Page 97 of A Quarterback for Christmas

He takes another bite and points to my plate with his fork. “Aren’t you going to try some, Belly? You’re missing out.”

That’s it.

I can’t do this anymore.

I drop my fork, and he jumps back a little in surprise. “Are you really just going to sit there, eating your steak and acting like nothing’s happened?”

My dad stops mid-chew and stares at me with confusion. “What are you talking about, Belly? I was merely discussing the butter with you.”

“Don’t get funny with me,” I retort. “You know I’m not talking about the steak, Dad. I’m talking about the biggest news on campus since they found out you were joining as head coach. Drew’s leaving.”

“Oh, that.” Somber and cold, he drops the fork next to him.

“Yeah. That. You’re just going to let him go like that? After everything. You’ve trained him for at least eight years, and this is how it ends?”

Wiping his mouth with a napkin, he pushes his seat back. “If you know he’s leaving, then I’m sure you’ve heard the rumors about why I had no choice but to let him go.”

“Did you have to, though?” I raise a brow in question.

“Yes. Someone needs to take accountability for their actions.”

Strangely, I find myself annoyed for Drew. Here’s a guy he thought was like a father to him who so easily discarded him. Does my father care about anyone but himself? I shake my head, feeling an anger I’ve never let myself feel before.

Why was I so hellbent on getting his approval all these years?

Drew had his approval for the better part of a decade and look what that got him. Kicked out of college, his dreams shattered, and forced to move to another state.

I push my lips out, finally ready to put up a fight for a cause that’s more important than my father’s approval. “Drew didn’t use his key. He was lured in there. If he had known what the plan was, I’m certain he would have said no.”

My dad nods, processing the words, but not the implication behind them. I don’t know how many keys he gave out, but I know I’m one of them.

My dad’s lip curls. “And who told you that?”

I close my eyes because it’s time I finally do something selfless and stand up to my father. “No one needed to tell me because I’m the girl in the video.”

I don’t open my eyes, too afraid to see his reaction. No father wants to hear about their daughter’s sex life, let alone witness it.

“What are you talking about?” His voice is quiet, with steely grit humming behind it.

“Don’t you remember? You gave me a key, too. I was the one that lured Drew in there.” Opening my eyes, I sit up a littlestraighter. There. I admitted it. Drew and I were together, and my dad now knows. The cat’s out of the bag, and weirdly, I feel freed by the admission.

My dad drops his head in his hands. “Jesus, Bella. I knew you hated the guy, but why would you choose to ruin his life?” Disappointment glares in his eyes so deeply that I can feel it in the depths of my toes. Just like that, everything I tried to build with my father has been shattered. Not only is he disappointed in me, but I’m disappointed in him. He thought I did it to ruin Drew? Not even Drew believed that. The fact that he thinks I’m capable of such deceit is horrifying.

“I wasn’t trying to ruin his life. Hard to believe, but Drew and I were dating.”

My lungs feel like they can finally take a full breath, but my father looks like he’s about to blow a gasket.

Standing, he grunts and hits the wall. “I knew this would happen.” He shakes his wrist, letting out some of the pain, and looks at me despondently. “He was always so eager to do anything for you, and now he’s ruined his life by taking the fall for this whole mess too.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Did you really think I didn’t notice the way he looked at you? The way you looked at him? Why do you think I encouraged you to change from dance to track?”

“I thought it was because you wanted to help train me.”

He blows out a laugh. “No. That was just a happy coincidence. I wanted the best for you, and for that to happen, I needed to keep the two of you away from each other.”

“Why?”

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