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“Stop stalling,” Willow pouts.
With a grimace, Becca takes the umbrella back and faces us, her cheeks as red as ever. “I don’t know if you know him. His name is Dylan Ford. Please, don’t say anything to anyone, especially Cole and CJ. God, I’d never hear the end of it,” she groans.
“We won’t. I promise.”
Taking a deep breath, she continues. “I met him in the cafeteria. I bumped into him and spilled his Coke all over him.” She pauses, frowning when we start laughing. “Shut up! It’s not funny, it was humiliating.”
Willow pats her shoulder. “Sorry, but you gotta admit, that’s pretty darn funny.”
She covers her face with one hand before removing it, shoving it into her coat pocket. “Trust me, it wasn’t. He was with a group of girls who started throwing insults and making fun of me.”
Our laughter subsides. Willow and I turn to each other, both with matching frowns, before turning back to Becca. “Why didn’t you tell us?”
She shrugs. “It wasn’t a big deal. He told them to shut up, told me it was fine, before walking away. I thought that was the end of it. Then I saw him…” She pauses, biting her lip again and glancing over the field.
“You saw him…?” I start, wondering where this is going. If she says she bumped into him again, I won’t be able to hold my laughter in.
Gulping, she straightens her back. “I saw him at the group victim meeting Jordan organised. He was dropping his sister off. I wasn’t sure about going in, so I was standing outside the front of the building, just out of sight. Rosie wasn’t with me and I didn’t feel comfortable walking in by myself. I started crying, and he must have heard me sniffle.”
While she takes a deep breath, I melt. She never told us any of this, and it occurs to me that she probably didn’t because of Rosie, wanting to be there for her friend more.
“What happened then?” Willow asks.
She lifts her head, her eyes watering but a smile on her face. “He walked over, took one look at me, and pulled me in for a hug. I froze, scared because I’d only had that one encounter with him. But then he pulled away just as quickly, glancing down at me with understanding shining in his eyes. He asked if I was going inside, and I told him no; I couldn’t do it without my friend. He then asked if I wanted to get a drink and wait in the coffee shop until the meeting was over. He said that if I wanted to talk, he’d listen. It’s how I found out about his sister. He told me all about her.”
My eyes are completely wide with shock. “And you spoke to him about what happened to you?”
Blushing further, she nods. “Yeah—I couldn’t help it. He was so kind, so understanding, and easy to talk to. Once he opened up about why he was there, I couldn’t shut my mouth.”
Willow is now smiling. “Cole is like that. He made me feel safe.” She pauses, eyeing the field for a second before turning back to Becca. “Have you seen him again since?”
She nods. “I keep seeing him around the university. He’ll give me a chin lift or say hello, but he’s always with his friends, and I get nervous and rush off. It’s how Rosie knows about him: she caught the way I was staring at him.”
“Why don’t you ask him to come to ours next weekend for a movie night?”
Doubt clouds her expression. “No. He probably felt sorry for me the day he saw me outside. I don’t want to put him in a position where he feels like he can’t let me down in case I break or something.”
I shake my head. “You worry too much. Just ask him.”
“I’ll see,” she says, clearly lying. She peers over to the field where the coach and two other men wearing similar uniforms come stepping out of the changing room building.
“What in the hell is she wearing?” Willow asks out of nowhere, a low growl rumbling from her chest.
I glance around her, staring in the direction she’s glaring at, and my lips tighten disapprovingly.
A group of girls I remember being here the last time we came to watch are loitering near the front of the field, wearing similar shirts as to what the lads wear on the field.
One of the girls has the number fifteen on her back, with Everhert printed above it—CJ’s last name.
My eyes are still narrowed into tiny slits when I become aware of a body standing next to me. I turn, smiling wide when Milly, CJ’s mum, reveals herself from under her umbrella.
“Hey.”
“Hello, sweets, hope you don’t mind me joining you. CJ mentioned you’d all be here. As much as I love and support my son, coming here on my own is kind of boring. It wasn’t like I had someone to sit with me and explain what was happening to keep me entertained. The big matches I always attend. Just don’t tell CJ I bring my kindle.”
I laugh, knowing the stick she’d get if he ever found out. “Your secret’s safe with us. But you’re gonna be disappointed with us, because we have no idea either. The last time we came to watch, I spent the majority of the game with my eyes tightly closed,” I tell her. We both laugh.
“Hey, Milly, I didn’t know you were coming,” Willow says, glancing around me. I forgot she met her when Milly had dinner with Cole’s parent’s.
