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I call Darren He’s the only other person I can think of whoto help Unfortunately, he doesn’t pick up, and it’s clear he’s still not talking to me off the ice

I try one last person: my father His ability to help is questionable

“Hey, Alex”

I make small talk for a minute or two until I can’t stand the aard chit-chat “I screwed up with Violet”

“I know So doescountries”

“You’ve ht?” She can be a bit of a Fruit Loop I’ house plenty of times

“Of course” My father sighs “I have the benefit of keeping my private life private That isn’t the case with you and Violet, is it?”

“No It’s not I shouldn’t have followed Dick’s advice”

“No, Alex, you shouldn’t have”

“I fired him”

“It’s about fucking time” My dad exhales into the receiver with a whoosh There’s a good chance he’s doing research “I knoas hard when you started playing professional hockey I understand you want to be the best, and you want to prove you are You don’t need the endorsements to do that”

“I just wanted this, you know?”

“But at what cost, Alex? You don’t need validation You’re team captain You make more money a year than I will in a lifetime What you need to do is be an older brother your sister can look up to, not one she has to defend because you’ve earned a shitty reputation over old rumors And you need so about what other people think and do what’s best for you”

“Violet is what’s best for me”

“Then fight for her”

“She won’t talk to me”