Bex

My dad drives in silence, his hands clutching the steering wheel so tight his knuckles are white. Fear shakes through me the further we drive without speaking a word. He hasn’t been this quiet since my mom left. For weeks after she was gone, he sat in the living room, staring at the TV with no sound.

“Say something, please,” I choke out the words. “I know you’re mad. So just get it over with. Yell at me. Tell me that I’m making a horrible decision. But don’t ignore me.”

“How could you, Bex?” His face scrunches in anger. “After everything that happened with Kellan.”

“Preston is nothing like Kellan. He’s decent and good. And he cares about me.”

“He might care about you now, but what happens after graduation? That kid is the real deal. He’s going to be a star… just like his dad.”

“Look how everything turned out for his parents. They seem happy. Just because his dad was a pro hockey player doesn’t mean he’s an asshole. What Preston does for a living doesn’t define him.”

“His dad was known as the King of Puck Bunny Scandals before he met Coach. He didn’t settle down with her until he’d hit rock bottom. Once Preston gets a taste of the life, and is traveling around the country, he won’t have time for you. I don’t want you to get left behind.”

“Why? Because Mom did it to you?”

His expression turns to pain, maybe sadness. “Watch it, Bex. At least I didn’t run away when the times got tough. I stuck it out. I did the best I could to raise you. All I want is what’s best for you. And it’s not Preston Parker. Maybe five or ten years from now I would change my mind, but you’re both so young.”

I cross my arms over my chest, my jaw set hard as I stare out the window and watch the cars pass us by on the highway. “I’m in love with him, Dad. There isn’t a thing you can do to change that.”

He sighs. “You might think you’re in love with that boy but love fades. Time and distance will change how you feel about each other.”

“I know I broke your rules, and I’m sorry.”

“Honey, you were in bad shape after what happened with Kellan. I didn’t know what to do back then. I forbade you from going near my players, and you still ended up with that piece of shit. All I want to do is keep you from getting hurt again. You are my number one priority. If you’re in pain, I will feel it, too. And I would do anything to take it away. You have no idea how much I wished I could back then. I thought that by coming to Strick U instead of Boston College, I could help you somehow.”

“Kellan was an exception. A jerk. Just because he plays hockey doesn’t mean every guy who does is like him. You were a hockey player, and you’re nothing like him.”

“I know,” he groans, shoving a hand through his hair, before placing it back on the steering wheel. “I don’t want you to get hurt again. I just wish you would have told me. We used to talk all the time. Not so much lately.”

“Because I’ve been keeping this a secret from you since the start of your season. I didn’t want it to have an impact on how you coached or how you felt about Preston. I didn’t want him to get benched over it. Hockey is important to him.”

“I would never bench my best player because of his personal life. Not unless he was partying all the time and failing out of school.”

“Do you think you can accept Preston and me? I’ve never felt this way about anyone before. I thought I loved Kellan but that was lust. Our relationship wasn’t based off anything real. But with Preston, it’s like I can be myself. He gets me in ways no one does.”

His frown slowly turns into a tiny smile that tugs at the corners of his mouth. Even in the darkness, I can see it. “If this is what you want and Preston makes you happy, then I’m okay with it. But I plan to talk to him. He better treat you good. You tell me if he gets out of line.”

I chuckle at his overprotectiveness. “I will, Dad. Promise. You will be the first to know.”