Chapter 13

Dona's POV

I slammed the door to my mother’s room behind me and stomped down the hallway. My face burned with disgust.

Peter in just a towel? Ugh. I could still see it in my head, and the memory made my stomach twist like I’d just swallowed bad milk. Who walks out like that in someone else’s house? In front of their girlfriend’s daughter? He didn’t even care. It was like I was invisible!

I shut my own door with a bang and leaned against it, sucking in a sharp breath. My chest rose and fell quickly, and for a second I thought about throwing something just to get the anger out of me. But I didn’t. I just pressed my palms into my eyes until I saw sparks.

This house didn’t even feel like mine anymore. It felt like his. Peter’s voice carried through the walls sometimes; he was too loud and too sure of himself. His cologne lingered in the hallway. His things were in the kitchen, the living room, my mom’s bedroom, even the garage. He was everywhere, all the time and I hated it.

I needed someone to vent to before I exploded.

Grabbing my phone, I climbed onto my bed and flopped back against the pillows. Piper’s name was right there at the top of my call list. I tapped FaceTime, and it only rang twice before her face filled my screen.

She was standing in her tiny studio apartment, her curly dark hair pulled up in a messy bun and her cheeks flushed like she’d just come in from the cold.

“Dona!” she exclaimed with a smile, then the smile collapsed the moment she saw my face. “You look like you’re about to kill somebody.”

“I might,” I muttered, lowering my voice. “You have no idea.”

She frowned as she moved to sit cross-legged on her bed, pulling her laptop onto her lap. “Qué pasó? You look like you’re about to throw your phone at the wall.”

I whispered harshly so Peter wouldn’t hear me from down the hall. “I just tried talking to my mom again. She was getting ready for a date with him!"

Piper wrinkled her nose. “With Peter?”

“Yes! Peter. He literally walked out of the bathroom while I was talking to her, dripping wet and wrapped in a towel!" I made a face so dramatic Piper actually laughed, but I could see the irritation in her eyes too.

“Dios mío, your mom really doesn’t see it, does she? Blind. Completely blind. Women in love lose their brain cells, I swear.” She waved her hand in the air like it was a proven fact.

I whispered louder. “I told her everything I saw, Piper. I told her about the fight Peter had at the arcade, all of it. She doesn’t care. She just said she’s been dating him for almost a year, so she knows him better than me. Can you believe that?”

Piper rolled her eyes so hard I thought they’d get stuck. “Of course she said that. Girl, that’s what they all say before everything blows up. Bad vibes, Dona. Peter has bad vibes. I could smell it on him from a mile away.”

Her dramatic hand gestures almost made me smile, but I was still angry and frustrated. “I feel like she’s not even thinking about me anymore. Like, she doesn’t care if I’m okay with this. She just wants him around, no matter what.”

“Because she’s not thinking,” Piper quipped. “She’s floating on some nube of romance. She doesn’t see the man for what he is. But you do. And so does August.”

That caught me off guard. “August hates everybody.”

“Exactly,” Piper nodded. “So if even he doesn’t like his own dad? Girl, that’s a red flag with flashing lights and alarms going off.”

I hugged my pillow to my chest and let out a long sigh. “I know.”

We stayed in silence for a few seconds. I could hear the faint sound of the shower shutting off down the hall and it made my skin crawl. I whispered even lower. “I can’t stand being in this house when he’s here. It feels like he’s taking over.”

I paused and glared at my ceiling. "Maybe I should move out of this house and give them some space. I mean, I'm twenty and it's time enough."

"Yeah, you might need to." Piper sighed loudly, then clapped her hands together like she was done being sad. “Okay, enough doom and gloom. We need to distract you before you implode. Let’s talk hockey.”

“Hockey?” I repeated.

“Yes, hockey.” She leaned closer to her screen. “The season is about to start, remember? Don’t act like you haven’t noticed. The whole campus is buzzing. New captain, fresh drama, Caleb’s bruised ego is the only entertainment we’ve got.”

Despite myself, I laughed a little. “You mean August’s big takeover?”

“Exactly. Caleb looks like he wants to murder him on the ice. What more could you want from a season opener?”

I shook my head. “You’re obsessed.”

“Sí, but it’s fun,” Piper shot back. “Better than talking about Mr Towel-Man.”

She wasn’t wrong. For the next half hour, we spiraled into hockey gossip, especially the rumor that August played dirty back in Chicago, and the fact that the team’s Instagram account had suddenly gotten a ton of new followers, probably just thirsty girls trying to see more pictures of August.

It was silly and pointless, but it helped. I could almost forget the way Peter’s voice echoed down the hall or the way my mom looked at him like he hung the moon. Almost.

By the time we started winding down, Piper was lying flat on her bed with her phone above her face. Her bun was falling apart and she looked exhausted, but her eyes were still alert. “Listen, Dona. I’m gonna dig around a little.”

I sat up straighter. “What do you mean, dig around?”

She shrugged. “You know me. I’ve got friends, I’ve got cousins, I know how to ask questions. Peter is shady, and if your mom won’t see it, then maybe we just need proof.”

“Piper—” I started, but she cut me off.

“Don’t argue, you know you need this even if you won’t admit it. I’ll do some digging, no biggie.”

I chewed on my bottom lip. “That sounds like a really bad idea.”

She smirked with that mischievous spark she always got when she thought she was being clever. “Relax, girl. I’m not stupid. I’m just saying… if something is off, I’ll find it. And if I don’t? Then fine. Maybe I’m wrong. But I doubt it.”

I sighed. I didn’t want her getting involved, but at the same time… if anyone could actually find something, it would be Piper. She had this way of getting people to talk, like she pulled secrets out of the air.

I shook my head slowly. “I’m not telling you to do it.”

She raised an eyebrow. “But you’re not telling me not to either.”

We stayed on the call a few more minutes, mostly joking around until Piper yawned and said she had to crash early. She promised me again she’d “handle it,” whatever that meant, and blew me a dramatic kiss before hanging up.

The screen went black, and I was alone in my room again. I heard my mother leave the house on a date with the shadiest man I had ever met, and hoped to heaven that she wasn't making the worst mistake of her life.