by Toni Aleo
Wells’s heart caught, stalling in his chest. “I mean…maybe? I don’t know. Though, I doubt the next one will be as eventful as the last one.”
Matty chuckled. “Yeah, no other man will ever keep you from me. They try, I’ll kill them.”
Wells’s face lit up as he held Matty’s jaw. “You asking?”
“Nope,” he said, his eyes dancing with love and all things sweet and gooey. Wells hadn’t seen that look in Matty’s eyes before, and it made him feel all sorts of things. Good things. Great, even. “Just wondering.”
“Ah. Well, the answer is yes, I do want to get married, if you do.”
Wells shot Matty a grin, but when he went to pull back, Matty caught the back of his head, his lips lingering against his as he whispered, “I love you, Wells.”
His heart was so full he almost couldn’t handle it.
“I love you too.”
Twenty-Three
Matty felt someone staring at him.
Since Wells had been the only one in his bed for the last three days, he was sure it was his boyfriend, so he just ignored it, trying to fall back into a deep slumber. He was tired; they had stayed out all night, hanging out and having dinner with Seth since he’d insisted on meeting Wells. It was great, and they got along perfectly. Wells was charming and sweet and everything that Matty loved about him, while Seth was open-minded and kind to Wells. It was great, though it hurt Matty that Laurence wasn’t even speaking to him. There was nothing to do about it, though, and if he started thinking about it now, he’d never fall fully back to sleep.
But when he tried to do just that, he was jerked awake when he heard, “Matthew Robert Haverbrooke.”
The voice was low, deep, and full of such fury that it didn’t take Matty long to know who was standing at the side of his bed. Blinking a few times, he widened his eyes as he met a pair of eyes that matched his own.
His father’s.
“Dad.”
Wells moved beside him. “I mean, I’m down for Daddy play, but I’m dead tired. Go back to sleep, we can try that later.”
Fuck. His dad’s eyes widened, his face turning such a dark red as he puffed up like a balloon that was about to pop. “So, it’s true?”
Matty scrambled, pulling the blanket up his body as he smacked Wells’s back. “Dude, get up.”
“I don’t want to,” Wells moaned, rolling over and trying to get ahold of Matty, but Matty was getting out of the bed, searching for clothes. “What the— Oh, fuck.”
Scrambling alongside Matty, Wells was up, reaching for clothes as Benedict Haverbrooke sputtered with anger. “You have got to be fucking kidding me! Matthew, this is not okay!”
“Dad, please,” Matty protested, his body shaking with fear as he threw on a shirt. “How did you even get in here?”
“The door was unlocked,” he yelled as Wells just stared in horror. Had they been that drunk and horny last night?
Wells looked back to Matty and shrugged. “Probably should have locked the bedroom door.”
Matty glared as he turned back to his dad. “Dad, get out.”
“No. You’re going to explain to me what the fuck is wrong with you! This isn’t how I raised you.”
“Dad, please, Wells needs privacy.”
“I don’t give two fucks about this faggot’s privacy. Did he force you into this?”
Wells balked as he glared over at Benedict, but before he could say anything, Matty was yelling back, “Absolutely not. This is mutual.”
“No! He’s making you.”
“Dad, stop! He is not.”
“He’s too old for you! He is forcing you into this!”
Wells’s brows pulled in as Matty shook his head. “No. Fuck, stop. That’s not what this is at all.”
“Watch your mouth, boy. I am your father, and you will stop this right now!”
“Dad, we need to calm down. Let’s go into the kitchen so Wells can get dressed.”
“No, you explain to me right now. Is this a phase? Is this a cry for help? Do you know what you are doing? You’re not only ruining your own damn name, but mine too! I am the commissioner of the NHL. I can’t have a fucking gay son. We are not made like that. We are men. Haverbrooke men are real men, not gays!”
“I am a man!” Matty roared, his body shaking, and he could feel Wells watching him. “I didn’t want you to find out like this. I wanted to tell you, I wanted to introduce you—”
“Matthew, I don’t want to hear this. Why are you doing this? Are you crying for attention? What?”
