Page 33 of Hex You

THIRTEEN

That fucking coach had actually kicked him out of football practice.Kirk didn’t think about where he was going when he left practice—his need to get away before he punched that has-been in his face was too urgent. As he stomped through the cornfield that framed the stadium he replayed what had just happened over and over in his mind.

He’d showed up at practice—like always. Sure, his hand was still in a cast, but he was the team captain. It was his job to be there for the Mustangs, even if he couldn’t throw a ball.

So, Kirk was there—in his workout jersey—ignoring the pounding in his hand as he jogged warm-up laps with his team when Coach Jamison finally joined them.

Yeah, okay, he’d noticed the guys acted weird around him, like some broken fingers had changed who he was, which was complete bullshit. He’d also noticed that Coach had been staring a hole in his practice jersey as he jogged around the track. Then he’d blown his whistle and told Derek Burke to start leading them through their warm-up drills.DerekfuckingBurke.Kirk was just going to complainto Coach and remind him that it was the team captain’s job to lead drills when the old man called him over to the sidelines.

“Mr. Whitfield, I applaud your tenacity,” Coach had said. “But you can’t be out here.”

“Hey, Coach, don’t worry. My hand is hardly bothering me at all. I might even get this cast off early,” Kirk lied. Actually, his hand hurt like hell, even though he was eating hydrocodone like M&Ms.

“Whitfield, it’s not about your hand. It’s about your behavior and your attitude. Have you gone to even one anger management class?”

“I’m going to. I just haven’t had time yet,” Kirk lied again. No way was he going to some lame counseling class crap. That was for losers.

“Listen to me, Whitfield. Get yourself to those classes. Learn the tools it takes to manage your anger now, before it destroys more than your high school football career,” lectured the coach.

“Coach, this is about a lot more than my high school career. Football is my ticket to college!”

“Footballwasyour ticket to college. I will not have a young man on my team who strikes a woman. You’ve been suspended indefinitely. Now you’re also banned from practices. I wish you well—I truly do, son—but you have a lot of growing up to do before you’ll be an asset to anyone’s team. Be sure you turn in your uniforms ASAP—that includes your practice jersey. Now I’ve gotta get back to the team. Good-bye and good luck, Mr. Whitfield.”

And then that old fucking man turned his back on Kirk.

Kirk had started walking. He felt the stares of his teammates—his friends—on his back as he escaped into the concealment of the cornfield and just kept walking. What the hell had that old man been talking about? He was an asset toanyteam. He was a natural leader. His one-hundred-meter-dash time was the fastest in the school, and he wasn’t scared to hit and hit hard. He could tackle linebackers who outweighed him by fifty pounds. Kirk’s anger simmered until he heard voices.

Voices? Out here? Kirk had come to the edge of the cornfield, buthe remained inside the shadows of the growing plants as the voices drew him.

He recognized her voice before he saw her. It was Mercy! And she was with someone. Kirk could hear a deep voice in conversation with her, though he couldn’t make out their words. Was it that pussy, Ashley? He hadn’t been at practice because of some lame excuse about his mom needing him. Kirk perked up and even actually smiled. What if Jax and Mercy were sneaking around together because they were athing? He’d bet that would freak Hunter out—and Kirk Whitfield was just the guy to let the whole school know about it.

Eagerly, Kirk snuck closer to the voices. Then he smelled the smoke. He could even see weird bluish-gray stuff billowing up over the corn. What the hell was she doing? Then Kirk froze. She was probably brewing some witch crap. Now was his chance to video it! Then people would believe him! That asshole coach might even let him back on the team once he proved those twin bitches were also twin witches—realwitches. He automatically reached for the phone in his pocket and had to stifle a groan of frustration. He was wearing his practice jersey. It didn’t have pockets, so he didn’t have his damn phone with him.

That’s okay. Figure out what she’s doing. The more info you have, the more stuff you’ll be able to use against the twins.

Kirk crept through the field following their voices until he could see them through the thick, green stalks. It definitely was Mercy—and she definitely was doing some witch shit. She had her hands pressed against the bark of that weird group of trees in the easement between fields.

Wait, that’s one of those special trees they’d told him about. She for sure was up to some magic shit!Kirk wished he’d actually listened to what Hunter and Mercy had said about the witch tree crap, but all the details didn’t really matter. The fact that they were witches was what mattered.

Mercy was with some dude, but it wasn’t Ashley. It was a guy Kirk had never seen before—some brown guy with long, girly hair—whowore a Mustang hoodie and held what looked like dried parts of a tree wrapped together by thread, which was smoking like crazy.What the fuck are they doing?

Kirk watched Mercy stagger from the tree, sweating and breathing hard, and then the long-haired dude rushed to her and was all touchy-feely. He held her hair while she puked and acted like he was her fucking mommy. When she was done barfing Mercy went back to the tree while the dude continued to mess around with the dried smoking stuff. Then Mercy did whatever to the tree and the dude came back to her with more touchy-feely crap.

Fuck. He kissed her!

Wait, it’s only been days since we broke up. Had that bitch been cheating on me?

Kirk stared as the dude put his hands all over Mercy as they went back to Parrott’s T-bird.

At first Kirk couldn’t believe it. No damn way could Mercy have been cheating on him. But as he stared at the T-bird his mind was filled with what had to be the truth.She’d been cheating the whole time they were together. No wonder she gave him a bj so easily. She’d probably been passing them out to the dude with the girly hair, too. So, not only was she a witch, but she was also a cheating slut.

For a moment Kirk thought he saw something from the corner of his eye and he whirled around, ready to kick someone’s ass, but no one was there. He dragged his tongue, suddenly sticky with salt, against his teeth and tugged on his earlobe. Was it just him, or could he actually hear the ocean?

Make them pay.The thought floated to him on a gust of mist.

He nodded, his mind boiling over with anger that built and built and built as he cut back through the cornfield, avoided the stadium, and headed to his Jeep.

“I will. I’ll figure out how to show everyone who they really are, and I’ll make those twins pay.”