AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Justin, you aren’t going anywhere,” George called out.
Justin ignored him and went to the parking lot.
“Should we?”
“No,” Paxon said. “My dad will handle it.”
George chased after Justin.
“I think it’s safe to say we’re done celebrating,” Paxon said. Now it was his turn to glare at Benji. “I’m sorry, Cadence. That shouldn’t have happened.”
Benji was busy getting a tongue lashing by Coach Stolly and two other adults who looked like they could be his parents. He held a handful of napkins to his nose, and he looked far worse than Justin did.
I shivered, the feeling of violence still fresh in the air.
“Let’s head back home,” Toby said.
All the excitement of such a big victory fizzled out to confused disbelief. When we reached the parking lot, I searched for Justin or George, but found neither.
Before I could get into my car, Paxon stopped me.
“Cadence, don’t mind anything Benji said.”
“How could I not?” I asked. “He’s making it out to be that I’m the reason you’re quitting.”
“And it’s all bullshit. I love soccer deeply. It’s a passion I’ve had since I could walk. But it’s never been what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I’m content playing for fun. And I’ll admit, the pressure of going professional isn’t something I want.” He reached over and cupped my cheek. “Soccer is a massive commitment that I can’t give. Between the training, the games, and then having to stay on top of my classes, not playing is more preferable. Instead of having to run off to games or to train all the time, I’d rather spend that time with my friends and family.” He gave me a small smile. “With you. Summer made me realize that. I had free time for a little bit, and I spent it with the people I love, but then I signed up for soccer, playing for the town, and suddenly, all my time was taken up again. One of my games was even on Calvin’s birthday, and I felt so bad about that. We made it work, but it made me realize how soccer will slip into other aspects of my life, especially if I play during college. I don’t want that.”
He leaned closer and kissed my cheek.
“Benji is done. There were recruiters here, even though half the team didn’t realize it. Coach Stolly used his connections to have them join us. And Benji fucked up. He shot himself in the foot talking like that, acting like that with his own teammates. And none of what he was going on about is true.”
“Is this your long way of saying it isn’t my fault?”
He chuckled. “Yes.”
“And Justin. The way he….”
Paxon’s smile disappeared. “That was rather abrupt.” He rubbed at the back of his neck. “My dad will talk to him. He’s really good at helping Justin.”
“Justin just beat up a guy. Sure, Benji was being an asshole, but this kind of shit can get him into a lot of trouble. And why did he explode like that?”
“Cadence.” Paxon squished my cheeks together, effectively making me stop before I could keep ranting. For a moment, Paxon looked like he was about to laugh, but he managed to suppress it as he forced me to make the duck face. “Let my dad get to the bottom of it. We can’t begin to imagine what Justin is going through right now with his dad, and I think it’s probably related to that. For now, head home and we’ll meet you there.”
He nudged me until I got in my car, and then he carefully closed the door for me. All I could do was turn my car on and send a text to Micah and the twins so I knew where to pick them up. The drive after that became a blur as I got lost in everything that had happened, my worry for Justin ramping up.
Chapter Seventeen
The long drive home did nothing to distract me from what had happened. Micah kept trying to ask me questions and get me to talk. Even the twins. But all I could see was Justin, furious, throwing punches at another student. Benji never had a chance.
Seeing Justin like that scared me. I knew he knew how to fight, but he had never exploded like that. I had even seen Paxon get into a small fight at school, and to make it worse, it was with Benji back then too. But not Justin.
“I know something happened, and I hope once you get out of your head, you’ll talk to me,” Micah said in a soft voice. Then he was gone, leaving me gaping at him.
Fuck. I did it again. I fucked up with Micah. I leaned against the steering wheel, resting my head against it as I slowly breathed in and out, trying to calm myself. Before backing out, I sent Micah a quick text, apologizing and promising to call him.
As soon as I got to my house, I grabbed my guitar and went to the backyard.
I hadn’t really spent any time back here. There was a small patio space filled with the old set of furniture from Seth. The back of my house butted against the property of another house, but with trees, a fence, and space between the two backyards so I still felt like I had plenty of privacy.