“Dad, I’ve been gay since I was a teenager.”
But Benedict shook his head. “No, I didn’t raise a gay.”
“It’s homosexual,” Wells muttered, rolling his eyes. “And you don’t raise them, it’s just who we are.”
“Shut your fucking mouth,” he demanded, and Wells laughed.
“Excuse me, sir, but I’m a grown-ass adult, and you don’t get to talk to either me or Matty like that.”
“Matthew is my son!”
“I don’t care if you’re God and he’s Jesus, you aren’t going to talk to him like that!”
“Which is why you’ll burn in hell with the rest of your gay-loving fags, but not my son,” he sneered back. When Benedict looked back to Matty, his eyes were wild as he shook his head. But all Matty could do was stand there, his own eyes filling with tears. This wasn’t supposed to happen this way. He wanted to tell them face-to-face, to explain things, but that wasn’t what was happening. He was getting screamed at and ridiculed instead. “We will get you help, I promise. I’ll find the best therapist. I’m sure this is a phase.”
Holding back his tears, Matty pleaded with his eyes for his father to understand. Surely, he understood. Matty hadn’t dated girls growing up. Yeah, he covered that with the excuse that he was too busy with hockey. But surely this man, his father, knew the truth. Deep down. Matty was banking on it, but his father’s eyes held nothing but disgust and wrath swirling in the turquoise depths. It was no use. Anything Matty said, his dad wouldn’t listen to. He knew that. He felt it in his heart, and the rejection cut bone-deep.
Taking a deep breath, he shook his head. “Dad, no. This is who I am.”
“No!” he shouted, looking back to Wells. “I should beat the fuck out of you. You know I can ruin you!”
“You can try,” Wells said, shrugging, standing beautifully naked, his eyes trained on Benedict’s. “But in the end, my family loves me, and Matty loves me.”
Matty’s father actually gagged. “You do not love this man.”
“I do,” Matty asserted. “Very much.”
“Matthew!” he roared, causing Matty’s ears to ring. Benedict was livid, way worse than when Matty was ten and he smashed the headlight of his dad’s BMW with a puck. He’d actually thought he would die that day, but at the moment, that day was nothing compared to the fear that was shaking his core. Because if his father put his hands on Wells, Matty would kill him. And if he put his hands on Matty, he was pretty sure Wells would be the one killing his dad. “This isn’t who you are, son. Please, listen to me,” he pleaded, coming toe-to-toe with Matty. “Think of your career. You’ll never be looked at the same, everyone will make fun of you, they won’t take you seriously. Gays can’t play hockey—”
“Actually, Commissioner, there is already a program to work with the LGBTQ community. You approved it, I’m sure,” Wells offered, and Matty wished he hadn’t said anything. You didn’t argue with his father. It didn’t work. He was always right, according to him.
“I did that to make people happy, but in no way, shape, or form did that mean I wanted my son to be one of them,” he shot back, his gaze trained on Matty. “Son, this isn’t who you are. You are strong, you are talented, but being in a relationship, loving a man, that is disgusting and wrong.”
“It is not,” Matty tried, a sob choking him as his father’s gaze blazed at him. “It’s who I am.”
“No. No, it’s not, and I don’t suppor
t this. How do you think this is going to look when it comes out, when the NHL finds out? People will look at me like I raised you wrong—when I most assuredly did not!”
“For God’s sake, this isn’t about being raised right or wrong. It’s who he is biologically!” Wells yelled, and Matty’s eyes fell shut.
“Wells, please—”
But Matty couldn’t get all his words out before Benedict was pointing at Wells, venom in his voice as he demanded, “Stay away from him.”
“Never,” Wells vowed. “I can promise you that.”
“I will ruin you.”
Wells shrugged. “Take your best shot.”
“Please stop,” Matty pleaded. “Dad, can’t you see this is who I am? I am your son. You’re supposed to love me no matter what.”
