Page 248 of We Shouldn't Be Together
I brush him off. “Gimme a break, man.”
“Great attitude from a guy who wants to be a solo team captain,” he digs.
“It’s not my fault we lost,” I argue. “I’m not the whole team.”
“Except when we win,” Tyler snipes. “In that case, you are the whole team.”
“Look, it sucks we lost. That’s a given. But you gave it your all. Yeah, they got three past you, but you stopped more.”
“Yeah, I was defending,” Tyler says, walking away. “I barely saw you up at the goal circle.”
My back stiffens from the palpable resentment thrown my way.
Granted, Tyler and I have a rivalry because of the whole co-captain thing, but he needs to get his head checked. If he thinks I’ll accept being talked to like that, he’s got another thing coming.
My mood plummets when I get back to Mom and Dad.
“Didn’t Jamie show up?” I ask, picking up my duffle bag.
“No,she’s at the house with Milo.”
The groan reverberates through my entire body, and I drag my feet behind my parents toward the parking lot. Jamie’s aunt left for Hawaii today, and this is the first day she’s moved into our house for her week-long stay.
By the time we’re home, I’m zonked. My head hangs heavy and I stomp up the staircase to my bedroom. Before I get to the landing, a thunderous amount of laughter blasts from the upstairs living room.
With a huff, I dump my bag and stare at my brother and Jamie on the couch, folded over in laughter, with Shadow Quest paused on the TV screen.
“What the hell, James?” I snap. “You don’t show at my game, but you’re playing Shadow Quest with him?”
Jamie sits back on the couch. “What’s the big deal?”
“I thought you were supposed to be studying,” I say with more venom than I mean. “If you wanted to slack off, why weren’t you hanging with me?”
She shrugs, comfy on the couch next to my brother. “Give me a break.”
I can’t stand a second more of these two together. I grab my bag and march into my bedroom, slamming the door behind me.
With a grunt, I toss my bag to the carpet. I roll my shoulders back, remembering the horrendous way Tyler looked at me after the game. Coach Lyle’s barks circle in my head. The mortifying way my grandparents side-stepped my epic failures on the field.
I pull off my grass-stained jersey and sigh.
But Dr. Jones genuinely smiled at me.
He’s cool with me and Tabitha hanging out.
Dang, that feels good.
Geez, who am I? Losing feels good?
I catch myself smiling. No, being Tabitha’s boyfriend feels good.
I move out of my bedroom and find the upstairs living area empty. Downstairs are the sounds of my grandparents and Jamie catching up. It’s her first time seeing them since they’re back in town.
I close myself in the bathroom and run the shower. I let the steam and soap help rid my compounding body aches.
After my shower, I find Jamie in Milo’s bedroom. She’s at the desk, studying, and some of the weirder theories about apocalypses feel like they could actually come true.
She reclines on the desk chair, making eye contact with me. “I take it from how you came home today, you lost?”
