He was born into a shit ton of money. He had two parents who attended every game. He dated the girl that everyone wanted. He had the big house. The BMW on his sixteenth birthday. But the little prick always thought he deserved more.
“You make sure that ball lands in Shaw’s hands, don’t you?” he hissed, and I shoved him back.
“I want to win the game, you selfish asshole. I’m throwing you the same ball I’m throwing him. Stop fucking blaming everyone and catch the fucking ball, Taulson.” I stormed away from him as Coach stepped through the doors. He wouldn’t be cool with us almost coming to blows again. Alec was someone I was looking forward to leaving behind. I’d never cared for the kid, but this year he appeared to be unraveling. He was acting more erratic with each game, and I was tired of his stupid ass temper tantrums.
“Everything okay?” Jax whispered as we put our attention on Coach.
I nodded. “Same ol’ shit with that kid.”
“Typical,” Shaw said as we all three stared straight ahead.
Coach Stephens reminded us that we were the defending state champs, and this title was ours to take home today. He pulled me to the side and told me to call the plays again in the second half.
“I trust you, Jett. You’re a natural leader. Now lead this team to victory.”
“Yes, sir,” I said, a lump forming in my throat.
I jogged back out onto the field. The second half was more aggressive than the first half had been. There was a lot at stake, and you could feel the tension in the air. I’d taken a few cheap shots, as had the other players on our team, and I’m sure we’d dished a few out as well. It was part of the game. We’d each scored again and heading into the final quarter it was a tied game.
A few fights in the stands were broken up, and the energy had shifted as everyone was on edge. When I jogged back out for our final quarter playing for East Texas High, I called the first play. I’d give the ball to Taulson, giving him yet another chance to have his moment.
He ran down the field and I took a few steps back and spiraled the ball right to him. He caught it for the first fucking time tonight, but when he got taken down, the ball slipped from his grasp and it ended up in the wrong fucking hands. The dude on the other team ran it down the field and scored.
What the fuck?
“He cheap shotted me, do your fucking job,” Alec screamed at the ref when he got to his feet, and Coach Stephens ran out to get him off the field. He continued his rant, even with Coach pulling at his shoulders to lead him to the sidelines. The ref ejected Alec from the game, and the fans for the opposing team went crazy with excitement. Alec’s father was down on the field now, getting in the face of the ref. Who the fuck does that? This had gone from bad to worse in a matter of minutes. Coach ran out once again to try to get things under control, when Alec’s father shook the referee by the shoulders and was ejected from the field as well.
Coach shook his head at me with disbelief before shouting at me. “Turn this around, Jett.”
I called the play and passed the ball to Ty. No one had been expecting it, and he caught it and tore down the field as the crowd roared in the background. I watched as he spiked the ball in the end zone, and it was a tie game once again.
The next few minutes went by with our defense battling to keep the score tied. Aggressions were rising and a frantic energy surrounded me.
They held us off during the next play. The hits were getting harder. The cheers were getting louder. The refs were throwing flags in response to the attacks going down on the field. I’d taken more hits in this game than I’d taken all season. I stood talking to Coach and looked up to meet Adelaide’s gaze. She smiled and my fucking stomach did a flip. My tongue slipped out to wet my bottom lip and I nodded. She turned back around and called a cheer just as Coach slapped my shoulder.
“You’ve got one minute to score, or we go into overtime. It’s getting cold and our boys are getting tired. Let’s win us a ball game.”
“Yes, sir,” I said, jogging back out on the field.
It was going to come down to one play. One fucking play. I knew where I was throwing it. Into the hands of my best friend. It was his turn to shine and win this game for East Texas. I took a few steps back and everything went silent. A peaceful calm surrounded me. I spiraled the ball into the end zone and right into Shaw’s hands.
Fucking, yes.
The band played in the background.
Cheers engulfed the stadium, making it difficult to hear anything.
I jogged toward Shaw, and Jax met us in the middle. We huddled together as Shaw shouted.
“We did it.”
We sure as fuck did.
Chapter Seven
Adelaide
I woke up Sunday morning to my sister Clem knocking on my bedroom door to tell me the girls were here. I glanced at my phone to see it was only nine a.m. I was exhausted. We’d gotten home late on the bus Friday night from the state meet, and I’d spent the day with Alec yesterday watching movies. He was still upset about him and his dad being kicked out of his last game, and I understood how disappointing that would be. He wasn’t himself lately. He’d never been so edgy, and I’d tried to talk to him about it, but he just said his dad was riding him really hard and there was so much change coming after this year, he was feeling the pressure.
I understood it. Everyone went to Britney Weber’s house for a party last night, but Alec wanted to go home, so I didn’t end up going out either. I was supposed to hang out with the girls today, but apparently they were here much earlier than planned.
Coco barreled through the door first with Ivy, Maura, and Gigi right behind her. Clem turned to leave and shut the door. I sat up and rubbed my eyes. “What’s going on? I haven’t even brushed my teeth yet.”
“Please. I’ve slept in this bed and smelled your dragon breath more times than I can count. Don’t go all Savannah Edington on us now,” Coco said with a laugh. She always made fun of how haughty both of our mothers were.
Gigi sat beside me, and I searched her gaze. She looked upset, and I immediately knew something was wrong. “Oh my gosh. What happened?”
Maura shook her head. “Maybe nothing. We don’t know for sure.”
“But we knew we needed to come here and tell you right away. We’re the Magic Willows, after all.” Ivy shoved Coco over on my bed and sat down beside her.
“You guys are scaring me. What happened?” I asked, tucking the hair behind my ears.
They exchanged a look and my stomach dipped. This wasn’t good. We never hesitated with conversation unless it was bad.
“Alec was at the party last night and Karina was hanging all over him again,” Coco said, and she studied me as she spoke.