by Toni Aleo
Pulling in a deep breath, Jensen looked past Bradley to Wren, and she froze, her heart jumping up into her throat. “So you want him back, I assume?”
Wren’s eyes widened. “What? Him?”
“Yes. He’s the father, so I assume—”
“Well, you assume wrong. I don’t know when you guys decided to walk into this clusterfuck, but as I was telling this asshole, I don’t want anything to do with him. I only want you,” she said, stepping toward Jensen, but he held his hand up.
“And you think you want her back?”
Bradley looked at Jensen as his eyes narrowed. “I’m the father, and I sure as hell don’t want you being with her and my child.”
“You’ve always been jealous of Jensen, dude. We all know you don’t want her, you’re just trying to hurt him,” Vaughn snapped, and Bradley scoffed.
“I don’t give a shit about any of you. I just want to be with my kid.”
“Whoa, what?”
Everyone turned at the same time to see Shanna standing by the side door, looking beautiful in a black dress that hugged her body. Wren’s eyes closed as tears gathered in them.
Could this get any worse?
Where were the cameras? There had to be cameras for this damn clusterfuck.
When Shanna’s eyes cut to Wren’s, her heart sank. Well, there went the friendship she was trying to fix.
Shanna’s eyes dragged from Wren’s to Bradley before she said, very firmly, “Bradley, what did you say?”
Bradley’s eyes widened as he looked at his sister before looking to Wren and then back to Shanna. Before he could speak, Wren said, “I couldn’t tell you—”
“I’m not talking to you, Wren. I’m talking to him,” Shanna demanded, and Wren snapped her mouth shut as she looked down to the ground, her heart hurting in her chest. She wasn’t sure what the hell was going to happen, but this wasn’t good. None of it was. Lifting her head since Bradley was still sputtering, she looked to Jensen, who was staring at her, his eyes dark and full of so much hurt.
“Jensen—”
“Bradley, I asked you a question!” Shanna yelled, and when Wren looked over at her, her eyes were full of tears. Soon Wren’s own tears were falling down her cheeks.
“I used to screw around with her, and she got pregnant.”
The words hurt. Like knives going into her chest one by one. Why. Why him? But then she found herself thinking, If it hadn’t happened, you wouldn’t have Jensen.
But was she about to lose him?
“So explain to me why, just the other day, Wren was telling me that the guy who got her pregnant decided he didn’t want her or the baby and wanted her to get an abortion. Is that true?”
There it was.
He’d lie, and everyone would believe him.
She just knew it.
Tears gushed from her eyes, falling down her cheeks as she stared at the floor.
“It wasn’t completely like that. I got scared. I never told her to get an abortion,” he lied, and she could only shake her head. It was her word against his. This fucker.
But to her surprise, Vaughn yelled, “Yes, you did, you fucking asshole. She wouldn’t lie about that! Wren doesn’t cry much, and when she does, it’s for a good reason.” When she looked up again, everyone was glaring at Bradley.
“Our baby wouldn’t lie!” Elaine yelled, shaking her head.
“Be a man. Own up to what you did,” Wells added, his eyes falling on Wren’s. “You at least owe her that.”
Wren’s lips trembled as she sucked in a deep breath.
“He doesn’t know how to be a man,” Shanna said, and Wren’s head whipped around to her, her mouth hanging open. “Wren wouldn’t lie about that, so don’t you dare lie to me.”
Holy crap.
Bradley looked down, tucking his hands into his pockets. “Why does it matter? She didn’t do it, and now I want to be the dad.”
Shanna laughed, but there wasn’t a trace of humor in it. “You? Want to be a dad? Are you serious? And you’re ready to leave your meal ticket? Because you won’t have a firm if you leave Misty. Also, do you know how much child support Wren can get out of you? How about taking care of the kid? Would you be able to handle that by yourself? Because if our parents find out, you’re screwed.”
Bradley shook his head. “I never said I was leaving Misty—”
“You told me to get a divorce and be with you not five minutes ago,” Wren snapped, her tears rolling down her face. “Why do you lie? Why are you doing this? You don’t fucking care about me.”
