Breaking the Ice

Chapter Nineteen: It just happened!

Anna's POV

Oh s**t!

My hand slaps over my mouth as Marcus as I both face our fathers. Richard McKay stood with his hands balled into fists at his sides as a vein throbbed at his temple. He glared between Marcus and me as his chest heaved, his balled fists opening and closing now at his sides.

"What the hell is happening here?!" Mr McKay's voice boomed throughout the ice rink, causing the noisy crowd to quickly dwindle to hushed whispers.

"Dad, relax, it's just..." Peter tried to intercept his father's anger by stepping between us, almost completely blocking off his father's view of me with his heavy uniform.

"This doesn't concern you Peter! Step aside!" Mr McKay's voice boomed again as the whisperers completely went silent and multiple pairs of eyes were now looking at us standing at the bench side of the rink.

My dad suddenly shifted from where he stood and faced Marcus's father, his shoulders squared. "The kids probably got caught up in a moment, Rich. Calm down."

"You!" Mr McKay took a threatening step towards my father. "You don't tell me to calm down, Elias. Your daughter has already done enough damage to my family. I don't want her near my children."

My heart stopped. Me? Damaged his family? What did I do?

"I didn't..." I started saying when my mother suddenly wrapped her arms around my shoulders and began to steer me towards the exit. Courtney close behind her. "Wait. Mom. He's wrong. I didn't do anything!"

My mother squeezed my shoulder slightly and shook her head as I watched my dad and Mr McKay still having a stare off.

"Let your dad settle it honey. Lets get you home. We need to talk about some things, hmm?" My mother's gaze seemed to delve into my soul and I turned to look over at Marcus one last time.

He, Peter and Damien were all standing beside my dad, their faces a mixture of emotions. Marcus seemed to sense my gaze as he turned to look directly at me. His features morphed into a relaxed smile as he nodded for me to go ahead and signaled with his hand that he would call me. I nodded and then continued on with my mom and Courtney, the echoes of Mr McKay's voice once more booming from the center of the rink.

When we arrived out in the car park, Courtney nudged me in the ribs as my mom opened the rear door of the car and stowed the small cooler and duffle bag in her hand. She then pulled out three folded chairs and opened them up behind the car, motioning for Courtney and I to come and sit next to her.

"Oh boy. Are we doing this here?" Courtney asked as we walked over and sat on either side of my mother, who had taken the middle seat.

"Mom, could you scoot..." I began saying but my mom merely shook her head and motioned for us to sit down.

"I know how in sync you two are. You've been that way since daycare. I want you separate so that you can't coach each other during your interrogation." My mother reached behind her and took out three waters from the cooler, handing us one each.

After taking a generous sip, my mother sat back in her chair and sighed heavily. "Alright then. Who's going to start?"

Courtney and I leaned forward in our chairs to look at each other wearily, neither of us wanting to be the one to tell the tale of what led up to what just happened between Marcus and me.

Sipping her water again, my mom sat silently, waiting for one of us to speak up. "I can sit here all night, ladies. I have run through 72 hour shifts without blinking at the clinic."

"It just happened!" I found myself blurting out suddenly, causing Courtney to choke on the water she had just sipped.

My mom patted Courtney on the back as she turned her head towards me. One of her best "Oh really?" looks etching itself on her face.

"So, today, just like any other game day, you decide to rush off your seat at the final horn and kiss the captain of your school's rival team? That just happened? Just like that?" My mom's right eyebrow raised up into her fringe as the corner of her mouth perked up in amusement.

"Oh no, Mrs. Donovan. They're totally dating," Courtney suddenly perked up, no longer gasping for air.

My mom turned her attention to my best friend, making her immediately regret saying what she just said. "Dating? Anna and Marcus are dating? When did this start?"

"Well, ummm, maybe I should let Anna explain that," Courtney smirked as she tilted her water bottle to her mouth once more. "Dating was her idea after all."

Now my mom was the one choking as she turned her incredulous face towards me. "Anna Jasmine Donovan. What in the world are you thinking?" My mom asked as Courtney leaned forward in her seat, anticipating my response.

"I guess I wasn't at the time," I began as the memory of my fake-dating suggestion came barreling from the back of my mind.

My mom sighed, but her expression had softened. "Anna, honey. Me personally, I want you to date whoever you want. I want you to chase happiness. But honey, Marcus McKay may just be the unreachable one."

"Why? I mean, I get that he's from a rival school. But that's hockey mom. There aren't any rules about dating someone from another school." I said as I watched my mom battle some inner turmoil of her own before looking at me again.

"Anna, there are some things that aren't worth the trouble. Your dad and Richard McKay have history. And I know you're going to say that has nothing to do with you, but sweetheart, that's just the way it has to be."

"I don't get it mom. So dad and Mr McKay were rival hockey players back in the day. That doesn't paint some kind of stain on the relationship between Marcus and me. It's not fair. Marcus and his brothers have been good to me."

"And I don't doubt that for a second, sweety. I've watched those boys grow up. I know they are nothing short of well-mannered gentlemen. It's just that..." my mom paused as she seemed to be trying to find the right words.

"Mom, what did Mr McKay mean when he said I had done enough damage to his family?" I asked as I watched my mom visibly shrink back a bit into her seat.

I looked over to see that Courtney also caught the change in my mom and she shook her head to stop me from pushing it further. Shaking my head, I opened my mouth to ask her again when the sound of the double doors of the exit slammed shut. Looking over, I was able to catch sight of Mr McKay storming off into the opposite car park, with Peter, Marcus and Damien slowly following behind.

My phone beeped in my jacket pocket and I pulled it out to see a message from Marcus.

Hey. Everything is fine. My dad just needs to cool off a bit. He's taking us with him on his business trip to Colorado. We'll be gone for a week. Peter wants to celebrate the win when we get back. Tell Courtney for us as well. I'll message you later.

I lift my gaze from my phone just in time for our gazes to meet as he walked towards his X-Trail. Peter waved at us before he jumped into the front passenger seat and Courtney and I waved back. We also didn't miss the glare their father shot us as he veered his vehicle out of the car park and speed out onto the main road.

"He was always a hot-head, that man," my mom said softly as she watched the car speed out of view into the night.

I watched my mom silently as my mind played with what she told me. Some things just aren't worth the trouble.

Except there was a little voice in my head telling me that Marcus McKay was definitely worth it. But was I allowed to listen to a voice encouraging my fake relationship? Or was it telling me to make it something more?