Misadventures of a Rookie (Misadventures #11)(53)

Get control of this crazy, out-of-control thing that was our relationship.

Exhaling hard, I walked back into the house just as Davis was running back out. My mom’s hands were at her hips, and my dad was just shaking his head. “That boy is a trip.”

“What?” I asked, and my mom glanced at me for just a moment before turning back to the sink.

“He wants to score just for you.”

“Aw, he’s such a doll.”

“He is,” she said, her voice tight. “If you were home with him, you’d know that.”

I bit into my lip just as my dad warned, “Rachel. Come on.”

But I was over it. “Mom, why do you ask me to come home if you’re just going to give me shit the entire time?”

She looked over her shoulder at me. “I’m not.”

“Yes, you are! I’ve been here for almost a whole twenty-four hours, and you’ve done nothing but take little jabs at me. I’m sorry! I’m sorry I wasn’t the daughter you raised. That I made a mistake, but hell, let it go! It’s been almost six years!”

“You walked out on us!”

“I didn’t, though! We decided on this, together, as a family. You told me I was making the right decision! I did it, and now you’re torturing me for it.”

“You aren’t here for him.”

“Because you took that right from me! I’m his sister! Remember!” I yelled, shaking my head, tears burning my eyes.

“Yeah, because you couldn’t handle being a mother,” she snapped, and I glared back at her as a silence stretched between us.

“You’re right. I was nowhere near ready; you told me that daily from the moment I came home pregnant. Then I was brokenhearted. I was clinically depressed for the whole nine months I was pregnant, Mom. Who would want that kind of person as a mother? Remember how you told me that? I wanted to give him up to a good family, but you insisted that you and Dad take him. You did this. You made the decision that I wasn’t good enough for him. Stop throwing that in my face. I have enough guilt as it is.”

My dad looked away, and my mom just shook her head. “I want you to be more involved in his life.”

“I am, Mom, as his sister who is seventeen years older than he is. I’m not his mom; you are. I am so sorry that I’ve disappointed you. That I’m not what you wanted, but thank God you have him. He’ll be everything you wanted me to be. I believe that, but every time you throw my past in my face, you’re not only hurting me, you’re pushing me away. So I suggest you stop.” Turning my back to her, I went to leave the room, but before I stepped out, I turned and said, “I’m taking him to the Tornadoes game tonight and then going out to dinner after. We’ll be home late.”

“Why don’t you go before?” she asked.

I shook my head. “Because my boyfriend, who is playing tonight for the Tornadoes, wants to take us out afterward.”

Dad turned, looking at me, as my mom’s jaw dropped. “A boyfriend? Do you think that’s a good idea? Don’t you remember the last time you got involved with a hock—”

“I mean, I’m almost twenty-two, and contrary to your beliefs, Mom, I did learn from my mistakes. Gus isn’t Jesse. He’s a good dude, and we’re having fun.”

“Well, does he know about Davis?” she asked, her eyes wild with anger.

“As my brother, yes. Gus doesn’t need to know anything more,” I said simply. “Just the way we decided that Davis would never know.”

When neither of them commented or even looked at me, I walked out of the room, nothing more than a damn disappointment to both of them. I hated how this played out. I wanted to be the daughter they used to love, but with how everything had gone down, I would never be. I would forever be the one who couldn’t handle anything because of some guy.

Some rookie who broke my heart.

And now I was dating another.

But Gus wasn’t Jesse.

He wasn’t.

God, I hoped he wasn’t.





Chapter Twenty-Nine





Gus





In one hand I held the first NHL puck that I had scored with.

In the other was Bo’s hand.

It was easy to say, I was one happy guy.

The game was unbelievable. It was such a rush, wearing a Tornadoes jersey with my name and number on the back. Looking up in the stands and seeing not only my mom and dad but Bo too was downright indescribable. I couldn’t believe it, but it was true, and I’d had no choice but to ignore the pain in my side and play my game.

And I wasn’t one to point out when I played great—well, who was I kidding? I was, and I did fucking awesome.

Was I hurting now? Hell yes, but I was masking it pretty well as Bo’s little brother, Davis, talked my ear off.

“What did it feel like?”

I beamed over at him. He was like a mini Bo. Those St. James genes must be pretty strong. “I don’t even know. It just felt right.”

“It was so cool seeing you out there! I wanna be you,” he gushed, and Bo beamed over him, messing up his hair.

“You’ll get there if you work hard,” she said simply, kissing his temple, and he nodded up to her, the love of a thousand worlds in his eyes.