Page 48 of The Silent Count
As the days pass, his unmoved behavior becomes more and more unnerving. I’ve been on edge, silently waiting for something bad to happen, yet that bad thing never seems to come. It’s a unique kind of torture in being left to sit around twiddling your thumbs.
One that I find especially funny considering he was giving me a speech earlier this week about how I need to stay focused during practices. Yet here I am, as distracted as I’ve ever been mere days before one of the biggest games of the season.
Instead of focusing on drills and routes, or studying film with a watchful eye, my mind has been spinning like a broken roller coaster.
Will there be a note taped to my locker asking me to come into his office?
Is he going to make me suffer through a brutal practice only to hold me after and tell me to pack my bags?
Maybe he’ll wait until the entire team is in the film room and ream me out in front of everyone.
Those are just a few of the thousand thoughts that have been circulating in my mind the past few days. They start to spiral tenfold as Coach levels his gaze with mine. My skin is crawling, itchy, almost like I’ve got fleas burrowing themselves into my skin.
This is it.
The shoe is about to drop.
I do my best to brace myself, but my stomach feels like it might lurch at any second.
No matter what happens here, I’ll still have Lea.
My agent will handle securing me a contract with another team for these last few games.
It’ll be all fine.
“You broke my rules,” he starts.
I nod.
“You betrayed my trust.”
I nod.
“You risked ruining your career.”
I nod.
Coach exhales a long breath, and I contemplate who I should call first once he releases me from the team—my mom? My agent? Georgia?
The tension in the room rises with each second that passes. He’s doing that thing where he lets you stew on his words. It’s already a mind fuck but it’s even more excruciating knowing what’s coming. In a matter of minutes, Coach will release me from the team and my career with the Matrix will be over.
His gaze bounces between Lea and me before his shoulders relax and drop a couple of inches. “But I’m glad it was you who did all of those things.”
My head rears back and I turn to look at Lea, who’s staring at her dad with a look that all but says what the hell did you just say?
“What?” Lea’s mouth drops open. She speaks for me to say the words I can’t. “You’re… glad?”
I’m frozen in place, not entirely sure if I believe what he’s saying either.
“Oh, come on. The guy has had eyes for you since the day he slowed up here,” Coach laughs, leaning back in his chair with a smug smile playing on his lips.
“I’m confused.” She shakes her head like she can’t believe what’s happening before her eyes. “So, you knew this whole time?”
“You don’t think I’ve picked up on your secret glances at my daughter, Parker?” He turns to me and breaks out into a big, obnoxious guffaw instead of answering Lea’s question. He wipes under his eyes with a thumb. “That staring problem of yours really gave you away, but I never thought you’d have the balls to actually make a move. Never thought I’d have to worry about you being the one to break the rules.”
“I do not have a staring problem.”
“You have a staring problem,” they both say at the same time.
