Chapter 2.

Chapter 2

Darcy

I skidded to a stop in front of the rink and bent over, gasping for breath.

Of course he was here.

Irritation surged through me. I’d woken up before dawn to beat him here, only for my car to randomly die on me. Then I’d run all the way to the rink just to find Killian Callahan standing between me and the ice.

Well, fuck that.

Nothing was keeping me off the ice today, not my dead car, not Killian. And definitely not Dad’s latest attempt to force me on a date with some douche named Jared.

“You did this, didn’t you?” Killian growled. “Why is the door locked?”

“I don’t know.” I shrugged innocently. “Maybe you should go and come back later.”

“Bullshit.” Killian snarled. “Where’s the key, Grayson?”

He seemed so sure I had it. I started to wonder; did the janitor rat me out? Hold on, did I even bring the key?

I glanced down at my duffel bag and looked up just in time to see Killian’s eyes narrowing at me.

“You have it.” He stated.

“My skates?” I squeezed the strap of my bag. “Yeah I do.”

 He clenched his jaw. “Your bag, open it.”

“No.”

Killian sighed and ran a hand through his light brown hair. “I don’t have time for this, Grayson. There’s a game tonight.”

“Then go home and rest, Captain.” 

Before I could react, he reached for the duffel bag.

“Hey!” I tried to yank it back but his fingers had already closed around the strap. It didn’t take long for him to open the bag and turn it upside down.

“You fucking asshole!” I bent down to pick up my stuff.

The set of keys jingled to the floor and he picked it up then strode in. But I wasn’t worried, I had a backup plan.

Once I got inside I started stretching while pretending I didn’t hear loud rummaging from the locker rooms. By the time I started lacing up my skates, an even more furious Killian was stomping over to me.

“Where the fuck are my skates?” he seethed.

“How am I supposed to know?” I said without looking up. “Maybe Swanson hid them so you would follow his rule about not training on match day.”

“I’m not playing Grayson. Give them to me.”

“Sure.” I got up.  “After I’m done. See you in an hour.”

Killian loured at me as I stepped onto the ice. 

“Practice all you want but your skating is still going to be boring and fucking robotic.” He snarled before leaving.

I practiced a few jumps before I started my routine. A little part of me felt bad for hiding his skates, but it quickly dissipated as I remembered how he once trapped me in the equipment room for almost two hours just so he could get the rink all to himself.

When I finished, the sun had already risen. As I was leaving the facility, I saw Killian waiting outside by his car.

“My skates.” He said curtly.

“You still have the keys?” I stretched out my hands. He dropped them on the floor. 

He ended up picking it back up and we walked to the janitor’s closet. After he unlocked it and took the skates, he dropped the key on the ground and left without a word.

I rolled my eyes, picked up the keys and started to walk home. I brought out my phone and saw another text from dad. This one had a picture of today’s date attached.

DAD:  JARED WILL BE MEETING YOU AT DU POINTE’S  BY 12PM. DON’T BE LATE AND DON’T LEAVE UNTIL THE DATE IS OVER.

I scoffed after reading the text. Jared looked like a blonde version of Adam. He had the same cocky smirk in his selfie. Going would just be a waste of my time.

Back at my room, Sunny was already awake and had made breakfast for the two of us. I had barely settled down to eat when my phone vibrated again. I didn't need to look to know that it was Dad.

“Um...who is that?“ Sunny asked.

“It’s my Dad.” I placed my phone face down. “He’s still trying to convince me to go on that date.”

“Maybe you should if he's this strung up about it.” Sunny got up and pulled on a yellow jacket over her floral dress.

“No way.” I rolled my eyes. “I'm done with those stupid dates and he can't force me.”

"I guess that's true." Sunny said. " But he did seem pretty mad.”

"He'll get over it." I waved my hand dismissively then carried my bag. When I picked up my phone I saw a new message. But it wasn't from Dad, it was from our butler begging me to pick up dad's calls.

FREDERICK: ALPHA GRAYSON IS VERY FURIOUS. PLEASE ANSWER YOUR PHONE.

"Why is he so stubborn?" I muttered.

"Are you ready?" Sunny called from the door. "Where are your keys?"

" We can't use the car today. I'll get it fixed tomorrow."  I replied and fell in step with her as we walked to class.

Even in class, Frederick was still sending loads of texts trying to sweet-talk me into going on the date. I glared at my phone as it vibrated on the table for the thousandth time. I was getting stares because of the noise so I decided to check the messages.

It was exactly an hour to the date I was skipping and Dad's anger could be felt from the screen.

DAD: JARED IS EXPECTING YOU 

I rolled my eyes. He could expect whatever he wanted. I still wouldn't show up.

By 12pm the calls became so incessant I had to shut down my phone. This was ridiculous. It was basically harassment.

 I was hanging out with Sunny until she left for the studio, then I decided to get a drink.

I spotted Brown’s—my favourite cafe—and my mood slightly improved. I nearly sighed with pleasure as I stepped into the air-conditioned space. I smiled a bit as I ordered a vanilla latte. But my mood was dragged right back to the abyss when I heard the sound of my card declining.

He didn't.

“Sorry, my card is…” I began.

“No problem!” The cashier beamed at me. “Just pay in cash.”

“About that…” I lowered my voice. “Can I pay later?”

The cashier scrunched up her face for a while before agreeing. I'm sure she would have refused if I wasn't a regular.

I thanked her, took the drink and left. I walked into an empty alleyway,  brought out my phone and called Dad. Normally I would have waited for his anger to blow over but I need to fix my car.

“You finally remembered that you have a phone.” Dad said dryly. He sounded calm but I knew he was pissed.

When I didn't answer he continued speaking. “You missed your date. Jared waited for a long time.”  

“Well he shouldn’t have come in the first place.” I sighed. “Dad, when are my cards going to work?”

“Oh never.”  He said casually.

“What?”  I frowned.

“I’m cutting you off.” He said firmly. “No credit cards, no allowance and no inheritance too.”

I leaned back on the wall and placed my hand on my forehead. Was he joking?

I forced out a laugh. “Wow Dad, you really got me. Can you fix my card now? I’m owing a coffee shop $18.”

“You’re not listening. I won’t be giving you any money from now on.” 

“Really? For not going on a fucking date?!”  I exploded.

“Mind your language.” He warned sternly. “And it's more than that, I asked you to do one thing, Darcy.”

“So you’re holding my money hostage?” I raised my voice.

“I’m trying to get you to listen to me.”

“By cutting me off?”

“By making you understand that I’m not going to keep paying for a life you insist on making difficult.”

After a beat of silence I said, “So what do you want me to do?”

“Find a mate.”  He said, like it was the easiest thing in the world.

“Come on Dad, I have to fix my car. I had to walk to class today.”

“The sooner you get a mate, the sooner you can start using your car again.”

“Why do I even need to get a mate?” I snapped. “I have way too much on my plate to be entertaining some stupid–”

“I have a meeting. We'll talk later.” He interrupted. 

The line went dead.

I barked out a short, dry laugh. This has to be a joke.