Page 46 of Quarterback Sneak
He lets out a loud sigh. “My dad called me last night.” He pauses, and I look down at the table. “My mom has cancer.”
Sam gasps. “What?”
Jace nods. “Yeah. It’s a lot. Anyway, my dad called me while Evie was in the bathroom.” He sighs again. “I didn’t handle things well and was awful to her when she came back to the table.”
Sam frowns. “Well, you shouldn’t have been, but Jace, that’s awful.” She turns to me with a raised eyebrow. “I thought a littlebetter of you than this. You’re really breaking up with him after he found out his mom has cancer?”
I open my mouth to defend myself but know that nothing I say in this moment will be received well. I face Jace and put a hand on his arm. “I’m sorry. Truly, I am. This really has nothing to do with that. I know it’s poor timing, and I'm sorry for that. But I think in the end, it’s better to just end things now than to wait and then have to break up later.”
“Evie,” Sam snaps at me. “Are you really this cold and heartless?” She motions to Jace. “He just received the worst possible news, and this is how you respond?” She makes an act of calming down. “You’re making too big a deal of this. Why don’t you take some time to think about everything before you rush into a decision?”
I look at both of them. They both look so earnest, and I finally cave. Maybe I really am being a terrible human. “Okay.” Jace’s hand squeezes mine, and I fight the urge to pull away.
“Thank you, Evie.” His words are so full of gratitude; it makes me feel even more terrible. “I think you should stay away from Blackwood, though.”
My eyes snap to his. “What? Why?”
“I don’t think he’s good for you.”
I open my mouth to argue, but Sam joins in. “He’s right. He’s confusing you; I don’t think he’s good for you to be around.”
I stand to my feet. It's one thing to decide to give Jace another chance; it’s another to sit here and listen to them bad talk Zane. I’m not going to do it. “I’m still not feeling great. I’m going to head back to my room. I'll see you both later.” Neither of them say a word to stop me, not that it would have done any good. I make the walk back to my room by myself. I swear I feel eyes on me as I walk, and part of me hopes it’s Zane. The more rational part of my brain hopes it’s not. I don’t know what to do about him, and I don’t think I can handle him on top of everything elsetonight. I’m grateful when my dorm comes into view, and I don’t see Zane.
I make it up to my room and shut the door behind me. I’m not sure how long I’ll have the room to myself, and I really don’t want to see Sam right now. I head into the bathroom and knock on my suitemates’ door. “It’s me,” I call out as I open the door.
“Hey,” Tessa calls out happily from her spot on the floor where she’s got all her books sprawled out in front of her.
“You know they have these really useful things called desks,” I tell her.
She gasps dramatically and puts a hand on her chest. “I’ve never heard of them. Please tell me more.”
I shake my head at her drama and plop down next to her. “I brought food. Are you hungry?” I open the box that’s overflowing with orange chicken, noodles, and rice.
“From Panda? Yes! I have my own fork.” She whips a fork out of nowhere.
“It’s scary how you just whipped that into existence,” I tell her.
“Isn’t it?” I hold the box between us and take a bite. I think we both grin at the same time, and I laugh at the noodle hanging from her mouth. She slurps it up and goes back for another piece of orange chicken. “This is soo good,” she says with a groan. “Thanks for getting it and sharing with me.”
“I didn’t buy it,” I tell her in between bites. “Zane did.”
She stops abruptly with her fork halfway to her mouth. “Zane Blackwood?” I nod. “As in number seven? Quarterback of the Barracudas?”
“Yup. That guy.” I take another bite of orange chicken, but she pushes my fork down before I can take a bite. “What in the world? I’m eating here.”
“You’re eating orange chicken that Zane Blackwood bought you?”
“You are too,” I remind her.
“Onmywordohmywordohmyword. Are you guys dating? Are you going to marry him and have his babies?” She gasps loudly. “Oh, can you imagine? They’d be adorable!” She grabs my arm as her eyes go wide. “You could have an entire football team of boys!”
I stare at her, unsure of which of those things to address first. I decide to tackle the scariest one first. “You do realize how many players are on a football team, right?” I didn’t before I started watching, but now I do.
She waves off my concern. “I mean you don’t have to have the entire team, just a good O-Line.”
“You think I’m going to birth eleven boys?”
“Five,” she corrects. “Just take care of the five offensive guys.” She says all this like we’re discussing the weather.
