“Can you not call me your sister all the time?”
Why didn’t she just boot me straight through the heart?
“Everyone always does that mental math when they’re looking at me and you and it doesn’t add up and that brings on the questions and… I just hate that, okay?”
It didn’t make it hurt any less. I hated those looks too. The ones that called you a liar without ever saying a word. It hurt and I hated it, but I understood.
“Please don’t be mad. I love you, Berk.” Her small voice cut through the apartment.
And that melted all my anger. Wasn’t this what little sisters were supposed to do? Push buttons. Make you want to strangle them? And then tell you at the end of the day they still loved you?
“Love you too, Alexis. Night.” It was nearly three am. Practice tomorrow would be a bitch. But at least after that I’d get two whole days with Jules, not that I was counting and not that anything was going to happen. Just two friends, hanging out for the weekend.
7
Berk
An ear-splitting whistle ricocheted inside my helmet. Sweat poured down my face and everything in my body ached. The paint from the lines on the field criss-crossed my back after the drills I’d had for twenty minutes before our scrimmage. The pre-season always stretched on for way too long. Without the adrenaline from running out onto the field in front of thousands of people losing their collective minds, and an opposing team to face down, the grind of two-a-day practices took its toll.
Coach hadn’t been happy about my right-on-time arrival, so I’d had to run laps. My own personal hell. Hey, let’s get this lineman who’s never had to run more than twenty yards at a sprint to do laps. Not that I couldn’t use the extra cardio. There was no holding back this year. It was about laying everything on the line and pushing harder than I ever had. I wasn’t getting straight As or anything, but I didn’t have the luxury of a family business or support to fall back on like Nix. Even with a degree, it would be hard to find work without a safety net. But a few years in the pros and I’d be set for life.
Right now, however, I was eight seconds from puking. I braced my hands on my knees. Sprinting in full pads and going straight to the lineup was what I got for rescuing Alexis last night. The second time this week. This time she’d found herself stranded an hour outside the city at some house party in Jersey.
Two-a-day practices leading up to the season opener were brutal, but no one could question Coach’s methods. We’d won the national championship last year, and we all knew that with Nix and Reece gone, there was a lot of ground to cover to get our asses to the dance two years in a row.
Our new QB, Austin, was doing everything in his power to make it happen, and I’d be the guy getting in the way of the other guys trying to take his head off. We huddled up and our QB went over the play.
Breaking the circle, we jogged to our positions. I crouched down, fingertips sinking into the freshly-mown and meticulously-maintained grass. This grass probably got more care and attention than eighty-five percent of people in this world.
Energy crackled along the line as everyone waited for the snap. My legs tingled waiting for the telltale sound of the ball hitting the QB’s palm. There was the call and smack. Using muscle memory ingrained from the first time I’d run these drills back in high school, I charged forward, holding off the defense who wanted nothing more than to come out of this practice with the nod from Coach. Not happening.
The ball sailed over my head and my job was done. A touchdown pass and the rookie hunched over, resting his hands on his knees.
“You did good, kid.”
He stared up at me with a huge grin. “Kid? I’m barely a year younger than you, fuckface.”
“But much wiser, I am.” I pressed my palms together and went for the best Yoda impersonation that I could manage while being nearly six-three and hefting at least twenty pounds of gear across the field.
“More like more annoying.”
“One man’s wise is another man’s foolish.”
He shook his head and punched my shoulder pads. “Either way, thanks for having my back out there. I won’t let you down. I know with Nix gone things are different.”
“Things always change.” Better than anyone, I knew how quickly life could become quicksand under your feet. Suck it up and adapt or end up in a spiral that shot you out on death’s door or somewhere worse.
“You’re killing it so far. Don’t psych yourself out. Keep running plays like you have been and I’ll keep the defensive line off your ass for as long as I can.” That was one thing I kicked ass at—protecting the QB at all costs. Better I get my bell rung, the bruised ribs, or a cleat straight to the face than the guy calling the plays. If the ball made it to where it was supposed to, we were good.
“But you throw a few interceptions and I’m going to let them knock you around a bit.”
“Thanks.” He rolled his eyes. “No pressure there.”
I shook his shoulder pads and they clacked against his helmet. “Just giving you a heads up.”
“Why’d Coach have LJ riding the bench all pre-season?” Austin shielded his eyes from the late August sun, staring at our should-be cornerback hanging on the sidelines looking like he could bite through steel bars.
“It’s complicated.” I clapped him on the shoulder.
LJ had made the unfortunate mistake of pissing off our Coach in more ways than one. You’d think being best friends with his daughter would come as an advantage. That was so far from the case it was hovering in the outer atmosphere only visible with a telescope. And it had only gotten worse when Marisa had moved into The Brothel. The name probably wasn’t helping things.
Coach had us all huddle up. “You’ve all hustled hard this pre-season. We’re going into the next season and I want you to get it out of your heads that with last year’s seniors gone we don’t have it in us. Every single one of you—” His gaze froze on LJ and his lips tightened. “Almost all of you have what it takes to make this another winning season. You have Labor Day weekend off.”
Guys banged their helmets together and cheered.
“You have these three days off, and I’m trusting you all to rest up and not make me regret giving you some time before the semester starts. Get ready for your classes. Get some sleep. Do not make me have to attend any honor council meetings once you’re all back. Dismissed.”
The whole team charged toward the tunnel, ready for three solid days off. The energy that flagged during practice roared back. The unmistakable smell of IcyHot, sweat, and soap filled the locker room.
I headed straight for the showers, not wanting to be late to meet Jules. Since I had practice so late, I told her I’d meet at the pickup spot for the shuttle to wherever it was we were going.
She’d had to go earlier to help her sister. I’d leave my car at the house and get a taxi there, so I wouldn’t be late. I’d make sure to eat and drink my fill to make up for the ding to my wallet.
Some guys were already slamming their lockers shut and heading outside, clothes clinging to their barely-dried bodies. Classes started in three days and there was no slacking off once the semester began. Sometimes it was hard enough keeping my eyes open after practice, but throw in classes and I’d be 90% powered by caffeine and sugar.