Page 81 of Lost Boy
I can’t help but be the one asshole to laugh, and Andy side-eyes me likeI’mthe freaking bad guy here. Ridiculous, but whatever.
They’ve done nothing but target Fallon since they met him, simply because he’s different and to get at me. To affect my game. But nothing can affect my game, and I show them this when I score the next four three-pointers effortlessly.
Call me Steph Curry!
These Jefferson kids are a complete joke.
Cole, the bulkiest of us all, shoulder-checks Dustin as they lunge for a ball that I “accidentally”tossed toward the sidelines.
Dustin grunts at the impact and goes flying into the vegetation at the edge of the court. Andy blows his whistle, signaling the other team as out of bounds.
I burst out laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation as his fucking legs stick out of a bush like this is some sort of comedy sketch.
“Oh shit! I wish I had my phone!” Cole says, howling with laughter and most definitely planning on spreading this little mishap around both schools.
I glance at Fallon again, and he’s already staring at me. His dark eyes are intense and unyielding. Asking me a question without verbalizing a word.
Are you doing all of this for me?
I give him a little wink before focusing back on the game and scoring as many three-pointers as possible. Obnoxiously so.
They’re starting to get flustered and defeated, unable to block me more than ten percent of the time. If this game counted for their stats, it would be a joke.
I’m guarding Seth as he attempts to dribble around me, but I keep bumping him with my chest and forcing him back. He gets annoyed and lashes out.
“You gonna get more sparkles on your lips after this, Cruz?” he taunts cruelly.
“Shut up,” I hiss, bumping him hard enough to make him trip over his feet. He falls back on his ass with a pained grunt. The concrete is more unforgiving than our usual hardwood.
“Stay down,” I add with my golden boy smile, wondering if it’s too late for me here at Camp Dakota. I’m on the verge of saying fuck it all. Fuck everything.
But then I glance at Fallon sitting on the stump, tapping his foot and scribbling in that fucking notebook like always. The silent strength he projects in the face of his fucking bullies. His attackers.Our enemies.Showing them he isn’t fazed by their reckless pranks and narrow-minded views. So, I’ll stay strong too.
All I need to do is pass this bullshit trust camp, and I can sweep the floor with them in the championship.
CHAPTERTWENTY-THREE
FALLON
Idon’t know why I’m sitting by the water again after what happened earlier today, but things are getting hazy, and I guess the lake just doesn’t scare me. The stillness of the surface has a calm serenity to it. Or it could be the numbness washing over me as I take another hit of the blunt I rolled before sneaking out of our tent.
Either way, it’s midnight, and I’m too tired to fall asleep. It doesn’t make sense, but it happens. And I’m sick of counting sheep.
I hold the blunt between my lips and strum a few new chords I’ve been hearing in my head all afternoon. I alternate between smoking and strumming until the roach is too small to hold, and I flick it into the lake.
I duck my head down, curling in against the wind and letting the music steer me in the right direction. The melodies roll through me, and I release any residual feelings leftover from this afternoon’s bullshit. I welcome the peace of nothingness.
I can’t let Ryder ruin what he’s spent his whole life building. He just has to let it go. We all do. The counselors didn’t see shit, so they don’t know shit, so they won’tdoshit.
And that’s really all there is to it. End of story. Nothing new.
There’s rustling in the woods behind me, but I don’t even blink. I must be more fucked than I thought.
I peer over my shoulder and watch with half-open lids as Ryder appears from the forest’s edge with a blanket wrapped around his head and shoulders. My lip quirks. Even through the numbness, he has that effect on me.
I stop playing, resting my guitar on my lap.
“Don’t stop. You said you’d play for me,” he whispers somewhat vulnerably.
