Page 65 of Face Off
I’m pissed.
I’m pissed as hell that some asshole would throw Hayley, the only constant in Camden’s life, to the wolves. Make her out to be the bad guy. Make her out to be some person who slept around with multiple men. That Camden wasn’t Boyce’s son, and she was just trying to extort money from him. The number of articles going around with false claims is ridiculous.
“Fine.”
“Fine?”
“Yeah, fine,” I snarl before walking to the pantry for a protein bar.
I toss one at Sydney, who scrunches up her nose at the sight of it. “You know, there’s always a chance that I could end up in the same exact situation as Hayley,” she starts before getting a faraway look in her eye. “If John ever found out about Everleigh, I could end up going through the same thing, just with less cameras.”
I clutch my fist to my sides at the mere mention of her ex-husband’s name. John had mistresses upon mistresses throughout my sister’s marriage to him. The nail that shut that coffin though was him sleeping with her best friend, his partner at the law firm he worked at. Yeah, some friend she was.
I was so pissed at John; I almost went to jail for laying him out one night. And when I found out that Sydney was pregnant with Everleigh the day she signed her divorce papers, I swore to myself that if he ever came back around, I would end him. I’ve watched enough ID Discovery in hotels during away games. I know the unique ways to get away with murder.
“John’s a prick just like Boyce. Let him try to pull the shit Boyce is. I’ll end that fucker before he even got a chance to start.”
“You’re deflecting.” She rolls her eyes. “This has nothing to do with John. Are things okay between you and Hayley? Camden?”
Hayley seemed better this morning. The little touches she gave me as she rushed around the room to get ready, yet all at the same time, seems distant. She’s here but not. Even as I held her last night, I could tell she wasn’t really with me. Camden hadtold her he hated her. Made her believe that everything printed in those headlines were true. Just thinking about it has me balling my fist at my sides.
“Hayley’s been a little standoffish. Camden… yeah, well, he’s not coping the best.”
He’s coping the way I would have expected, after finding out your father is one of the top NHL stars in the league that is. But it’s not Camden who has me worried; it’s Hayley. I feel like she’s shutting down. I wanted to help, be there for her today when she confronted Cam. But she shot me down. Basically, dismissed me like I had no business in this. She’s right, I don’t have any business in this. But I want her to be my business. I want her to see that as much as I hate the shitstorm that’s come our way, I’m here for it all.
Sydney nods her head in understanding. “She’ll come around. Give it time.”
I hope she’s right. We have another home game tonight, and I hope a repeat of the last won’t happen again. Speaking of which, I glance at the time on my phone and realize I have morning skate in an hour. It’s optional on game days but being captain, it’s almost like it’s mandatory to be there.
“Yeah, as much as I would like to continue this little pow wow, I have to be at the rink soon.”
“Don’t ice me out, Brooks. I’m here for you both,” she says, standing from the kitchen island. “Promise?”
“Promise.”
“Good, now I can leave.” She walks toward the front door before stopping to speak one more time. “I’ll be sure to tell Tiffany to fuck off when I see her today.” She smiles the biggest cheesiest grin I’ve ever seen and with that, she’s out the door.
???
“Everything okay?” Halloway asks as I lace up my skates for morning skate.
As annoyed as I am at his prying, I know it’s from a good place. Playoffs are literally right around the corner and with all that’s going on, I can’t afford the distractions. I need my head in the game.
“I’m fine.”
“Someone’s a grump today,” Thorne says as he takes a seat on the bench beside me. “Your lady okay?”
I sigh and push up from my spot. “She’s fine. Just Boyce Cameron needs to crawl back into that hole he’s created in Arizona.”
“I heard from Tanner that she’s taking a leave of absence,” Powell says as he strips out of his sweats.
“She not taking a leave; she’s taking a few games off to get this shit with Cameron situated,” I say through clenched teeth. “Guy’s trying to take away her kid.”
“It’s his kid too,” Polston says all nonchalant.
My fist tightens at my sides as I try not to deck my teammate in the face. None of these guys know the truth. They know what the media has put out. They know the lies.
Polston turns to me, water bottle in hand, taking a pull before speaking again. “I’d be pissed if someone kept a secret child from me. He has every right to take what’s rightfully his.”
