Page 9 of Free Fall

I swallow, hard. I may as well have a chicken bone in there for how difficult it was to choke that emotion down. She’s right. Because Brady was one of the football greats, he was literally everywhere. People talking to him, talking about him. For a lot of my life, I was happy to stay in his shadow, looking on at what my brother had been able to do for himself. It was only until I got to high school that people noticed me because I was his sister. Then I got attention and looks, and Brady got to act like the protective older brother, and his friends followed suit. His absence is a huge hole. “I know what you mean.”

As siblings go, Brady and I got along really well. Sure, I may have been the annoying sister from time-to-time, especially growing up, but in the year before he died, I think he liked me being around. I was there with Jules when he couldn’t be. He used to tell me to watch out for her. God, he loved her so much.

“Sometimes it feels like nothing will be normal again,” Jules muses.

I’m so with her there. I don’t even want it to be normal again. What’s normal when Brady can’t be here? It’s an impossibility.

Up ahead, right outside my next class, Reid and Sasha are pawing at one another. I don’t remember Reid being like that before Brady died. Maybe he’s using her like Lex and I are using each other. Though, that can’t be entirely accurate, Reid has been dating Sasha since middle school. It’s like they were meant to be. She’s the head cheerleader, he’s the quarterback. What other options are there? It’s so cliché it makes me roll my eyes.

Reid’s kissing her neck when Sasha drops her head to the side, her eyelids fluttering open. I look away, but not before she catches me looking at them. “Ugh, get a life, Briar,” she says.

You’d think I’d get a grace period on the bullying with my brother dying and all, but Sasha didn’t care about that. I’m pretty sure she only kept her mouth shut before because of Brady. Now that he’s not here, there’s no one to shut her up. In truth, Sasha’s pretty territorial. She’s cool with Jules, or used to be, because she was dating Brady. If Lex or Cade get a girlfriend, she’s cool with them too. What she doesn’t like is for other unattached girls to be hanging around. It makes her drama-fueled head explode.

I would’ve ignored her, but the mention of my name makes Reid come up for air. He steps back, so there’s only an inch of space between him and his girlfriend and gives me another once over. He shakes his head, and I just shrug my shoulders. I did take a shower this morning. Sure, I’m still wearing a long-sleeved shirt and baggy jeans, but my hair is freshly washed even though it’s still black.

“Maybe you should find a guy to fuck that look off your face,” Sasha says, her nose scrunching up.

“Why? That hasn’t worked for you yet.”

Her gaze narrows, and I can’t help but smile. She thinks she’s so smart, but she’s an idiot. She’s using Reid to get her ass out of Spring Hill. She thinks he’ll take her to college with him and then beyond if he ever makes it into the NFL. She sure as hell isn’t going to take her hooks out of him. It’s her only chance, and honestly, I can see she was thinking ahead. So maybe she does have some sort of brain in her.

“Watch your mouth,” Reid says, eyeing me.

Jules tries to tug me into our class, so we avoid a confrontation, but what’s the fun in that? I just eye him until he sighs.

He steps away from Sasha and moves forward. His green eyes appraise me, and I know that whatever ridiculous standard he’s set for me in his head on how I should be acting hasn’t been met. “You didn’t go to your meeting yesterday.”

I shake my head. No, I didn’t. I sat there and texted Ezra on that little piece of grass just outside the parking lot.

“You should go.”

“I’ve got another chance today,” I tell him.

“You’re going to run out of chances.”

“Why do you care?”

“Come on,” Jules says, tugging on my hand again.

Reid gives her an apologetic look. Why is it always Jules that people feel sorry for? “No, I need to hear this,” I tell her, not ever taking my eyes away from Reid’s. “I need to know why somehow I don’t meet the approval of the quarterback of our football team. I mean, that’s something we should all strive to meet, isn’t it?” The sarcasm is just oozing off me. I’m practically swimming with it.

“You want to know why I care,” Reid says. He moves forward. He comes at me so fast I have to step back. Before I know it, my back is against the metal locker and Reid Parker is in my face. His chiseled jaw jumps. Beyond his shoulder, I see Sasha standing there, hands on her hips, her eyes are practically bugging out of her head as she stares me down. “Your brother’s not here, so if I’m the one who has to make you toe the line, I will.”

My face heats. “You’re not a stand-in for Brady.” I can barely get the words out. How dare he talk about him right here right now. I want to spit in his face. Like anyone could step into my brother’s shoes. “I don’t need you.”

“You obviously need something.”

“Trust me, I’ve got things handled, so whatever fucking ridiculous…thing you have over making sure I’m fine, you can let it go. I don’t want it.”

“Until your mom stops calling me, crying in my ear, you’re going to get it.”

I suck in a breath. I narrow my eyes at him, trying to figure out whether he’s lying or not. Why is mom calling Reid of all people? If she is even calling him.

“Leave her alone, Reid,” Jules says.

His head snaps to her. He gives her a slight frown. “I’m sorry, Juliet, but this has nothing to do with you.”

Sasha’s hands close around Reid’s bicep. It’s only then that I realize how close we’d gotten to one another. The stench of her hand lotion permeates my nostrils, and I pull away only there’s no place for me to go. Reid takes in our proximity and lets Sasha move him back. “Be careful, baby,” she says. “You’ll get a disease.”

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