Bradley went to speak, but Shanna stopped him, walking toward them as her eyes were trained on her brother. “You don’t,” she said sternly, her eyes so full of tears Wren couldn’t believe they hadn’t spilled over yet. “You aren’t ready to be a father because you’re not even a man. And the thing is, Bradley, you aren’t the father of this child. Jensen is, and you need to leave that alone.”
“Shanna—”
“Leave it alone,” she said once more. “And get the fuck out of here.”
Wren’s eyes widened at the curse word, surprised that Shanna had said it to her baby brother, who had always apparently hung the moon. Shaking her head, Shanna covered her mouth, turning to leave, but Wren went to stop her. “Shanna, I’m so—”
“Don’t touch me. Don’t you ever talk to me again. You were with my brother? And you never told me? Don’t. We are done,” she said sternly, moving away from her and going out the door as Wren’s shoulders drooped, her eyes falling shut as the silence fell over the lot of them.
“Your move, fucker,” Wells said, and Wren shook her head.
“Just let him go,” she added, wiping her face. “He doesn’t matter.”
“No—” Vaughn tried, but Jensen interrupted him.
“What do you want Wren?”
She opened her eyes, looking at her husband, but he wouldn’t look at her. “I want you. I want us. I don’t want this asshole. At all.”
He nodded slowly, swallowing as he looked to Bradley. “So, your move, Brad. Want to take her to court?” Wren didn’t miss that Jensen hadn’t said us, and when she opened her eyes, he was glaring at Bradley. “Because I don’t think she’s letting you near the kid.”
The kid. Not our kid.
Fuck.
Looking around, Bradley shook his head as he was breathing heavily, sweat gathering at his brow. And if three huge, angry hockey players were looking at her like they were about to kill her, she’d be sweating too. Turning to her, Bradley held her gaze. “You don’t want me in the kid’s life?”
“Not even kinda. But when he turns eighteen, I’ll tell him who you are. If he wants you, he can find you, but Jensen will be his father.”
Bradley chewed on his lip but not for long before shaking his head. “Fine, fuck it. I’m out,” he said, holding his hands up, and she let out the breath she was holding as her gaze fell back to Jensen. He still wasn’t looking at her.
“Best decision you’ve made today,” Winston called up to him before shaking his head. “By the way, you aren’t welcome around my family ever again.”
Wells nodded. “Exactly, and if you don’t want your mama finding out, I suggest you get out of here.”
Bradley went to pass by Jensen, but Wells blocked him. He looked up at her brother, and Wren held her breath, waiting for the hit. “Can I get by, or is this really going to result in blows?
“Wells. Be an adult, please,” Jensen said simply, and Wells rolled his eyes, stepping out of his way.
As Wells stepped next to Jensen, he watched Bradley, and she almost thought he would hit him, but then Vaughn said, “Oh, Brad, you forgot this.”
Bradley’s face scrunched up as he turned, but before he could even open his mouth to ask anything, Vaughn’s fist crashed into his face, hard, and Bradley hit the ground just as hard.
Gasping, Jensen hollered, “What the hell, Vaughn?”
Shaking out his hand, Vaughn shrugged. “You told Wells
to be an adult, not me.”
“You knocked him out cold!” Wells yelled, and Vaughn shrugged. “On the runner! Shit, Alex is gonna be pissed!”
“How in the hell did you knock him out?”
“I tell you guys all the time, I’m strong as fuck.”
Ignoring him, Wren reached out, taking Jensen’s arm. He turned, looking down at her as her eyes begged for forgiveness. “Jensen, I’m so sorry. I didn’t want you to find out like this.”
He chuckled but without humor. “You mean, you didn’t want me to find out at all.”
“Yes, that,” she said simply. “He’s an asshole, he doesn’t matter. I told you that. Only you matter.”
Shaking his head, he looked down at the ground. “Wren, I’m so mad, I could fucking scream right now. Just let me go.”
“Never. I’ll never let you go. Please, don’t be mad at me. I get it. I was an idiot—”
“You lied to me.”
