Page 121 of The Husband Game

Over the years while he’d played hockey, Dustin had roomed with a lot of guys. Become friends with them. Showed them he was trustworthy with secrets. And he knew the way dark rooms lent themselves to whispered confessions.

Words said in the dark felt safer than those in the bright light.

“Yeah.”

“Okay.” Dustin turned out the light, then flipped on his side, facing Charlie, ready to listen.

Even in the dim room, Dustin could see he held himself stiffly, staring up at the ceiling.

“You’ve probably got great parents. But mine weren’t.” Charlie’s voice was soft. Filled with pain. “They’re not monsters. I honestly believe they didn’t want to hurt me. But they were so fucked up in their own ways it fucked me up.”

“I’m sorry that happened to you. Is that why you’re seeing a therapist?”

Charlie’s swallow was audible. “It’s … part of it. There are many reasons why I’m seeing someone but that’s sort of what’s at the root of it all, yeah.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not right now.” Charlie sighed. “I know I should. There’s more I should tell you eventually. I know we’re not really married, but we are friends, I think.”

“I hope we are,” Dustin said, although the reminder that Charlie didn’t view this as a real marriage stung.

“So I want to tell you but I—I need some more time.”

“Okay.”

Dustin licked his lips, wanting to ask another question, but he hesitated. He was afraid if he pushed, Charlie might shut down completely.

Instead, he settled a hand on Charlie’s stomach.

He flinched but he didn’t shake off the touch.

“How do you want me to handle the friend request and message from your mom? Should I block it?”

“Yeah. Or if you can’t bring yourself to do that, leave it unanswered. Just … ignore her, whatever you do. It’s not worth engaging. She’s trying to get to me through you and she’s never understood that I don’t want anything to do with her.”

“Okay.”

They lay there in silence for a few minutes, Dustin rubbing this thumb in a gentle pattern across Charlie’s stomach.

“You must think I’m horrible,” Charlie whispered. “Cutting my parents out of my life when they gave me so much.”

“I know you’re not horrible,” he said immediately.

But he paused, trying to figure out how to work out the rest of what he wanted to say.

He couldn’t imagine doing what Charlie had done. His own family wasn’t perfect but they were … they were good people. They loved and respected each other and when they fucked up, they apologized and tried to do better.

But he also knew that he was lucky. And many other people didn’t have what he did.

It was clear Charlie’s family was nothing like his and when he put together the vague things Charlie hinted at with Jamie’s warnings, it made him sure that Charlie had suffered something awful. Something that warranted cutting his family out of his life completely.

Besides, Charlie wasn’t a vindictive person. He could be a little sharp-tonged when he was feeling scared or overwhelmed but Dustin had never seen any evidence of him being unreasonable or cruel.

Dustin pulled in a deep breath, wanting to be sure what he said didn’t come across as patronizing.

“Charlie … there’s a lot I still don’t know about you, but I do know enough to confidently say you’re an incredible, giving person. Obviously, if you cut your family out of your life, there must have been a very good reason for it.”

“There was.” Charlie sounded on the verge of tears. “There really was. It … it would have killed me to keep them in my life. I know that sounds dramatic but it’s true.”

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