Page 96 of What If We Break?
Now, I was trying to find my best friend, who had been waiting for me for a while now, and when I found her in a seat next to Erik, I was a little taken aback.
He was probably here to support his stepbrother in the game, but it was still odd seeing him here. Erik never showed up to the games before. At least I’d never seen him.
As I approached Rina, ready to greet her, Erik took the first word. “Brooke, can we talk?”
Brooke? He usually used my whole name to speak to me.
“Do I have a choice?” The last thing I wanted to do right now wasargue with Erik.
“Not really, because I really think you should hear me out.” He cleared his throat before he continued. “Look, I didn’t know she’s your mother.”
I looked at Rina, her eyes wide with shock and confusion. She was going to need context, but that was going to have to wait another few minutes.
“Millie’s not my mother,” I said. Disgust crept up on me just at the thought of ever considering such an awful person as her to be my mother. “She gave birth to me, that’s it. She has honestly done more for you than she has for me. In fact, for the first five years of my life, everyone thought she was dead because that’s what she made everyone believe. So, don’t call her my mother again, got it?”
He nodded softly. “That’s awful.”
“Yeah, whatever. It’s not like you care. You treated me like shit, Erik. I’d honestly rather someone run away from me than hurt me purposefully.”
Erik got off his seat, sighing. “You’re a good skater,” he told me. “And a good person. You have a great family and an even better boyfriend. You have everything anyone could imagine. I was jealous of you, Brooke. It’s the only reason I was ever mean to you.”
Wow. That was pathetic. “Cool, that doesn’t excuse your behavior.”
“I know. But I’m not here to discuss this anyway. I just wanted you to know that I didn’t know you were biologically related to Millie. She just married my dad a few years ago, and she never mentioned having a daughter. If you’re going to hate me, and you have every right to do that, just know that I didn’t mistreat you because she told me to.”
“I appreciate you clarifying that, Erik,” I replied, somehow feeling the slightest twinge of sympathy for him.
“Also, I can’t stand her either. Maybe that might makeyou feel a little better. Millie’s awful. I have to accept her because she’s married to my father, but the things that come out of her mouth are… terrible. And she’s such a gold digger. My dad can’t see it, but she definitely only married him for his money.”
I raised an eyebrow. Erik seemed genuine, but it was hard to trust someone who had been so cruel to me in the past.
Perhaps he really wanted to make amends in his own strange way, though.
“Okay. Thanks for telling me that,” I said cautiously. I didn’t know what I was going to do with that information, but it made me feel a bit better about the situation.
Erik basically just confirmed to me what I’d always known. I didn’t gaslight myself into believing Millie was a terrible person—she actually was.
“Oh, and one more thing,” he paused, looking hesitant.
“What?”
“Fynn isn’t her kid either. I bet you’re curious about that, so I thought I might as well tell you. His dad died when he was ten, and since he didn’t have any other family but Millie, she took him in.”
I took a moment to process everything.
With every little detail Erik revealed to me, Millie sounded more and more like the worst person that ever walked this earth. How could she leave her newborn daughter for “freedom” and not wanting to take responsibility, but then ten years later take in a kid who wasn’t even hers?
“Okay,” I spoke in a whisper. “I appreciate you telling me all this, but Erik… I need you to stop talking now.”
Erik nodded. “Yeah, anyway, I should probably get going then. If you ever want to know more, you know how to reach me. I’ll see you at your next competition.”
“You’ll be there?”
“Of course. I wouldn’t want to miss seeing you fail.”
“Why is Reece so aggressive today?” Rina asked, stepping away from the boards to reclaim her seat next to me. “He almost hurt Ming.”
Rina was right, Reece was pretty aggressive on the ice tonight, but it also earned them five goals in the first round, four of which were Reece’s doing. Their opponents barely got a chance to get the puck on the other side.