“But I didn’t. I just didn’t confirm or deny your theory because I couldn’t, and I know that makes me a coward, and I know you’re pissed. I’m so sorry. Please, Jensen, look at me,” she begged, reaching for his face to pull him toward her, but when she saw his expression, she let him go.
His eyes were full of tears.
“Did you know he was going to be here today?”
Her brows came in as she shook her head. “I wasn’t sure. I assumed so, but I didn’t care. I swear it, I only care about you. Us. Our family.”
Looking away, he closed his eyes as his shoulders fell. “The day of the Cup party, you didn’t go because you knew he’d be there, didn’t you?”
She pressed her lips together. She wasn’t sure what he was getting at, but she was unable to lie, so she nodded. “Yeah, I didn’t want to see him.”
He nodded as a tear slowly rolled down his face. “And you wanted to fly home to be with my dad because you thought he’d be here, not because my dad was sick, right?”
It was like he’d slammed his goalie stick into her chest as she stared up at him. Was he fucking serious right now? How could he think that?
“I would never—”
“I’m over the lies, Wren—”
Wells took his shoulder, shaking his head. “Jensen, come on, bro. That isn’t true.”
“It makes sense. All she does is run,” he said matter-of-factly. “Close people out or run, that’s Wren’s trademark, how she does things. Because people don’t fucking change, do they, Wren?”
A sob escaped from her lips as she shook her head, feeling like she couldn’t catch her breath. “No. I have. For you,” she somehow got out, but Jensen shook his head.
“I thought so too, but—” He paused, wiping away the tear on his cheek before he looked down, inhaling shakily. “But this…this proves something completely different. Yeah, I’m out.” Her heart shattered in her chest as she reached for him, but he was already turning before stepping over Bradley’s body and heading down the aisle. Her parents moved out of his way, not making eye contact as she went to go after him, but both Wells and Vaughn stopped her.
“No, leave me alone for a minute,” she protested.
“Yeah, he needs a minute. He’s pissed,” Wells warned, but Wren didn’t care, pushing his hands away.
“I don’t fucking care. He’s my husband.”
“If you want that, then you need to give him at least ten minutes to calm down,” Wells demanded. “Listen, I know you love him, and I know you know him. But you haven’t seen really angry Jensen. We have. He needs a fucking minute.”
But she had to go after him. Her heart was breaking, and she’d be damned if she was going to let him do the one thing she was scared of. But when she tried again, Wells wrapped her up in his arms, kissing her head. “Really, Wren, give him a minute. Honestly.”
“I can’t! I love him, Wells. I can’t,” she cried, coming undone in her brother’s arms as he buried his face in her neck.
“I know he loves you. He’s mad, and he isn’t going to listen. Just, please, listen to us,” he begged, rubbing her back. “It’s okay. I love you, it’s fine. It will work out.”
But would it?
As she cried into her brother’s chest, clinging to him when she really wanted to cling to Jensen who was her constant rock, Vaughn asked, “What are we doing with this douche? Mom, should I drag him out and put him outside?”
It was the perfect time to laugh.
But Wren was pretty sure she would never laugh again if her worst fear was coming true.
That she had just lost Jensen.
God. He was an idiot.
He was a fucking dumbass.
How could he let this happen?
Why was he so fucking naïve!
Running his hands down his face, Jensen paced along the back of the venue on the water. While it was warm, the coolness off the lake was nice, but Jensen was shaking with anger. How dare she? How could she? Sleep with that guy? Bradley, whack-off-in-the-bathroom, Washington! He was a child, a fucking asshole, and he wasn’t worthy of her. But she didn’t think more of herself than to give herself to him! And then to have a kid with him? Fucking, really? Yeah, he couldn’t give her a kid, but damn it, he would have been good to her. He was fucking good to her.
Damn it.
He was disgusted and couldn’t believe it. What hurt the most was that she might not have thought she was doing it intentionally, but he knew she was trying to get out of her brother’s wedding by going home due to the simple fear of seeing that bastard.
God, it hurt.
It fucking hurt bad.
