Page 65 of The Sweet Spot

“Do you know why I had to be the best on the ice? Because if I came home and didn’t put in one hundred percent, there was a good chance he’d beat the shit out of me. And what did my mom do about it? Nothing. No one asked about the bruises because we were all banged up from the game. The best day of my life was being drafted by Sudbury for Juniors. I was fucking free.

“My first year after Juniors, I came home for the summer. My little brother was seven at the time, and my father was starting to put him through the same shit. By then, I was just as big as my dad and in a lot better shape than him. He was giving Bailey a hard time, pushing him around, and I exploded. There was no way he was going to subject my brother to the same treatment. I was like a person possessed. I hit him until he couldn’t get up. My little sister was crying, my mother was screaming for me to stop, and Bailey just stared at me like I was some god sent from the heavens. I told my father that if he laida hand on any one of us ever again, I’d kill him. I think we all knew I meant it. I scared even myself that day. I know I’m probably scaring you, but I’ve never laid a hand on anyone since. I’m not going to hurt you ever. I refuse to let the cycle continue.”

“That day, you asked me whether someone had hurt me. You were speaking from experience.”

“Yes,” I said, staring into her eyes and seeing all the love there. Her big brown eyes watched me, and I couldn’t see any judgment. She wasn’t horrified. She did get up and cup my face with her hands.

“You are not the bad guy. You did nothing wrong. You saved your siblings. You’re the hero. You are good, and I love you,” she said, placing her hand over my heart.

The last time I’d shed a tear was when I was probably five years old. Dad beat that out of me too. But here I was, feeling the foreign sting of tears.

“But am I?” I said in a whisper.

“You are the best man I’ve ever met.”

The tears slipped down my cheeks, and she wiped them away. I hugged her and never wanted to let her go. She was the exact opposite of everything I had ever known.

“Can I make a suggestion?”

“Yes,” I said, still not letting her go.

“Don’t keep this bottled up. Talk to someone other than me. A professional.”

“I have,” I said. “I’m still a work in progress, but my sister and I agreed a few years ago that we needed to deal with this. I’d like to think I handled today better than I would have a few years ago.”

“Your dad did leave in one piece.”

She stared into my eyes, so much love staring back at me.

“I have one more suggestion,” she said. “Let’s make our own Christmas memories tonight, okay? Just me and you. Let’s startall over with a nice dinner by candlelight, finish it off with dessert, open our presents, then watch some Christmas movies. Only funny ones, likeElf.”

“Okay,” I said, finally letting her go.

“Give me ten minutes to set the scene.”

I kissed her one more time before she left. She smiled at me and hurried off. I sat on the bed again, taking ten minutes to do some breathing exercises the trainers had taught us. I then glanced over at my phone. I’d muted it the moment my parents had left because I knew the barrage of calls and texts would start, demanding an apology. I grabbed it now to shut it off, but then I saw the text from Tangi.

Please come to dinner tomorrow. I know Wolseley would like that. And I think you’re not coming because of me, and she doesn’t deserve to be punished. I shouldn’t have said the things I did. They were wrong and terrible, and I’m so sorry about it. I want us all to be good with each other because I know you’re a great guy, and she’s an amazing woman. You are a perfect pair.

I stared at that message for a long time. I wasn’t sure if I was up to a dinner with people, and that had nothing to do with Tangi. But she had apologized, and right now, I wanted to do anything to make Wolseley happy.

Let’s start over, okay? What time is dinner?

I put mushroom gravy all over my eggs in the morning. And I piled the leftover mashed potatoes next to that. After all that happened the night before, Wolseley and I had made the bestof it, and we had a pretty good Christmas Eve, stuffing ourselves with dinner and dessert. We watched movies, had sex like it was a matter of life and death—and every time I thought about it, my dick twitched in anticipation—and forgot all about my parents.

“I thought I’d come to dinner tonight?” I said as Wolseley made French toast for the both of us. As if I hadn’t already had enough carbs on my plate, but who would say no to French toast? She was wearing the diamond encrusted W pendant I’d gotten her for Christmas. I’d assured her the diamonds were all ethically sourced.

Her face lit up like the Christmas tree she’d put up a few days ago. The one that had more lights than ornaments.

“Woot,” she said, clapping her hands and placing a kiss on my cheek. “We are going to have so much fun.”

Not sure about the fun part, but maybe I’d be surprised.

After breakfast, I helped her clean up, and we both decided it was time for a nap. All the breakfast carbs had made me sleepy. We settled onto the bed, and I reached for my phone. I was finally in the right state of mind to deal with whatever was there, except for my parents. I saw over fifty text messages. I handed my phone to Wolseley.

“Do me a favor and delete all the messages from my parents.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Are you sure? What if something important is there?”

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