Benedict was flabbergasted, his arms flying up as he yelled, “I won’t love a faggot. I will not support something that is totally unacceptable in our fucking family. If you are doing this, I will have no part in it.”
“Dad—”
“No fucking part, Matty, and I can promise you, the rest of the family will follow suit. Are you ready to give them all up for this, for this faggot?”
“A faggot is actually a bunch of sticks that are tied together,” Wells said, his eyes narrowed, and damn it, this was why Matty had wanted to do this alone. Wells couldn’t control his emotions when it came to Matty; he was beyond overprotective. “Just thought you should know.”
“No one is talking to you,” Benedict shouted, looking back at Matty. “Are you ready to lose it all, Matthew? A family that loves and cares for you? How can you do this to me?”
That made Matty laugh disdainfully. “You were never there to love and care for me, so I’m sorry that I’m having a hard time understanding how you can be this upset.”
“I was always there. Maybe not physically, but I had a role in your life as your father, and you will fucking respect me, Matthew Robert!”
“Respect is earned not expected. He doesn’t haven’t to respect someone who is making him out to be worthless,” Wells said, Benedict glaring at him. The way they looked at each other was scary. It hurt Matty, and soon he was shaking his head.
“Dad, maybe you should go.”
Benedict whipped his head back to stare at him. “Excuse me?”
“Leave. Please.”
“I am your father, and if I walk out that fucking door, I swear you will be no son of mine.”
Matty didn’t even hesitate. “Well, good thing you have two other sons because you need to leave.”
Matty was sure his father was about to have a coronary. He stormed out of the room with not even a look back, and Matty jumped when the door slammed shut.
That just happened.
Holy fuck.
He couldn’t breathe.
Collapsing back onto the bed, he held his face, rocking back and forth as he took in deep breaths, trying to calm his racing heart. He’d known it wouldn’t be easy; he knew his dad would be upset, but he’d never expected him to treat him like that. To so coldheartedly speak to him like he was the dirt on his shoe. How could he be so heartless, how could he just toss Matty to the side? Matty was his son, his flesh and blood, but because he chose to love a man, he was dead to him?
That wasn’t fair, nor was it right.
He was a person—yeah, he wasn’t the greatest, but he was trying. What the fuck had he done to deserve that? And while all that was enough to rip Matty apart, especially the part about his family turning on him, he couldn’t help but think that his father might be right about the other consequences.
What if people didn’t see him as a real player because of who he loved? He loved hockey; it was everything to him after Wells. He loved playing, he loved the respect he had, he loved his teammates, but would all that vanish the moment they knew? He didn’t care about the other teams because they always trash-talked, but his team… That wouldn’t be good. While he had thought about his dad’s career, he didn’t think it would affect it as much as he claimed. He didn’t understand why it would. It wasn’t his dad’s life, it was Matty’s.
“You know all that shit he said is just that: shit. Bullshit, really.”
But Matty couldn’t speak. A sob was in his throat, and he felt like he couldn’t catch his breath. “Matty, for real, baby. Seth and Avery love you and support you. Yeah, Laurence is being a dick, but he’ll come around, and so will your dad. Don’t let this get you down.”
When Wells took ahold of Matty’s shoulder, he shook out of it, needing to just breathe. He didn’t want to be touched, he wanted to breathe. “What the fuck, Matty? I get it. It’s hard, and that was tough, but you’ve got me.”
Letting his hands fall from his face, Matty shook his head. “It’s not that. I said from the beginning that as long as I had you, I was fine. But I never thought about what people in the league would think. I only thought about my family. Yeah, I’m a private person, and I don’t want people knowing my business, but you want us out, out—”
“Yes, I do because that’s what a relationship is. We aren’t going to stand behind closed doors or hide on private beaches to be together. Matty, we’re going to love each other freely. That’s what you promised me.”
Looking up to Wells, Matty felt his tears spill over as he met Wells’s hesitant gaze. Wells looked worried, even a little standoffish as Matty said, “Wells, my career is everything to me. I have respect because I earned it. I can’t lose that—”
“You won’t, for one. And for two, your dad has fucked with your head, just like he wanted to. I don’t want to do this while you’re down, but if you’re breaking your promise to me, I swear to God, I’m walking out that door, and I’m not coming back.”