His feelings were all over the place. He wanted to believe her. Believe in them. But he knew her, he knew her track record, and he would be naïve to assume she had changed. He didn’t doubt she loved him and his family, he knew she did, but she would do anything to make sure he didn’t find out about Bradley. He wasn’t sure he could let that go. Also, Bradley? Really? That was his son’s father? How the hell was he supposed to look at that kid…
This was what she didn’t want.
This right here.
The thoughts in his head.
Swirling and making him feel like he was going to hurl.
“Fucking hell,” he muttered as he sat down on a wooden bench, covering his face with his hands and leaning on his legs as they bounced with nervousness. Or fear. He didn’t understand what he was feeling. A dread that was so unfamiliar, it hurt.
When he felt someone sit down beside him, he didn’t look up as Vaughn said, “We need to stop meeting like this.”
He couldn’t even muster up enough energy to laugh. Swallowing hard, he moved his hands up a bit as he said, “Remember that time in the juniors when I was having the worst game of my life, and I let in six goals.”
“I do.”
“Seeing that puck behind me, sneaking in like a fucking asshole, was awful. I hate that feeling because I knew I could have stopped it—if I was quicker, you know? But that feeling, it gets me. It’s like a drop in my gut, and I hate it. But this, what I’m feeling right now, is ten times worse.”
Vaughn whistled, and Jensen shut his eyes behind his hands, seeing nothing but darkness, which was what he felt. “Well, I should have sent Wells, he’s better with this kind of thing. But he was helping Winston get Bradley up and out, while Elaine tried to comfort a very upset Wren. I don’t think I’m cut out for this kind of talk.”
Jensen scoffed, shaking his head. “Just go, man.”
“Nah, you’re my bestie. I’ll stay, try. If I ruin shit, then, eh, at least I tried,” he said. “And by the way, I don’t try, I win.”
Jensen couldn’t even roll his eyes, he just muttered. “You can go.”
“No, can’t. I’m here for you.”
When Vaughn’s hand came to his back, slapping it hard, Jensen shook his head. “I don’t know what to do.”
“Well, you could talk to her. I mean, you kinda just yelled and told her what she was feeling and doing. Didn’t give her a
chance to tell you differently.”
“Because there is no point,” Jensen said, dropping his hands. “This is what she does. She runs or she hides. She hasn’t once just owned up to what she has done or what she is feeling—”
“Lie.”
“Excuse me?”
He looked back at Vaughn with an eyebrow raised, and Vaughn shrugged. “Lie. She told you she loved you. Out of her mouth, to you, with no hesitation at what you said,” he said simply, and Jensen looked away. “You say she hasn’t changed, but I think she has. She isn’t the girl I knew two months ago. Yeah, she still threatens me. But, dude, she does it with a smile. She looks at you with the same gooey look you always have for her. She set up a fucking nursery, for goodness’ sake. She cares about what you think, what you want for her, and, dude, she loves your family. You know that. Come on, she wouldn’t want to go home to be with your dad to get out of Wells’s wedding because of that douche. She wanted to go for you, for your dad. You know that, so what’s going on?”
Jensen’s mouth trembled as he shook his head. He did know that. He knew all that, so what was it? Damn it. Why? As the tears burned his eyes, he inhaled deeply, his words coming out as a whisper, “It’s too good, man. I got it all, and I knew… I knew it was too good, and here we are. I’ve got this fucker who can come and fight us at any moment for him, for the son I’ve decided is mine, the son she said was mine. And fuck, man, I mean, I’m… Damn it, Vaughn.” He paused, taking a deep breath. “I’m scared that I’ll keep giving everything to her, loving her, loving my son, and this fucker will come in and take it all.”
Glancing to Vaughn, Jensen found his best friend staring at him like he was stupid or something. “Did you not listen to anything I said, Jenny? She told him to go take a hike.”
“But he’s the father—”
“No, he isn’t. You are. We all know it. We all feel it, and that’s it.”
“But that’s not how it works, Vaughn—”
“Who said? Because I don’t have a relationship with my father, and who is my dad? Winston. He is who I consider as my father. Is he my blood? Nope. Same with you and Wells. I don’t have a brother, I lost him. But thank God, he gave me you and Wells and, again, you guys aren’t my blood. So I don’t get it. I don’t understand what you’re upset about.”