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“Damn straight kid, now let’s go.”
He ran ahead of me. Before I even reached the huddle, I already heard the kids telling him they didn’t want him there.
That he didn’t need to play. I listened, wanting to hear every word. Every second that passed made my blood run hotter.
I didn’t get how little kids could be so mean and hateful to each other. What the hell happened to playing together and having a good time? Why did they give two damns about who had what or who was who? These little fuckers had no idea how good they had it. It pissed me off even more.
“No one wants you, Hunter. Even your family didn’t want you. You can’t even find a new family to want you. You suck. Go away.”
I saw the poor little guy trying his best to be strong and stay there. He was doing what I asked him to do. It filled me with pride. I wanted to wrap him up in a tight hug and let him know that he had someone in his corner.
There was a ringleader in gangs. There always was. I walked to the center of their circle. I turned my head to the left and the right as if I was searching the crowd for someone and then I pointed to the oldest kid. I could see Hunter out of the corner of my eye. His shoulders dropped and his whole body looked like the world was sitting on top of them. No eight-year-old deserved that.
“What’s your name?”
There was fear in the kid’s face. “J-Jamie.” He swallowed hard. Suddenly the ring leader wasn’t the badass he thought he was.
“Well, Jamie. We’ve known each other how long?”
True, I hadn’t memorized their names. The only one I really kept an eye on was Hunter.
“A week, sir.”
I nodded. “Yeah. A week. Thought we could scrimmage today.”
I heard them whisper around me.
“Ok.” Jamie wasn’t entirely sure where I was going with this.
“And I get to choose the team captains. You know what the Sharks expect out of their QB?”
The kids around me shook their heads.
“They want some damn loyalty.” I’d apologize for the cursing later. “They want someone they can count on. A man who will have their back on game day. Not some dick, talking shit about them.”
I glared at each and every one of them.
I flicked my hand, beckoning Hunter to come stand next to me. He was slow to push through the crowd. I handed him the ball and then looked out at the rest of kids watching.
“Hunter is going to be team captain of the blue team,” I announced. “And if I were you, I’d want to be on his team. Because he can throw almost as good as me.” I winked at Hunter. “Almost. So who wants to play on Team Blue?”
A flock of hands launched into the air immediately. I smiled. I looked at Hunter. “Pick your team, kid. The rest play with me.”
Hunter stood straight, shoulders square. His voice was sure and confident as he chose his team. I patted him on the shoulder and smiled down at him proudly as the rest of the kids fell in line.
Maybe tomorrow I could find some way to convince Cal and Joe into coming down here and playing a little with the kids. Hell, I might even be able to get Aaron too, if I got him away from that bitch he was dating long enough. It would help Hunter to know that he had all the DC Sharks backing him up. Maybe all these other little fuckers would start to be nicer.
Not that I really cared. But he kind of sort of reminded me of myself when I was his age. I sure as shit wished someone had stepped in and offered me a hand up a time or two.
“All right. Let’s play some football,” I announced.
She was standing in the doorway. The same place she was every night when the field was more dark than light.
“How was it, kiddo?” she asked Hunter.
He grinned. “Awesome.”
“Ok, get your stuff and I’ll drive you back.”
