I grit my teeth, stomping up the sidewalk to meet her.
"Briggs!" she cries as soon as I'm within earshot. "I've been waiting for you, dear."
"What are you doing here, Mother?"
"I came to talk," she says, wringing her hands like she's distressed. Like everything else about her, it's an act, though. It's always an act with her. "About Hattie."
Of course she did. She always makes it about Hattie at first, pretending she misses her or that she cares. It's never that, though. The reality is that our mother is smart enough to know that Hattie's the only reason we tolerated her for as long as we did. She thinks Hattie is her way back into the fold, that if she just pretends for long enough, I'll soften just like I have so many times before.
It's not happening this time, though.
"We aren't talking about Hattie," I growl, my hands tight around my gym bag. "You don't get to know anything about her anymore."
"But I—"
"No."
"She's my daughter!" she cries dramatically. "I deserve to know what's going on in her life."
It's funny. Harlan is the one who just got married, but she doesn't even say his name now, like what's going on in his life doesn't interest her in the least since he stopped sending her money.
"No, you don't. You lost that right years ago," I say. "And I warned you last time you showed up here that if it happened again, you wouldn't like the consequences."
"You can't threaten me, Briggs Gregory Ward."
"It's not a threat," I say, stepping past her. "It's a promise. Stay the fuck away from my sister. Stay away from my brothers. Stay away from me and—" I stop myself before Tia's name slips.
But my mother's eyes narrow anyway. "Who?"
Fuck.
"My teammates," I lie, my teeth gritted. Hell will freeze over before I tell her about Tia. "They told me you were at the arena this morning."
"Yes. Why weren't you there?" Her gaze darts across my face like she's searching for the truth. "You're never late to practice."
Goddammit.
"That's not your concern, Mother."
"I'm your mother, Briggs. Of course it's my concern."
She was never that, not really. I've played hockey in the same city since I was drafted, just so I'd be here for Hattie. I can count on one hand how many times this woman has appeared at a game. And every fucking time, she had an ulterior motive, something she wanted, something she needed, or some reason she needed to be seen. Maybe she cared once. But I think her ability to love died when Dad chose our well-being over her. She's resented us ever since, especially Hattie.
"You need to leave." I thrust the key into the lock, ignoring the way she sniffles behind me. It's for show, just like everything else she does. And I'm not buying a ticket to watch the play.
"Please," she whispers, "please don't just shut me out. I need you, Briggs. You're the only one who—"
"Who what? Can pay your bills? Convince Tye and Harlan to send you money?" I shake my head, not even turning around to look at her. "Figure it out yourself, Mother."
"You promised," she says, confirming precisely what I already knew. None of her little appearances have anything to do with Hattie or any of us. They're all about the money I stopped sending her months ago.
"No, we had an agreement," I mutter. "I'd keep paying your bills if you left us the fuck alone. You didn't do that. The police had to escort you away from Hattie's while we were in Aspen last year. They had to escort you away from Tye's when you found out Vanessa was pregnant four months ago. You've done nothing but harass the fuck out of me for the last two years, not because you care, but because you can't stand not being the center of attention. It's eating you alive that you're no longer in the papers, playing the doting mother."
"That's not true!"
"Yeah, it is. It's always been true," I retort. "I stopped paying your bills because you couldn't behave. You want to keep living large? Get a job. I'm done."
I step inside, preparing to close the door in her face.