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Sitting on the bench on the 50-yard line, I watched Maddox on the field, thankful Maddy's entire squad had detention, so they weren't here to torment me. Practice was over, and Maddox stood on the opposite side of the field with Asher.
Asher leaned into Maddox, talking through clenched teeth. Their body language was tense, which said they were arguing. They were too far for me to hear, but this wasn't normal behavior for the two. They usually celebrated and goofed off after a good practice, but Maddox had seemed off today. He wasn't his normal flirty, playful self, and I wasn't sure if it was because of last night or something else.
Maddox disagreed with whatever Asher said with his fist clenched at his side. They were definitely arguing about something. Maddox's gaze flashed to me, and Asher's followed. Were they arguing about me? I huffed out a laugh because that wasn't possible. The three of us had nothing in common for them to fight about.
This wasn't the time for either of them to be arguing. Scouts' week was next week, and all athletes needed to be physically and mentally ready. If the most minor thing threw them off, they could lose the opportunity for a full ride to the college of their choice. They both needed to squash whatever this tiff was.
The two parted ways, both heaving with anger, but by the time Maddox stopped in front of me, his anger was gone like nothing had ever happened.
"Is everything okay?" I asked as he leaned forward, grabbing a bottle of water.
"Yeah," he said. "Why?"
"You and Asher seemed upset," I said, handing him a white towel.
"It's nothing," he panted, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
"It didn't look like nothing."
He released a heavy sigh. "Asher and I made a deal a few weeks ago," he smiled, "and I don't think I can follow through with it anymore."
"Why not?"
"It's complicated," he said, "but I don't think it's in anyone's best interest anymore."
"Is it about football?"
"Yes, Addy." He laughed. "It's about football."
I was relieved that whatever was causing the rift between the friends wasn't about me. I wanted to know what, but he didn't seem to want to tell me, so I dropped it. I trusted him. He would tell me when he wanted to.
"Well, you guys better settle it before next week," I teased.
"It's settled." He smiled. "Asher and I are good."
"Good."
"I'm going to hit the shower," he said. "You coming back to my place tonight? My mom is gone with her boyfriend, and I would really like to make last night up to you." I almost laughed at the memory of frantically throwing on clothes and tripping over each other to get out of the room. His mom invited us to the main house to eat, and she'd kept us over there pretty much all night. She'd told me he'd never brought a girl back to the apartment before, but he'd only introduced me as his tutor, not his girlfriend.
"I can't." I smiled. "I'm meeting Karly." I needed to talk all this out with someone, or my mind was going to explode. I held up my wrist to check my watch. "Actually, I gotta go. I'm meeting her in just a few."
"Call me when you get home," he said before jogging toward the locker room.
I strolled toward the front of the school with my head in the clouds, almost completely oblivious to my surroundings. Today was club day, and mixed with after-school sports, the school's campus was packed.
I made it to the sidewalk that led to the student parking lot a little early. Karly asked me to meet her here, and we'd walk to her car together. I was excited to catch up with Karly. We hadn't exchanged more than a few words in person since she found out she was pregnant.
"Damn, Addy," Dash said, walking behind me. His eyes swept over my body, making me feel exposed and uncomfortably vulnerable. I'd never spoken one word to Dash in all my years of school, and we'd been in the same school since Kindergarten. "We didn't know you were hiding all that under there." He pulled at Maddox's jacket, and I swatted at his hand. "Now we all see why you're wearing Mad Dog's jacket."
"Don't touch me." I sneered, wrapping Maddox's jacket tighter around me.
"Don't worry, I can wait my turn." He smirked. "You can wear my jacket next, though." What was he talking about? My gaze scanned the parking lot. Everyone's eyes were fixed on me. What was going on?
TWENTY
ADDISON
I spun in a circle as crowds of my classmates gathered around me.
