Page 54 of Prove Me Wrong
“But we scored,” Jason counters, and I glare in his direction. “Fine. Your ball, losers.”
Nathan turns to lunge at Jason, but I grab a hold of him and push him backwards, putting myself between them. “Enough, Nate. What’s going on with you today?”
His dark eyes move behind me, staring at Caleb and Jason, waiting for Nathan to calm down. Face tensed, I can tell something is going on. He’s not normally this uptight about a game. The tightness in his shoulders, sharpness of his jaw, and flared nostrils give it away.
I gently push him away from them to give him space. Nathan rubs the back of his neck, troubled gaze dropping to the ground when he mumbles, “Dad got his results this afternoon.”
My chest stills at the pain etched into his features, making him look younger despite the stubble shadowing his chin. “And?”
Chocolate eyes find mine. Nathan just shakes his head.
My shoulders sink as I silently pull him into a hug, not caring if the other two see us right now. “I’m so sorry, Nate.”
My best friend just sniffs, and I can tell he’s trying his best not to break apart in front of Caleb and Jason. I’m not sure if it was just ustogether, alone in my house, he’d fall apart. He’s always been resilient and in control.
“Ivy isn’t taking it very well,” he murmurs out, and my spine tenses. “She just left without telling me where she was going and told me not to find her.” Moving away, Nathan runs a hand through his inky hair, sighing loudly. “I don’t know if she’ll be able to take this again.”
“Ivy is a smart girl. She knows not to get herself into anything too messy, but you need to let her deal with this in her own way. The more you try to control her, the less she’ll listen. And last time, she was still young. She didn’t know how to deal with grief.”
Digging the heels of his hand into his eyes, Nathan nods, blowing out a breath and cracking his neck. “You’re right. I need to give her some space. But she’s not completely smart. Her friend Tahlia is with her and updating me on their whereabouts.” His mouth twitches, but there’s no amusement in his eyes.
I sniff out a laugh, slapping him on the back gently. “Good. But she’s going to be fine. You just need to give her time to deal with the news.”
“I know,” he utters in a low tone. “It’s just hard trying to look after heranddad at the same time.”
“I’ll help if you need. You know I will.”
Nathan flicks me a small appreciative smile, but it does nothing to ease the knotting in my stomach. “Thanks, man. And I will let you know if I do.”
“Sure. Now come on, we have six points to make up so we can rub it in their faces.” I pump my brows, slinging an arm around his shoulders.
“Just don’t say anything to anyone,” Nathan murmurs as we approach the others. “I don’t want everyone to know yet.”
“Of course I won’t. It’s not my secret to share, Nate. You know I’ll always have your back, yeah?”
“Yeah,” he echoes, smiling at me before glaring at the other two waiting. “All right. We’re keeping score now, and Noah and I are about to wipe the floor with your asses.”
I snort a laugh as we get back into position. Nathan starts with the ball, dribbling from the half court, dancing around Jason, who’s trying to defend against him. Turning around him, Nathan passes the ball to me, but Caleb tries to knock me over. I stand my ground, dodging his blow and running past him towards the ring.
My arms raise, angling the ball, but it’s plucked from my hands by a taller Caleb. Laughing, he runs off, passing to Jason, who legs it down the other end. Nathan takes off after him, and I follow, bolting as fast as I can, and push Caleb away when he comes for me.
These guys know how to play dirty.
Jason lines up for a shot, but Nathan taps it backwards and away from the ring. Jumping, I snatch it. Taking off, I dribble past Caleb, faking left and going right before passing to Nathan in front of me. He runs down and sinks a three-pointer so easily that it makes the rest of us look like rubbish.
“Yes!” he shouts and runs up to slap my palm.
Caleb grunts, chasing the ball to start again. We go on for another twenty minutes, running back and forth on the court, until we’re sweating and panting. Nathan gets in the last point.
Jason collapses on the ground, catching his breath. “I’m calling quits. You guys win.”
Nathan grins, slapping my back. I don’t miss Caleb smiling, which is quite rare for him. He’s usually moody and sarcastic.
“Let’s get a drink. I'm dying of thirst,” groans Jason. Nathan offers him a hand. “Pub?”
“Yeah, but not too late, otherwise Jade will fall asleep, and I hate coming home when she’s out like a light.”
“Of course, Daddy Noah,” Nathan jokes, and I just stare at him.
