Puck Princess (Houston Scythes Hockey #2)

32. Owen

32

OWEN

My mom had this uncanny way of smiling while she was in pain. I could even hear it in her voice when she called. I could always picture her perfectly, phone pressed to her ear, bloody mouth split in a smile while she called me for help.

“Where are you?” I already knew she was at someone’s house. I already knew she needed me to come pick her up. The question was simply, which piece of shit guy was it this time?

It would take a while to get the answer out of her. She was either drunk, high, or had had the sense knocked out of her. Sometimes all three.

“I can’t come get you if I don’t know where you are.”

Every night it was the same. I went to school. Went to practice. Came home. Watched hockey videos. Filled out applications. And waited for the phone to ring.

“You know… you know where the methodist church is? The old one with the statue out front. The one Summer was scared of that time we walked past.”

“I know where it is, Mom.”

“I’ll meet you there. I’ll walk, and we can ? —”

“Stay where you are, and I’ll come to you. Don’t walk ? —”

The phone line went dead, and I didn’t bother trying to call it back. I grabbed the keys to my truck and drove the neighborhood, following the grid of the streets until I found her stumbling by the back entrance of the public pool. But I was too late.

A cop was parked next to her, talking out his window to her.

When she spotted me, she jabbed a finger in my direction. “See? My son is here to get me.”

I rolled the window down and killed the engine so the cop could hear me.

“This your mother?” the officer asked.

“Yes, sir.”

“Why’s she wandering the streets at midnight with no shoes?”

“She gets lost sometimes.”

“I do. I get lost.” She smiles, and I could see the chip in her front tooth. The fresh bruise under her eye. “My son always comes to rescue me.”

All those nights tracking down Mom replay in my mind like a bad home movie as I’m flying down the road to get to Summer.

I hate that I was right about her date from some app being a creep. I hate that she’s not in her right mind. And I hate that I can’t get there any faster.

I thought I’d saved Summer from all of this when I beat Miles down in that alley. When I arranged for her and Callie to talk to the lawyer.

But this shit never ends.

It never did with our mom.

So many nights I had to rescue my mom from bad situations. So many times I put my own ass on the line to see to it that she was okay. So many times I told myself I was going to get away from that. But I never did. And neither did she.

Summer is different, though. She has to be. Nicky has to have a better life than I did. And that all starts with making sure Summer doesn’t end up with a guy who listens to cockrock and takes her to bars where he can slip something in her coconut drink.

The bar is a madhouse. Who would have thought so many people would want to go to a seedy beach-themed dive for overpriced drinks and shitty beer? It’s dark inside with rundown cabana chairs and tiki posts. The waitresses are dressed like hula girls and the male bartenders are all shirtless with leis around their necks.

“Jesus Christ, Summer,” I mutter.

“Hey, I know you!” A blonde in a miniskirt who seems to have misplaced her shoes somewhere steps in front of me. “You play hockey, don’t you?”

I look over the top of her head to scan the room for Summer. “Where’s the bathroom?”

“In the back. Listen, come find me, and I’ll let you buy me a drink. Maybe I’ll even let you score…” She flashes an open-mouthed grin, running her tongue along her bottom lip.

“Right.” I step around her and shove my way through the crowd. There are two gender-neutral bathrooms in the back. A couple of girls rush into one, but there’s a line outside the other.

I squeeze through the crowd and bang on the door.

“You’re gonna be here a while, man.” Some rando with way too much cologne and a Hawaiian shirt slurs at me. “I think there’s a couple in that one.”

“What did they look like?”

“Fuck if I know, but they’ve been in there for ages. She’s been making all kinds of wild noises, if you know what I’m sayin’.” He wags his brows at me, but I’m already barreling through him to get to the door.

“Bro, you gotta wait like everyone else!” someone calls from behind me, but I don’t care.

“Summer?” I call out, banging again. “Summer!”

The door rips open and a tall redheaded woman fills the frame. She looks annoyed until her eyes rake over me. “Sorry, wrong number. But you’re welcome to join if you want.”

Behind her is another chick, and I really do have the wrong number.

I spin around, scanning the crowd. “Summer!”

Another woman tugs on my arm. “If you’re looking for a girl with hair kinda like yours, a pretty smile, and a black dress, she left with some guy with a septum piercing a minute ago.”

