Page 61 of Fated Shot

“What the hell do you mean?” my dad asks coldly.

“Douglas.” Mom quickly stops him with a warning look that I know means control your tone.

“It’s okay, Mom,” I reassure her. I’m so tired of holding everything in.

I turn to my dad.

“He would yell at me,a lot. He never got physical, but it would still really scare me most of the time. Eventually, I just stopped doing anything that I thought would set him off.”

Slowly over time, I became a shell of myself without even realizing it.

“As soon as I caught him cheating, I left. It was horrible, obviously, but if it hadn’t happened, I don’t think I would have ever realized how unhappy I really was.”

It’s the truth. You really need to isolate yourself from a situation sometimes to be able to see the full picture. It’s like I’m seeing in HD now and I am so upset at myself for giving him so much of me. So much time, so much energy, so much grace. I won’t let him take a second more.

“He keeps showing up now, it’s been getting increasingly intense. I’m not going to change my mind about him, but he just won’t stop. He’s intimidating and I don’t feel safe anymore.”

It’s like my mom has seen a ghost and my dad looks like he’s on the verge of combusting, an unusual anger to him. If I stop though, if I don’t get it all out now, I don’t think I ever will.

“Last weekend, the morning after the game, I went to meet him for coffee. I told him that I didn’t want to see him anymore. He followed me out of the coffee shop into an alleyway, cornered me, and said things…” My voice cracks, and I swallow hard through my dry mouth. “That honestly aren’t worth repeating.”

Tears start to pool in my eyes.

“Someone… um…” Even the thought of Jack washes a wave of sadness over me.

“A friend, saw what was happening and stepped in. He made me realize that everything with Seb was not okay and I deserve so much more.” I clear my throat in an attempt to prevent my voice from continually coming out broken.

“I’ve blocked Sebastian on everything, but he showed up again last night. I don’t know what more to do, I need help.”

This time, I can’t hold back the tears that start pouring out. Mom rushes over, soothing hushes in my ear as I sob into her shoulder. I don’t think I realized until now the impact the past three years have really had on me. Why did I ever feel like I couldn’t turn to my parents? Why did I put up with that for so long? Not that any of that matters now. I’m safe, a blank slate, and I’m moving forward.

My dad stands, protectively embracing us, and he firmly states what I should have already known.

“We’re going to fix this, Amelia,together.”

Chapter 25

Jack

Things are still a bit tense between Penn and me, but the fact that he offered to drive us to practice this morning is a good sign. We’ve never really fought, any little scraps we’d have would be forgotten in a heartbeat, and he’s always been too forgiving for grudges. The car ride is certainly not the most talkative I’ve seen him, but he’s stopped staring daggers at me, so I’m considering that a win.

It’s a grueling practice, but I’ll take any form of distraction at this point. Even bag skating sounds better than sitting in my apartment, getting stuck in my head. I’m gassed by the time Coach blows the whistle, signaling the end of practice, and heads straight to his office without acknowledging any of us. He, too, seems to be preoccupied with something.

Max and I agreed to a few more drills, so we hang back on the ice while the others exit into the locker room. Fifteen minutes later, we decide to call it, too wrecked to continue. Penn’s already waiting by the glass, stuffed bag slumped over his shoulder, watching us.

As I make my way to the rink door, I spot someone approaching behind him. Slicked-back hair, leather loafers, and what I only imagine is a custom suit.Sebastian.

The fuck is he doing here? He smirks at me and my blood turns ice cold.

“Yo, Brody.” He calls out as I skate the rest of the way over. “You seen Mia? Thought she might be here,” he adds in an unmistakable provoking tone. This guy really does have a death wish.

Ignore him. He’s not worth it.

“She’s not here.”

“Oh no, don’t tell me…” he says mockingly, placing a hand over his heart, putting on a show, giving me fake sympathetic eyes.

“Don’t take it personally if she strung you along. She can’t be trusted to make her own decisions, always did need somefirmguidance.” He’s just waiting for my reaction, eyes ablaze with taunting.

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