Matty stood then, holding out his hands. “I have no intention of breaking my promise., I wouldn’t do that. But fuck, Wells, don’t you understand? This could ruin me.”
“My career isn’t ruined. People adore me! My teammates love me.”
“Your team isn’t mine, and you aren’t the player I am.”
Wells looked as if he had been slapped as he slowly shook his head. Realizing what that had sounded like, Matty held up a hand. “That came out wrong—”
“Nope, pretty sure you’re saying my team sucks and I’m not some hotshot rookie of the year like you are, am I correct?”
“It’s more than that. My name has standards.”
Wells laughed. “Where were all those standards when your dick was down my throat, or better yet, up my ass, Matty? You didn’t care about those standards then.”
“That’s not what I mean.”
“Oh, please, tell me.”
“Why are you being a dick to me?” Matty yelled, holding his hands out. “I’m trying my best here. My dad just attacked me, and I don’t even know what my mom is going to say.”
Wells just glared. “Oh, poor you. Let’s talk about how you’re being a dick to me. I’ve been there for you, over and over again. I’ve loved you when you didn’t even love yourself. I helped you, I stood by you, I urged you to rekindle a relationship with your sister, but yet, you still want to hide me.”
“I’m not trying to hide you!”
“No, you’re trying to guilt me into being yours only in the dark. You want me to feel sorry for you, to give you time to figure out a way to keep on fucking me until we get caught again. Well, you know what? I deserve way better than that. So do you. So fuck that, Matty, and damn it, fuck you.”
Wells snatched up his clothes and blew past him. Matty tried to grab for him, but Wells whipped around, shaking his head. “Don’t touch me.”
“Wells, stop,” he pleaded. “I’m not trying to do any of that. I’m freaking out, give me a fucking minute.”
Looking over his shoulder as he pulled on his clothes, Wells glared. “You shouldn’t have to think about anything. It’s simple. You talk to your mom, see how that is, and then we’ll continue to be together. But you aren’t even considering that. You just want to hid
e.”
“No, I don’t. I need to think. I’m unsure how to proceed with this.”
“You just love me and I’ll love you, and everything else will fall into place. I mean, fuck, Matty, you were just asking me if I wanted to get married. What the fuck?”
Matty was suffocating; that was the only thing he could think as to why he couldn’t form a coherent thought, or better yet, say anything other than Wells’s name.
“Don’t come after me. I need to get away from you.” Wells grabbed his phone and his wallet, and pulling the door open, he shook his head once more. “I never should have believed a fucking word that came out of that too-pretty mouth of yours.”
When Wells went out the door, slamming it shut, Matty reached for the knob, but he didn’t open it. He knew there was no point. Wells was angry, and while he didn’t get angry a lot, Matty knew there was no point in talking to him when he was. He’d give him a second to cool off. Wells would be back; he didn’t even take his stuff.
Or so Matty hoped.
Wiping his face, he went back to the bedroom, sitting on the bed and reaching for his phone to text Wells, but he paused. On his phone were fourteen calls from Seth and then text after text that read: Emergency! Dad is on his way. Laurence told him.
So Laurence gave him up.
Awesome.
Twenty-Four
Matty: Please come back.
Matty: That’s not what I meant. Everything is just so fucked up. I’m fucked up, and I’m freaking out, please.
Matty: Wells, I love you. You know that. Come back. Please.
Matty: I don’t understand how this has gotten so crazy. I just want to make it right. Please.
Matty: Where are you?
Matty: Are you really this mad? Dude, I’m sorry. Come on. I need you.
Matty: I really need to talk to you. Can you stop ignoring my calls?
Matty: Where are you?
Matty: You’ve been gone all day. I’m worried.
Matty: Wells, I love you. Please.
Scrolling through the text thread, Wells shook his head before he set his phone down, picking his fork back up. “Can you put the NHL Awards on?”