Page 6 of Silent Count
“Dude, it’s gonna suck. The curfew part of it. I have my routine at home.” Casey groans.
“You mean, your routine at home, where you fuck your girlfriend all night?” Beck laughs.
“Well, I mean, yeah. But also, it’s not just fucking. She’s the love of my life.” Casey puts his hand over his heart, smiling. “I like having her here when I wake up too.”
“Right, we’re all aware of that. Speaking of girlfriends, where is mine?” The cell rings with an incoming FaceTime call from him. “Switch it over so I can see my girl.”
Beck’s face appears on the screen. He’s sitting on a couch, with the skyline of Chicago in the background. The lights of the skyscrapers are starting to turn on, making the city shine. Chicago is a fun city. It’s not one of my top choices, but I like to try picturing myself in places my friends play.
“You look rough, brother.” Casey winces. “Is that a shiner?”
“Nah, just a little scratch. I got nailed by Johanson in practice the other day. Fucker was trying to lay me out and nearly did, but I juked right before he got me hard. Still got me hard enough that I slid across the turf. My helmet scraped my face. Hurt like a motherfucker more than the hit did.” He smirks and shakes his head.
Pete Johanson is a beast. He’s a safety for Chicago—and not someone I ever want coming at me. Lucky for Beck, he’s his teammate, and the only time he has to face him is in practice.
“Rub some dirt on it. You’ll be fine.” I wink at him and give him my signature smile. The real one, not the one I use for media.
Beck gives me the finger. “Go get my girl. Oh, and, Bo? Have fun with all those interviews for the show this season. I’m sure you’ll have a great time, getting followed around.” He laughs.
“Well, I mean, I’m not sure they’ll follow me around all the time, but, yeah, not looking forward to it.” I shake my head and put my hands on my hips.
“Dude, they’re gonna follow you around.” Casey smirks and nods.
“Still waiting to see my girl. I’ll catch up with you guys later.” He waves his hand to gesture for us to walk out of the room.
“Char! You’re beingbeckoned. Get it? Why am I so funny?” Casey laughs as he walks out of the room.
I follow him, laughing and shaking my head. “You’re such a dork, dude.”
Noelle, of course, thinks he’s funny. “Casey King, you are a dork, but you’re mine.” She giggles and wraps her arms around his shoulders once he hands his phone off to his sister.
I glance over at Chelsea and see her smiling and watching them, which makes me smile. Her smile lights up her whole face. It’s the kind of smile where you can tell the person is really happy, that it’s genuine.
Silas must have left the room while we were on with Beck, and he walks back into the kitchen. “We ready to eat? I’m starving.” Grabbing one of the plates off the counter, he starts scooping some of the potatoes from a bowl onto his plate, then grabs some chicken and salad too.
“Sure, go right ahead, Silas. We aren’t waiting for my sister, who cooked the meal.” Casey chuckles.
“Oh, sorry. Should I put it back?” he asks us.
“NO!” we collectively shout.
Silas smiles, knowing that would be the answer. “I’m a growing boy. I need to eat. My stomach waits for no one.”
Just as he sits, Charlie comes back into the room, face a little flushed. “Silas, go right ahead.” She waves her hand toward his food.
“Sorry, Charlie. I was hungry, and I wasn’t sure how much longer you would be on with Beck. I heard you on the phone with him when I passed your room. Sounded like it was gonna be a while.” He tries to smother a laugh.
“I have no idea what you mean, eavesdropper.” Charlie spins on her heel and walks over to the food.
“Uh-huh. Out of respect for you and your brother, I’ll keep what I heard to myself.” He can’t hold his laugh in anymore.
“Nope. Stop.” Casey plugs his ears.
“Okay, kids. Let’s just get our food and eat. I want to hear more about the docuseries y’all are going to be a part of this season. That sounds like fun!” Chelsea says as she walks over to grab a plate.
Casey starts to tell them everything that we know. I still need to look through the paperwork and also call my dad at some point tonight, not only about the show, but also about my tutoring. He’s not going to be happy about the tutoring part. I’m not so sure how he’ll feel about the show.
“So, will they come here to the house, do you think, or just stay around the stadium and locker room? And do they travel with y’all?” Noelle asks.
