Page 162 of The Way the Heart Breaks: Jade’s Story

“You're eating it.”

“Because I'm starving.”

He finally looks at me. “Then eat.”

I grab an apple slice and drag it through the peanut butter. “I'd rather have pizza.”

“You say that every time.”

“Because pizza is good.”

“Pizza isn't helping us win Friday.”

“Neither are grapes.”

“They're better than the shit you usually eat.”

I glance at the bowl. “That's debatable.”

Lucas laughs, but his attention goes back to the television.

The tape rolls through another play. Green jerseys shift across the screen, the quarterback calling something at the line before the defense settles.

“Pause it.” I hit the button. Lucas leans forward, elbows on his knees. “Look at the linebacker.”

“I see him.”

“No. Watch him before the snap.”

I study the frozen screen. “He's cheating inside.”

“Exactly.”

“If he does that against us, we pull the guard.”

“Then the back takes the outside.”

“And if the safety drops?”

Lucas points at the screen. “That's where it gets interesting.”

We rewind it and watch again.

For a while, that's all we do. Watch, rewind, argue, watch again. It's the kind of thing we've done so many times that neither of us has to explain what we're looking for. We know each other's brains well enough to pick up the thought before it's finished.

Kate comes into the living room carrying a basket of laundry. She pauses beside the chair, looks at the television, then at us. “You two eating?”

Lucas holds up an apple slice. “Apparently.”

She smiles. “I can make you something more substantial.”

“Oh no, Katie, we’re in season.” I joke, and she laughs.

It's good to hear her laugh. She looks good, too. Unless she’s fucked up or strung out, Lucas’s mom is seriously hot.

Lucas throws a grape, and it hits the side of my face hard.

I chuckle as I look away from Kate folding laundry.