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Atlas immediately straightened his spine and spun to glance up at his dad, visibly caught by surprise. He cleared his throat and winced. “Coach Hill put us in here.”
“Why?” Joseph’s voice took on a dangerous edge, and I imagined he was one of those parents who threatened to sue Coach for putting his son on the bench, or in this case, in the penalty box.
I was half expecting Atlas to lie, so he surprised me when he said, “We got into a fight.”
“That’s it?” Joseph spat, eyes darkening. “It’s hockey. What does Hill expect to happen?”
Mom came up beside Joseph and patted his arm. “Honey, Kasen knows what he’s doing.”
“Bullshit,” Joseph raged, and I noticed how Atlas sat up even straighter, a smile curving his lips at his dad’s defense. I almost felt sorry for him.Almost.“Coach Hill shouldn’t be putting his superstar in a penalty box at a practice this close to their first game.”
Atlas’s shoulders slumped and the anger returned in the tenseness of his jaw and the way he glanced at me. If looks could kill, I would be sliced apart, nothing more than blood and guts on the ice.
“We deserved it,” I spoke up. “We should be practicing, not fighting.”
Joseph shook his head. “As respectable as that is, Wy, I won’t accept this.” He stormed past Mom and back up the stairs. Mom sighed and blew me a kiss before she followed him to the door that opened up onto the rink. He stood at the threshold, cupping his hands and calling Coach Hill’s name. Coach gave him one look and shook his head before turning his back on him again.
Atlas grunted out a small laugh. “Dad won’t like that.”
I smiled and watched as Joseph began to wave his arms, as though he thought Coach Hill hadn’t seen him, but once again, Coach shook his head.
“You think he’s gonna go on the ice?” I smirked.
“Fuck yeah, he will. No one ignores Dad.”
Sure enough, Atlas was right. Joseph slowly stepped onto the ice and slid across it, arms pinwheeling. He slipped a few times, and finally, Boss must’ve felt sorry for him because he came skating over to Joseph and took his elbow, keeping him upright and helping him to Coach’s side.
Mom watched helplessly, her fingertips pressed to her lips in concern.
Atlas groaned. “If Dad pisses off Coach, I might not be on the team this year.”
That would save a lot of pain for me, but I still lived with Atlas, and the housing situation would probably get a hell of a lot worse if that was the case. I watched with apprehension, nerves destroying my stomach, which upset it again. I’d only just gotten my hungover body settled.
Coach turned and heaved a large sigh. He skated toward Joseph and Boss, meeting them halfway. Whatever was said was rough because Joseph’s arms were flailing, and Coach’s face turned so red I could see it from here.
“This is gonna get ugly,” I murmured, and Atlas grunted in agreement.
“Fuck. I don’t know why he sticks his nose in this stuff. It’s none of his business.” Atlas jumped to his blades and stepped out of the box, and I followed him, only because I was curious. We glided across the rink until we were directly behind Joseph.
“If you think taking your best player out of practice is a good idea, you’re delusional, Hill,” Joseph spat, his hand nearly knocking Boss in the face as he swung it around. How the man kept calm under pressure while he was in court, I didn’t know, but I’d never seen him more riled up than when he was at hockey practice.
Coach shot a glare at me, and I froze. “Finch came to practice hungover and late, and he and Frosteson proceeded to get into a fight, Joseph. This ismyteam, and I can handle them how I want.”
“Listen here—”
“Dad, come on.” Atlas touched Joseph’s arm. “He’s right, you know? Wystan got really drunk last night, and he convinced the other guys to do the same.”
“What?” I snapped, eyes widening. Once again, he was throwing me under the bus. He was a weasel. “You think I don’t know it was you who bought us shots?”
I didn’t remember everything that had happened last night, but I did have a memory of Rain telling us Atlas paid for the drinks. I’d thought he was finally turning over a new leaf and wanting to be friends, but it looked like it was another ploy to get me kicked off the team.
Coach Hill held up his hands. “Enough. All of you. We have a game in less than a week, and every single one of you disappointed me.” He gave me and Atlas a long stare before turning it on Joseph. “Youare a parent, not a coach.” He bared his teeth and waved his hand over to the left, and I glanced at where he’d gestured toward Hogan. Coach was very hands on, and the assistants only came into play during practice when Coach needed help or wanted to divide and conquer. “They are my right-hand men, not you, Joseph. So, get the fuck off my ice.”
Joseph straightened and growled out in a very similar way to Atlas. He spun on his heel without holding on to Boss’s arm and nearly slipped, but Atlas was there to grab him. He helped his dad off the ice and into Mom’s waiting arms.
Coach Hill threw his arms up. “I’m done with you. All of you. Get out.”
“But Coach—” Boss cut himself off when Coach shot him a dark look.
