"Oh," I breathe, my smile slipping a little as he explains further, carefully pouring hot water into a mug for me. When he slides it over, I dip my tea bag into the steaming water, but my eyes don't leave him. "That sounds... awful. I mean, it's bad enough that he didn't try to make things better for you and your family, but that he actually made it worse? I'm so sorry."

Coach and I haven't had the easiest relationship, I know, but he's never been actively mean to me. "I don't think I'm quite what my dad wanted either," I tell him, though I'm really not sure it'll make him feel any better. "He's a football coach so he was always tryin' to get me into that and it never worked. I was just too small and interested in other things. He finally gave up after awhile. He was pretty happy when I decided to take up hockey, but I could always tell that he still felt like I was just missin' something, you know?"