Page 99 of College Hockey Bully

“Jesus Christ.” My dad has done some shitty things in the past, but this is uncontested.

“In our bed, Aiden.” Tears fill her eyes, harsh sobs racking her body. The sight breaks down the emotional wall I’d builtbetween us and I pull her up, enveloping her with a hug. For a moment, we rock in silence, her cries filling the wrecked space.

“What’s worse, he has her locked up in there, refusing to make her leave,” she mutters angrily, and I ease her off me.

“They’re still here?”

Without waiting for her reply, I dash up the stairs and down the hall, gently knocking on their bedroom door in less than a minute. “Dad, it’s Aiden. Open up.”

The click on the lock sounds immediately, then his face appears in the crack of the door. “Oh, thank God you’re here,” he greets me. “Your mother has gone bat shit crazy—”

He staggers back with a grunt from my fist, pounded right into his nose. A soft scream turns my attention to the redhead curled up in the bed.My mother’s bed. I see red, then black. I turn my focus back to my father, who’s gaping at the blood in his hand.

“What the fuck, Aiden?” He touches his nose again, gasping when he sees more blood.

With my hands curled, I move toward him. “How dare you disrespect my mother in her own house? Don’t you think you’ve done enough out there?”

He stares up at me, glowering. “She shouldn’t have been back until tomorrow—”

“Which makes no difference. Whether or not she’s here, this is still her home, her bed.” I glance back at the redhead. “Her fucking robe your mistress is wearing. What the hell were you thinking?”

Dad scoffs. “Oh, please. Don’t stand there acting all self-righteous. I’ve seen the women you parade out of here every other night. You’re not the patron saint of monogamy, either.”

“And whose fault is that, I wonder? The difference between us is that I’m not a married man. You took a vow to love my momonlybut broke it a dozen times over.”

“Which he will pay for dearly,” Mom’s weary voice comes from behind me. I glance around and see the poker in her hand.

“Mom, no.”

She points it to the redhead. “Get the fuck out of my house.”

Dad sighs with frustration as his mistress scrambles from the bed and grabs her clothes from the armchair. “Why did you come home early, Marianne?”

She shrugs, appearing way calmer than downstairs. “Fate, I guess. It was time I got the message. You and I, we’ll never make it.”

“You’re blowing things out of proportion. Destiny means nothing to me—”

“I want a divorce, Adrian,” she cuts in firmly. “You once said I had nothing more to offer you and guess what? It has finally sunk in. My son once told me it’s better to be alone and at peace and I finally get it. I wanted to keep being your wife so badly that I was willing to do anything, even ruin the only person who truly cared for me.”

She looks over at me, tears streaming down her face. “I’m sorry, Aiden, for everything.”

Dad’s mistress runs past us as I pull Mom into a tight hug while taking the poker from her grip. “You’re already forgiven, Mom.”

He snorts. “Divorce, my ass. We all know you can’t live without my money—”

“Our money,” Mom snaps, pulling from my embrace. “I helped build all this and I’m entitled to half.” She closes the gap between them. “Even more if I prove your infidelity, which I can, trust me.”

His face goes white. “You’re bluffing.”

As Mom starts rattling out dates and locations, even descriptions of the women he’s been messing around with, Dad’s skin pales even more. He knows enough of our state’s laws to realize his net worth is in serious trouble. From the way Mom stands firm, hands resting squarely on her hips, she means business.

“You’re going to sign those papers without trouble. Otherwise, I’ll send the information to my attorney, understood?”

“Marianne, let’s talk about this—”

“Do you understand?”

Dad looks over at me, obviously wanting help. I narrow my eyes at him. The only thing I’ll be helping with is getting him packed and out of here. He sees the clear response on my face, which makes him sigh.

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