My Hockey Alpha

Nina

My door swung open. Enzo’s eyes went wide as he looked at something behind me, and when I turned, my own eyes widened too. My mother was standing in the doorway, her nostrils flaring angrily and her eyes full of fiery fury, and she was holding a baseball bat. Before I could stop her, she rushed at me and then, for some reason, she put herself protectively between Enzo and I.

“I know who you are and why you’re here,” she snarled, her voice low and angry. “Get away from my daughter before I kill you.”

My mother pointed the baseball bat at Enzo, poised to strike. Meanwhile, he stood in front of her with his hands held up in surrender and a confused look on his face.

“Mom,” I pleaded, grabbing her arm. “It’s okay. This is just Enzo. He’s a friend of mine.”

“Bullshit,” she snarled, prodding him with the baseball bat and causing him to back up against the window. “I’m doing exactly what your father told me to do, kid. What more do you people want?”

“What?” Enzo said, confused. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Mrs. Harper. I’m only here to talk to Nina.”

Suddenly, my mom let loose an angry noise that almost resembled a roar and brought the baseball bat up above her head. She swung it hard and fast toward Enzo with all of her strength, but he was too quick and dodged it, causing her to hit my desk instead and send my old high school textbooks flying.

She tried to hit Enzo again, but missed that time, too. She then lunged for him again, this time managing to hit him on the shoulder with the bat. He barely flinched from the impact, but then let out a yelp and rolled to the left as she almost hit him again. They began to circle the room like this, with my mother repeatedly trying to hit him with the baseball bat and Enzo dodging this way and that in order to avoid her frenzied attacks.

scuffle, I screamed for

mother’s shaking fists. By that point, Enzo was halfway out the window. His face was wrought with a mixture of confusion and regret as he climbed out the window and back down the tree to the motorcycle, but I was too preoccupied trying to pin my mother down and get her to calm down enough to explain what

heard the sound of the motorcycle engine rev, and then heard it fade into the distance. When it did, I finally released

my suitcase. She shoved it in my hands, then ran out of my room and across the hall to Taylor’s room. I chased after her as she flung the door open — Taylor was already awake, but was still sitting in bed with a confused look on his face — and

floor as my chest heaved from the anxiety of the whole situation, “you have to

Richard Rivers’ son, isn’t

“Yeah, but–”

knew Richard in college. He’s the reason why your brother

blanket off of his legs and clamoring out

and zipping Taylor’s suitcase. “We have to get to the airport.

ran after her. I followed her to her room and stood in the doorway, my eyes wide, while I watched her

voice was quivering, “I really think you’re overreacting. Can we just sit down

said. “Richard will stop at nothing to get what he wants. And now he sends his son

to me in the hockey arena… He’d said that