Fuck .

“Thank you.”

She grabs my arm again before I can squeeze past.

“She looked pretty sick though. I think she drank too much.”

My stomach swirls with anxiety.

I run faster, plowing into anyone and everyone who gets into my way.

I break through the doors hard enough to take them off their hinges. After looking right and left and right again, I finally see her.

Summer is stumbling down the sidewalk, nearly falling off the curb as a guy in a dirty Metallica shirt attempts to help her into his Civic. The strap of her dress is slipping down her shoulder and her hair is in her face.

“Hey!” my voice is loud enough to stop everyone between here and there, but Rock Boy ignores it. Summer can barely lift her head.

I close the space between us in a few strides and grab her arm before he can stuff her into his backseat.

He tosses his black hair from his face as he scowls at me. “Yo. What are you doing?”

“I should be asking you the same goddamn thing,” I growl at him.

Summer’s head rolls back. Her pupils are empty black holes. She’s looking right at me, but no one is home.

I tug her against me. “She’s coming with me.”

“Like hell she is, dickhead. Get your hands off my date.” He tries to pull her back, but I roll her behind me and lean forward so my face is directly in his.

“I recommend you get your hands off my sister. ”

“Owen?” Summer mutters. “I don’t feel so hot.”

Her knees buckle, and I help her down to the sidewalk, making sure she isn’t going to go face first into the gutter. Then I stand up and face the dead man walking again.

He’s suddenly a lot nicer. “Listen, your sister is a bit of a lush. I was just going to drive her home.”

I grab him by the shirt and slam him into the car hard enough to knock the wind out of him. When I let go, he slides down to the ground, gasping for air. Easy enough. I didn’t even have to hit him. I’m a little relieved, seeing as how my fist is still swollen.

I search Rock Boy’s pockets until I find his wallet. Then I take a photo of his ID and toss it back at him.

“I want to go home,” Summer starts to cry. “I want Nicky. Where’s Nicky?”

I scoop her up, cradling her in my arms as I make my way back to my car. I can hear cameras clicking behind me but it is what it is. It’ll be all over the media and she’s going to hate herself for it. But at least she’s safe. I got here just in time.

“He’s safe with Callie. Nicky is safe.”

As I carry her down the sidewalk, she murmurs into my shoulder. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay, Summer. You’re safe now.”

I can’t decide if I’m lying to her or not.

Callie made a bed for Summer in the nursery out of couch cushions and extra blankets. After making sure she has water and a trashcan next to her, I check on Nicky before quietly slipping out of the room.

“How is she?” Callie asks, handing me a cup of hot tea as soon as I walk into the kitchen.

“Out of it.” I let out a deep sigh.

“What do you think he gave her?”

“Beats me. Could have been anything. I’m just glad I got there when I did.”

Callie nods, hugging her own cup of tea in her hands. “I don’t even want to think about what could have happened to her.”

“I don’t have to. I’ve seen it before. With my mom.” My hands ball into fists on the counter. “This is exactly what I wanted to prevent. It’s like watching reruns sometimes. Twisted home movies. This time, I just hope I can do something to change the ending.”

“Owen, you’ve done all you can. At the end of the day, people are going to do what they’re going to do. We can only help them so much.”

I think about that. It’s a hard pill to swallow.

“I don’t want Nicky to go through what I did.”

Callie steps closer to me, pulling me against her. “He won’t.”

“How do you know that? He may never have a dad in his life.”

“But Nicky will always have you. He’ll have us. No matter what happens, he’ll have a safe place to be with people who want to love and protect him.”

This night was beyond shitty, but looking at Callie over the countertop, I could not be more grateful I get to end it with her. I cradle her face in my palm. “You really are amazing.”

“Why’s that?” she asks softly.

“Because you so easily love the people I love.”

“What can I say?” She gives a coy little shrug. “They’re easy to love. All of you.”

We lean in for a kiss. But before it can go deeper, it’s broken up by the sound of Summer getting sick in the other room, followed by Nicky fussing.

I sigh against her mouth.

Callie gives me another peck before she pulls away. “It’s going to be a long night, I’m afraid.”

My shoulders sink. “Yeah, it is.”