The chances of Brooke having to retire from figure skating were higher than her starting the next season. I couldn’t tell her, though, because I feared we’d just continue to fight if I did.
But fighting over this was better than watching my girlfriend destroy herself.
I looked up from the ice, trying to find my brother in the crowd, only to see my parents instead.
They weren’t supposed to get here for another couple of days.
Shit, now that I knew they were here, it felt like someone was wrapping a rope around my neck and cutting off my oxygen.
I knew they were always watching my games on TV, but having my father here in person was a different kind of pressure. The urge to win the game and make him proud was stronger now that he was present.
I barely got to spend time with my parents, and the last few times they came to watch a game of mine in person, we lost. So today, perhaps we could celebrate a win for a change.
“CARTER!” one of my teammates yelled as he skated past me.
My head shook as if to shake off unwanted thoughts and focus on the game once more, but it was too late.
One second, I stood on the ice. The next, someone pushed me against the boards so hard that my lungs stopped working for a moment.
—
“Is Brooke coming to dinner with us?” Dad asked as he and Mom sat down in my car.
Colin was taking Lily and the kids home, so he had no space for our parents, which meant I had to drive them home.
I didn’t mind and I didn’t see them often enough to be able to complain about it.
My parents came here about once every three months for a week unless it was one of their kids or grandkids’ birthday. Sometimes, Lily’s if she asked them to come, but she didn’t even celebrate this year.
Colin wasn’t in New York for his birthday, so neither were they, which meant I hadn’t seen my parents since July.
So, driving them to dinner and then home really wasn’t a big deal.
“I don’t think so,” I answered and looked out of the window to watch Brooke as she and Nova, her younger sister, waited by their father’s car for him and Emory to get there. “We could just make it a family dinner.”
Dad looked out of the window as well, waving at my girlfriend when she spotted us. Without missing a beat, Brooke’s face lit up with a smile, and she waved back.
Her gaze shifted over to me for a brief moment, and although the smile stayed on her lips, something just seemed off to me.
I couldn’t exactly see her eyes from this far away, but if I had to guess, she was far from happy at that moment.
Our fights were draining the life right out of us, and I hated that feeling more than anything. Something had to change before it was too late, but I had no idea where to start.
“Brooke’s like family,” Mom said eventually. “Go invite her.”
“Can I send her a text?” I pulled out my phone, but Mom already said no before I even got to unlock the phone.
“Youneverinvite a lady to dinner over text.”
My father chuckled. “This isn’t the eighties anymore, Elena. Kids these days handle everything through their phones.”
“Yeah, Mamá. We handle everything?—”
“Go. Ask. Her. Out. In. Person.” She clapped her hands with each word. “Just because she’s your girlfriend doesn’t mean you get to not put any effort into your relationship anymore. Buy the girl some flowers for a change, Reece. Andstop texting her everything when you have two perfectly working legs to go see her and talk to her in person.”
I threw my phone onto the free passenger seat beside me, sliding a hand down my face before I got back out of the car.
“And Reece?” Mom said before I could close the car door. I poked my head back inside, waiting. “When do you plan on proposing? I’d love to be alive for your wedding.”