Page 15 of Away Game

I was ninety-nine percent sure Fin would be going, but I didn’t have it in me to cook tonight. Plus, I wasn’t going to let him ruin my experience or the chance to make friends or connect with people. If he didn’t like it, then he could stay home.

“That sounds perfect. I’m dead on my feet,” I answered back as he picked his speed back up. “What’s got you in such a rush?”

“I told my mom I’d call her after practice today. She had a doctor’s appointment she was worried about. I want to make sure it went okay.”

Even now that he was five feet away, I could see the strain on his face. Ford was worried about his mom. I understood that. I’d been worried about how my mom and brother were doing without me and my income. Once the football season was over, I planned to find a job around here and send as much money as I could their way. I’d done as much as I could leading up to moving away; now, all I could do was hope it would be enough.

“I hope it’s good news,” I yelled as he took off.

Once back in my room, I fell onto my bed with my phone in hand, texting my mom and Easton. We had a group chat to keep each other in the know about what was going on in our lives. Easton was playing games with his friends online, and Mom was working, so it was a quick conversation—nothing long enough to make me forget I’d more than likely be eating and hanging out with Fin. I wasn’t sure if he’d ignore me or be his usual asshole self to me. I was hoping for the former but betted on the latter.

A sharp knock had me bolting upright on my bed. The door swung open with Fin, Oz, Ford, and Ridley standing at the door with mixed expressions on their faces. Ford had a smile that was about to crack his face in two, he was so happy. I guess his mom gave him good news. Ridley looked bored like he always did unless he was eating. He was a linebacker that had to weigh close to three hundred pounds. He was not a guy you wanted to get on his bad side. Oz looked curious while Fin was expressionless except for the tick in his jaw. It wasn’t a surprise Fin would be pissed I was joining him, but he was going to have to learn to live with it.

“You ready?” Ford asked as they all started to move away from the door.

“Yeah, I’m starved.” Closing and locking my door, I followed behind everyone. I wanted to give Fin plenty of space just in case he was feeling, well… like his usual self. An asshole.

It was move-in weekend for most of the campus. As we walked, there were shouts from the houses we passed by and loud music playing. I was surprised none of the guys were headed to one of the parties hosted by the frats, but they were surprisingly being good. Maybe Coach Kyle’s brand of training had scared them, or maybe they were as dead as I was.

Oz let everyone get a step ahead of us as we hit the street. “It’s good you’re hitting up The Bar with us. You’re always holed up in your room or studying.”

I stuffed my hands in the pockets of my shorts and huffed out a laugh. “Well, I’m a pretty boring guy.”

There was no way I was going to tell Oz about not having the money to go out every day for food or having my meals delivered, or why I had to do well in school to keep my scholarship. All of it was something none of the guys would understand. I knew I wasn’t the only player on the team here on a scholarship, but I knew I was the odd one out with the group I was out with.

“I seriously doubt that. Otherwise, Fin wouldn’t…” Oz looked to Fin, who was glaring back at us.

“Hate me so much,” I added to help him out.

Oz’s lips pursed. “He doesn’t—”

“He does,” I interrupted him. “You don’t need to lie for his sake.” Or mine.

Oz’s gaze flicked up to his friend and back to me. “I gotta say, I don’t know what his deal is with you.”

I had an idea, but maybe that was all it was. Maybe I was thinking too highly of myself, and Fin simply hated me for the reason of hating me and not because he was attracted to me.

“Central Valley did beat you,” I flashed him a cocky smile. Running in the winning touchdown against them still brought a smile to my face. “I think it was a huge blow to Fin’s ego when he wasn’t named MVP.”

“Don’t let him hear you say that.” Oz chuckled, but there was a dark tone in it, making me wonder about the true meaning of his comment. “Fin’s dad… let’s just say, leave it at it was about his dad and not his ego.”

Why was Oz being nice to me and telling me things about Fin that Fin would never want me or probably anyone else to know?

“You should probably stop talking to me before you’re on his shit list.” Every few seconds, Fin would look at us out of the corner of his eye and then clench his hands into fists. If Oz didn’t stop talking to me, I’d probably end up with a black eye. Was that rational? No, but nothing Fin did in regards to me was.

“He’s more bark than bite. Anyway, I know how to handle Fin.” His brow furrowed as he looked at his friend giving me little cause to believe he understood why Fin was so unwarranted with his hostility toward me.

“Still, I don’t want him to go all Fin on me in front of new people,” I admitted quietly.

“I can understand that. For what it’s worth, I’m glad you joined us.”

My steps faltered at his words. At first, I thought they might be an indication of something Fin might have planned, but I didn’t think Oz would give up his friend like that. But what did I know? Tonight was the first time we’d ever talked.

I hung back for the rest of the walk and let everyone take their places around the table. I sat across from Ford and beside Oz. Ridley and Fin sat on the other side, with Ridley flanking Ford. A sigh of relief escaped me, seeing Fin as far away from me as possible.

“Is everything okay with your mom?” I asked Ford after we’d all ordered.

He leaned forward on his elbows, his eyes scanning to see if any of the guys were listening in. “She got a clean bill of health, just a little low on iron. How crazy is that? They had us so worried, and it was something as simple as fixing it with a vitamin.”

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