Page 29 of Dirty Roulette
Brody scoffs, and a cunning smile creeps onto his face. “I bet with how much time you spend with this prick, you’ve been fucking him all along.”
“You’re a piece of shit!” I scream.
“Jesus Christ!” Ryder lifts me up in the air, my feet kicking up and down. “Quit it!” He hauls me from the chaos into another part of the locker room.
“What the hell is going on in here?” The football coach comes storming in, yells at the boys to leave, and voices drown out.
“Shh...” Ryder pins me against one of the lockers with a finger pressed to my lips. “Calm down.” He whispers. I lean against the cold metal with shoelaces and papers hanging out of the locker slits. Teardrops stain my cheeks at the realization of what I’ve done. Mascara runs off my hand when I wipe my face.
I peek over the rows of lockers and watch the coach cross his arms. “What the hell happened this time?” he asks.
Brody shakes off the coach’s grip. “Nothing.” He leaves my eyesight, and I hear a locker jimmying open. “It’s just crazy ex-girlfriend drama,” Brody says. I spot his white towel stained with blood lying on the floor and my heart picks up its pace.
“Have you been drinking again?”
Brody scoffs. “No!”
“The board specifically told you if we catch you drinking on school grounds, you will be benched. This is your last year. The fun and games are over. The NFL ain’t gonna play around.”
The coach turns his head in my direction when Brody’s eyes stray over to mine. I gasp and plant myself against the metal once more.
“Who’s over there?” Coach calls out.
I mouthshitand Ryder quickly covers my lips with his hand.
“Just me, Coach.” Ryder waves his other hand.
“Hurry your ass up and get out!”
“Yes, Coach,” Ryder replies. His hand is still covering my mouth as I stare up into his eyes. He winks and I melt further into his touch as his sly smile molds over his face again, and I catch a glimpse of his dimples. The same trademark he shares with Charlie.
“Cut the bull, Thomas, or I’m benching you on the first game.”
“It’s not like you’re doing your job anyway,” Brody interrupts. “My dad ain’t giving you money for you to sit on. I’m done with you protecting that nut-gobbling running back!”
“Watch your mouth!” Coach snaps.
“Write an incident report. I don’t give two shits.”
Coach lets out a cocky laugh that fills the locker room. “Hurry up and get out.”
“Whatever, Coach.”
I’m cemented to the locker wall, palms sticky on the cold metal. I peek over again watching Coach leave while his New Balance shoes squeak against the wet tile floor. Brody wipes his bloody nose and shuffles his bag over a shoulder after dressing.
“This ain’t over, Crab!” Footsteps echo across the empty locker room, and my heart plummets further into my stomach as he leaves.
I hate Brody. There is no way I can handle college if this is going to be my first day.
I clench my fists and make a break for it, slipping from Ryder’s hold.
He chases after me and cuts me off before I can reach the door.. “Whoa... whoa... wait.” He runs an arm over my shoulder and pulls me back into the row of lockers. “You’re not going anywhere until you tell me what happened.”
“I’m not your sister.” I sniffle and cross my arms around my chest. “I don’t need you to save me.” A thousand knives pierce through myskin saying it. I bang the back of my head against the lockers repeatedly until my eye sockets combust all over again.
“Talk to me!”
“I can handle myself.” I want to curl into a ball and hide. Someone spare me from Newton’s third law because there is always an equal and opposite reaction to everything you do in life.
