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That’s the biggest lie I’ve ever heard her say. There’s no way someone goes through what she did and comes out unaffected. But I’ll leave her be for now. “Neil said you’re welcome to stay the night.”
She pulls the boxers on and twists her hair into a knot before securing it. “I’m not staying. But I do owe the dude for offing that bastard.”
“Do you want to talk about what happened?” She shakes her head quickly. “I’m here if you change your mind.”
“Yeah. Sure. Is Ryder still here?”
“No. He didn’t stay. He didn’t want to send up any flares.” I pause for a second. “Do you remember the story?”
“Of course. Ava and I got into a fight after all the hoco dance drama and none of us have heard from Lenny since she told him they were done.”
The good thing is everyone was a witness to the Ava-Morgan drama at the hotel, so that won’t be hard to convince people that they went at it in private and got their bruises from each other.
I add, “Neil was never there. No matter what is said.”
“Yeah, yeah. Keep the best buddy safe. Got it.” She looks to me. Her frustration softens as she says, “Trust me. I’ll make sure he’s protected. If he hadn’t done it, I would’ve.”
“Same,” I say without a doubt. I questioned how Neil could’ve pulled the trigger so easily, knowing the kind, soft-hearted person Neil is. The same kid who rescues spiders from inside the house and transfers them outside without killing them. That’s who he is. But after seeing firsthand the torment Lenny put people through, I understand how that monster could bring it out of anyone he was near. Because he did in me too. Hurting every single person, I care about. Constantly.
“Take me to my car. Now.”
“Yes. Let’s go.” As much as I hate to let her leave, I won’t force her to do anything right now that she doesn’t want, including something as simple as staying here with me. She’s been through enough. And when she’s out of the fog, I want her to come to me. She’ll never need me, but I want her to want me.
28
CADE
Walking into Saint Juliet this Monday morning is so strange. So much has happened. Everything feels different. Everythingisdifferent.
Morgan avoided me the remainder of the weekend. Thankfully, Ryder gave me “she’s okay” and “she’s really okay, she just cursed me out for checking on her again” updates. He also said their dad didn’t ask many questions—shocker—but their mom was freaked at the sight of her battered daughter but apparently bought the story.
Now, we just have to sell it to everyone else while I will try to keep Neil from paying the price. He hasn’t avoided me at all, instead, he’s pretending all is good. And I hope it is in his head. And if not, he’d better tell me.
“Hey, Crawford,” Topher calls out as he jogs to walk beside me. “Where were you? I called you like three times yesterday.”
“Just busy with some family stuff.” And not ready to deal with reality.
“Understood.” He glances over his shoulder. “Have you seen Ava and Morgan? Apparently, they had some catfight over the weekend, and it looked brutal.”
“Not shocking.” Like at all.
“Hopefully, it’s out of their systems and we can all move on from this drama.” He jogs ahead, turning to me as he pushes backwards and points at me. “Rams going down Friday. We got this.” He lets out some yell of “Geaux Wildcats,” which is returned by a few random bystanders.
I can’t tell him I won’t be on the field. First, I need to tell Coach. Then I’ll explain to the team that I can’t deal anymore. It won’t go over well with any of them, but Coach is the one I’m dreading telling the most. Not because I’ll disappoint him, but because I don’t want to be close enough to breathe the air as the bastard. Yeah, his daughter is a tyrant, hell-on-earth nightmare. But she’s his child. It was clear he couldn’t care less that she might be in trouble. He couldn’t even be bothered to answer a few questions. And I get it. She’s always up to something. Hell, even I wasn’t positive that this wasn’t one of her antics. But I still made the effort to find her. And even though it wasn’t too late when I finally found her. The guilt is still weighing on me that I wasn’t there sooner.
Especially when the image of her battered and bruised body fills my mind, I press my fingers over my eyes, rubbing them as I try to refocus my thoughts. Because that one still punches me in the gut, making me want to hurl.
A few of my classmates give me congrats on the game and winning the stupid homecoming title as I make my way to the locker room. Thankfully, Coach is in his office. I just want to let him know, then get the hell out of this academy. What’s one more absence?
“I need to tell you something.” I stand in the doorway as he motions for me to enter. When I do, he stands from his chair and moves to the side of his desk. “What’s on your mind?”
“I’m quitting the team. I’m done.” A weight is lifted off of my shoulders as I stand and watch his calm demeanor.
“How was your weekend?”
That’s unexpected. “Great.”
“That’s good. Because the last time I saw you, it wasn’t going sogreat. You were searching for Morgan.”
