Page 35 of Flip the Field
Brady
The taxi droveme to Sag Harbour about thirty minutes away. I couldn’t afford to go any further. I guilted Matthews into coming to pick me up. As we approached campus, we passed by Amerie’s house, and her SUV sat near the curb.
“You want me to stop?”
“Naw,” I waved him on. “It’s over.”
The next day, we left for our game against the University of Rhode Island. The game was a welcome distraction. We won, and while we wouldn’t be playing for a championship anytime soon, the team was hopeful about next year.
Back on campus, I stayed away from Amerie, and she didn’t call me, either. She was apparently laying low, because even before we had been together, I used to see her all the time. Thackeray College was a small campus. Whenever I passed by her place on my way to the practice facility or because I wanted to be near her even though I couldn’t bring myself to see her, her house seemed empty. It was the week before finals; maybe she was hiding out and studying.
It had ended as I feared it would, but it somehow still felt so incomplete.
I found myself in the gym most nights. The workouts helped quiet my brain and exhausted me so I could sleep.
I came out of the locker room on Thursday evening and ran into Cal Chase.
“Hey, man,” He frowned and held out his hand. I shook it, but he didn’t let go. He pulled me in for a quick hug. I stepped back and narrowed my eyes. What did he know?
“You okay?” He nodded at me.
“Yeah, I’m good,” I nodded back. “You?”
“Good.” He nodded more aggressively.
He and I had a strange dynamic now. He and April had something going on and April was Amerie’s friend. What was the protocol?
“How’s April?” I felt that was safe enough.
“She’s not your biggest fan, but she’s good,” He chuckled. “Amerie’s good too, by the way.”
I shook my head and held my hands out. “I’m…” I pointed toward the door. “Going to go before this gets weird.”
“Too late for that.” He smirked and chuckled. “Let me just say one thing and we can pretend this odd encounter didn’t happen,” His eyebrows rose. I nodded for him to continue. “You need to talk to Amerie.”
I opened my mouth.
He held his hand out. “She wants to talk to you, but she doesn’t know what to say. She told her father off after he tried to buy you out of her life, and man, she just looks so sad, which makes April sad, andyoudon’t look too good either.”
“Thanks, man,” I crossed my arms over my chest.
“Okay, I know. I’m done,” He stepped back. “I’m heading over to meet them at Tasker. A pre-exam gathering. Come join us.”
She’d seen her father try and buy me off? She had told her father off? Why hadn’t she come to me? She’d been so close the whole time and didn’t feel comfortable reaching out. Why?
Because I was a fucking idiot.
Cal headed out the door. I pulled on my jacket and followed.
We entered Tasker Hall a few minutes later. Students gathered in the lounge on the first floor. “I’m going to drop some stuff off in my room,” Cal said. He hit my shoulder. “I’ll be back down in a minute.”
Tables full of junk food were set up around the room. There was a hot dog station and a sundae station. It looked more like a four-year-old’s birthday party than a university event. At Thackeray, even the junk food seemed fancy. I grabbed some popcorn and flopped onto a couch.
The couch bounced next to me. “Hey, Brady,” Her blond hair obscured her face. Her hand on my thigh registered danger in my brain.
“Hi, Theresa.”
“You here alone?” she whispered in my ear. I cringed as she rubbed her lips against my jaw. I politely tried to guide her away from me, but I was too late.
The room went quiet. I looked up and Amerie stood in front of me. Instead of saving me, she turned on her heels and walked away. April leveled me with a death stare before going after her.
I pushed off the couch and followed them both.
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