Page 66 of Untouchable Player

Dad sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. “You know we can’t afford to put two kids through hockey camp and all the equipment and coaching…”

“I know,” I hold up a hand, “you’ve told me a hundred times.”

A vein in his forehead is standing out and I swear I see it pulse. That little kid who was scared of his dad spanking him resurfaces and I’m about a millisecond from running upstairs and wedging something under the bedroom door.

“You’re in college because of the sacrifices we made. And if you want your sister to go to college too, then you’ll help us get these stupid ideas about hockey out of her head.”

“Sam’s a smart kid,” I say, “she knows she can’t play hockey, and she’ll go to college regardless.”

“You don’t have a clue,” Dad says, “do you? If these scouts don’t pick you up, it’ll all be for nothing. All the money we spent, down the drain, any hopes for a career…”

“I get it, you don’t have to remind me every time you see me, I’m a dumbass, you’re not the only one who says it, far from it. Don’t you think I’m trying? I put everything into it on the ice, how do you think I got this?” I flash my teeth, but it’s definitely not a smile.

“A chipped tooth,” Dad starts slow clapping and if he wasn’t my dad, I swear to god I would have punched him by now.

I open my mouth and I don’t even know what’s going to come out when mom rushes in.

“Boys!” she says, “how about some desert?”

I eat desert at the table with my family, for my mom, and then I help her clean the dishes before going up to bed. This was not a good start to the weekend, but it’s Sam’s birthday tomorrow and all the attention will be on her, thank fuck.

I text Nate saying ‘Family = stressful.’

‘Tell me about it!’he replies.

‘Everything okay with your mom and dad?’

‘Oh yeah, they’re just acting like nothing happened, as usual.’

‘That’s parents, I don’t know why they do that. I feel like a teenager again every time I come back home.’

All this rapid texting is annoying, I send another message, one that people my age don’t usually send;

‘Can you talk?’

It’s a few beats before he replies and I mentally prepare myself for him to shut me down.

But then his reply comes, ‘sure.’

I hit the call button before I can change my mind.

When he answers, I’m so nervous, I can’t speak for a second and he has to say hello three times before I reply.

“Can you hear me now?” I ask.

“Yeah, I can hear you now.”

“So, family…” I say.

Nate laughs and my whole body melts into the bed.

I have to go downstairs when my parents come up to bed and talk quietly in the basement where no one’s bedroom is directly above me. It’s freezing down there, but there’s a pull-out bed and a ratty blanket I can wrap around myself.

“Jesse?”

“Yeah.”

“Can I ask you something, and you have to be honest?”

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