Prince Pucking Charming

My heart slams against my ribcage, my pulse pounding so hard and fast my vision blurs. When I’m on the ice, this surge of energy helps me play better. But now, I feel like I’m going to blackout.

Walking away from the window, I plop down on the bed to keep my knees from buckling. “Who’s the father?” I say through gritted teeth.

I need to hear her say Dean’s name, so I can kick his ass.

“Yeah, who’s the father?” Austin says.

The twins echo the same question.

“Do you guys promise not to flip out?”

“No,” I snap.

I’m already flipping the fuck out.

“I haven’t told him yet,” Kat says.

“Kat, who’s the father?” Austin says. “Just tell us. We won’t get mad.”

>

“Dean,” she whispers.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” I can’t contain my anger any longer. “All this time, you tried to convince me that you weren’t fucking that asshole, and then he knocks you up and leaves you to deal with a baby by yourself?”

“He didn’t leave me, Denny. Dean doesn’t even know.”

Kat is the only person who still uses my real name.

“You and Dean?” Austin sounds confused. “So, you guys were together?”

I hold the phone in front of my mouth and yell, “Aus, are you that fucking clueless? I’ve been trying to tell you for years.”

“Knock it off, Duke.” My dad never raises his tone unless he’s mad or trying to make a point. “Don’t talk to your sister and brother like that.”

“Sorry, Dad, but this is bullshit,” I spit back.

“Kat, I’ll be home in a few days,” Dad says.

“Me, too,” Austin says. “I can stay for a few nights.”

“Please don’t say anything to Dean. Any of you. I haven’t had a chance to tell him yet.”

“He’s dead the next time I see him,” I growl.

“Denny, please don’t do anything,” Kat screams.

“I can’t make that promise right now.”

Before anyone can get in another word, I end the call and throw the phone across the room. It shatters into pieces that fall to the floor. Fuck it. I’m not in the mood to talk to anyone, anyway.

I thought I did everything right with Kat and the twins. But I screwed up. She’s only a few months out of college and now pregnant with that asshole’s baby. I never thought Kat would date a professional hockey player, not after everything our mom went through with our dad.

I close my eyes and try to block out the pain, the feelings, and everything swimming through my head and chest. My muscles relax after a while, my body coming down from the rush of adrenaline. Sometimes, I think my anger will swallow me whole. If it weren’t for hockey, I would have no outlet—no way to expel some of this rage.

An hour later, Marcel pushes open my bedroom with his cell phone in his hand. I share a house in the Washington D.C. area with Marcel, Lucas, and Benji. They’re Canadian and only live here during hockey season. I usually go home to Chicago, where my dad played hockey for the Blackhawks. It’s a tradition for my family to spend the summer together. But now, all of our lives are about to change, Kat’s most of all.

Marcel runs a hand through his thick, dark hair and then shoves the phone at me. “It’s Austin.” He glances at the broken pieces of my cell phone scattered along the carpet and shakes his head. “Dude, you need to get a handle on that. How many phones have broken this year?”