AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Even the Distraction of Multiple Senses didn’t work on Tabitha. So be it. “My dad died.” Hobbs gave the box that was teetering in Tabitha’s grip a shove, aligning it on top of the others. Then he went back to tossing the ball.
“Oh.” Tabitha’s joking humor faded. “I’m sorry to hear that. Is there anything I can do?”
“I’m fine. We didn’t get along.” Hobbs tossed the ball on the ground, where it bounced, struck the wall and bounced back in his direction. He caught it and repeated the action a couple more times. “There’s got to be something good that happened in school. Lay it on me.”
Tabitha watched his ball slinging in silence for a moment before she faced him with pursed lips, like she had resigned herself to his deflective ways. “I went out to Pittie Place on Saturday. Red had me try massaging one of the dogs. A pregnant dog, in fact. A pregnant dog who’s been mistreated and overbred and is in a bad way. And, shockingly, it went really well.”
“You massaged a pregnant dog,” Hobbs repeated. He’d got into a rhythm with the lacrosse ball.Bounce-ping!-bounce-catch.“And you were good at it.”
“Yep.”
Bounce-ping!-bounce-catch.
“Why do you think that is?”
“I don’t know.” Tabitha watched the ritual with the lacrosse ball. “Red says it’s because I’m calming. Sensitive.” She shrugged. “The dog relaxed. Her muscles were shaking really bad. Not like shivering, but like... I don’t know. It was like her body was shedding the stress with vibration.” Tabitha shrugged again. “I probably just got lucky.”
Bounce-ping!-bounce-catch.Hobbs’s wheels were turning, though he couldn’t really settle on a solid thought, caught up in his own rhythm. Next thing he knew, Tabitha was in front of him, the lacrosse ball was in her hands and a no-nonsense look was on her face. “What do you mean you didn’t really get along? That’s not something people usually say when their dads die.”
“No?” Hobbs clapped his palms together, feeling suddenly lost without the ball. “What do they say?”
Tabitha cocked her head sideways and narrowed her eyes. “Well, I don’t know, from experience. But usually people are sad. Or upset. Or even relieved. They’re usually something, though. Not all this nothing you got going on.” She planted a hand on her hip. The other one still gripped Hobbs’s ball.
“I haven’t figured out how I feel about it yet.” Hobbs hadn’t planned to be honest, but Tabitha was finally, for once, being relentless and he didn’t want to discourage that. “That okay with you?” Hobbs tried to attach a smile, because Coach Hobbs always smiled.
He must’ve failed, though, because Tabitha’s expression changed. “Yeah.” She stretched her arm out and offered him the ball. “That’s okay.”
“Thanks.” Hobbs took the ball, but he no longer felt like bouncing it. “Hey. Whatever happened with your—” he snapped his fingers until it came to him “—badass list? Did you make it?”
“I did. I don’t know if it’s any good, though.”
“Do you have it on you?”
“I have it in the car.”
“Let’s see it.”
Tabitha paused, maybe to assess his seriousness or maybe to decide. “All right,” she said. “Trinity, stay. I’ll be right back.” Tabitha was gone a few minutes and returned carrying a notebook. Up close, the cover read Journal of Invincibility. She must’ve caught him looking, because she explained, “It’s got daily quotes and space to journal and organize your day.” She flipped to the back, then handed over the journal.
THE BADASS LIST
Help Auntie El.
Don’t act like a freak when you have coffee with Thaddeus on Friday.
Learn about motorcycles.
Possibly ride one.
Ace massage quizzes.
Excel at massage.
Run a race with Clementine???
The one about Thaddeus had a thick pencil line slashed through it. Tabitha was quiet, watching him read. Her eyes were bright and curious when he looked up. “Well?” she said. “What do you think?” Then her brows knitted. “Oh. Except that one.” She attempted to cover the line about Thaddeus, must’ve realized that was dumb, Hobbs had already seen it, and retreated. “Ignore that one.”
“Oh, I’ll definitely ignore that one.” Hobbs wished he had a pencil handy so he could erase it entirely. “This list is a good effort.” Hobbs had learned over years of coaching to always start with something positive. “You covered a lot of topics.”
