and grabbed the jug of juice and poured myself a glass.
“You are not your father, Kaiden. Thank God,” she mumbled, but her expression quickly fell. “I don’t mean that. I just…”
“It’s okay, Mom. I know.”
“You went to the party after? I didn’t hear you come in.” She glanced over at me while mixing the pancake batter.
“Yeah.”
“And did that happen at the game or at the party?”
Shit. I’d forgotten about the bruise along my cheekbone.
“The game.”
“You’re a terrible liar, Kaiden.” Her lip curved wryly. “I don’t like the idea of you fighting, baby.”
“Does it matter if I say the guy deserved it?”
“Nice try, but no.” She chuckled. “I don’t want your anger and frustration about the situation to ruin your senior year. You need to find a way to harness it, baby. To turn it into a positive.”
Lily’s face flashed in my mind. How good she’d felt rubbing herself on me, how serene she’d looked falling apart. We hadn’t even touched, not really, but it only made everything ten times more intense. I’d gotten home and climbed in bed and jerked myself off to the image of her flushed and breathless above me. I came so damn hard I’d had to stuff my fist in my mouth to stop myself from yelling her name.
Gav was right. I was totally screwed.
“Kaiden?”
“Yeah?” I blinked over at her.
“You seemed a million miles away.”
“Just tired.”
“Let’s get some breakfast in you, keep your energy up.”
“Sure thing, Mom.”
This was how she fixed things, how she covered up one of Dad’s outbursts. She added the batter to the pan, focused on the task at hand. But I saw the cracks. The worry lines around her eyes, the permanent frown marring her forehead.
“You could leave him, Mom,” I said. “I’ll be leaving for college next year. You don’t have to stay with him.”
Her expression fell. “Oh, I don’t know about that, Kaiden. I know your father can be a difficult man, but he’s my husband. We made vows. For better or for worse.”
“Life’s too short, Mom.” And she deserved better, so much better than a drunk who was bitter at the world.
“I’m sure things will get better. He’s just going through a rough patch,” she said. And I wondered who she was trying to convince more.
Me.
Or herself.
