My Hockey Alpha

Chapter 233: The Death of a Father

Enzo

At the last moment, Nina shoved me through the portal before I had the chance to try to stay behind. I knew, logically, that Selena was completely and utterly lying when she said that she would let my father and my friends live if I went with her. But my judgment was so clouded from the grief of my father’s imminent death that I wasn’t thinking straight, and if it weren’t for Nina’s quick thinking, I would have made the worst decision of my life.

But at the same time, for the briefest of moments, I resented her for that. I wished that I could have tried, even if it failed. Even then, however, I loved her all the same, and I knew that she did the right thing in pushing me through that portal.

My father and I didn’t always get along, especially after my mother died years before. That didn’t mean, however, that I didn’t love him. In fact, quite the opposite was true: I loved my father dearly. I just wished that I had realized that before it was too late.

And now, I was out of time.

I fell to the ground on the other side of the portal along with my friends. Nina came through just seconds after me and fell down to the ground beside me, panting heavily. The force of our fall caused me to drop my father, and when I came to my senses on the forest floor, I looked up to see him lying on the ground a few feet away. His body was so frail and limp, and I instantly felt panic rise up in my throat as I wondered if the impact was enough to kill him. I scrambled over to him on my hands and knees and grabbed his shoulder, rolling him onto his back.

His eyes were open and blinking, and he was breathing. But he wouldn’t be for long.

death, almost as though death was giving them the chance to say goodbye. Someone who could barely breathe and was basically a living corpse just moments earlier could

too weak to sit up, but I knew that he was fully lucid as he

his voice sounding cracked and dry. “You’re a good kid.

I could hear Matt, Lori, and Jessica speak in confused, but hushed, tones. They were waking up from Selena’s spell and were

to me right now. I only had eyes for my father. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Nina sitting up on her knees close to me, but she gave us space and privacy for our last

out sounding choked. Part of

possibly done. And besides… I’ve had a good life.

my heart drop into it. I felt so heavy that I thought

my father just a day or two earlier, he would be okay now. Maybe if I had fought back against Selena that day that she took my father hostage, none of this would have happened. Maybe…

his hand around the back of my

guilty, Enzo,” he said sternly. “You couldn’t have stopped this. No one could. But now, you can stop it

shut for a moment. “But how?” I said, almost in a whimper. “How am I

that she was now kneeling over our friends, inspecting each of them for injuries. She was in full-blown doctor mode. Part of me wished that she would have done the same for my father, but we both knew that he was beyond saving. Now, it was just a matter of

the missing princess. I realize that now. If