Page 145 of We Shouldn't Be Together
It makes me flinch, and I can’t help listening in.
“Grace, don’t go ballistic at him,” Mr. Nelson says placatingly. “He still finished the game.”
“Coach Lyle was calling him off the field.See, look at that.“ Mrs. Nelson points further up the field where Coach Lyle is talking with Kai. “Does that look like a congratulatory conversation?”
Mr. Nelson shrugs it off. “Coach Lyle is a curmudgeon.”
“Don’t be flippant with me,” Mrs. Nelson says. “That boy needs to know we’re serious about the car.”
“But we’re not,” her husband responds. “We’re only serious about him not hurting himself.”
“And what good is it doing? He doesn’t listen.”
“He’s sixteen tomorrow. We’ve got a few more years of him not listening to us. Just be glad both our boys aren’t like him.”
Mrs. Nelson sighs like she’s carrying two heavy bags up a mountainside. “Yes, thank goodness for that.”
Tyler runs off the field, and his parents are quick to congratulate him on a good game. His friends Parker and Lewis gather with them, chatting about the game. Accidentally, I make eye contact with Tyler. His smile creeps to the right and his eyebrows push together.
I press a hand into my stomach and swallow hard. Oh my gosh, this is mortifying. Am I being completely obvious? Will he say something? Does he want me to back away?
“What were you doing?” Mrs. Nelson’s voice raises as Kai moves off the field. “You should have come off the field after that player charged you.”
Kai stops abruptly, glaring at his mom. “Whoa. Why are you barking at me?”
“Because it was entirely unnecessary for you to stay on the field,” she replies. “For goodness’ sake, your team was already winning.”
“Mom, I scored another goal. That wouldn’t have happened if I walked off.”
“Even if the other team scored, you still would have won,” she argues.
Tyler, his family, and his friends edge a little away from the growing argument. I glance at Freddy, wondering if we should do the same.
“But they would’ve scored,” Kai disputes.
His dad moves beside him and cautiously presses a hand against the back of Kai’s neck. “It looked pretty nasty out there. We should get you checked out.”
Kai jerks away from his dad’s hand. “Would you guys stop fussing? I’m fine. It loosened up when I ran.”
His mom huffs. “You’re not a doctor.”
Kai groans, looking up at the cloudy sky. “Mom, I’m fine.”
His mom gently tucks her hand under Kai’s chin and draws his head down to meet her eyes. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, Mom. Geez, could you be more embarrassing right now?”
At that, I can’t help but laugh. Unintentionally, I’ve gained attention from a few turning heads.
“Tabitha?” Mrs. Nelson says, startled. “Hi, what are you doing here?”
Crap. Do they all not want me here?
“Whoa,” Kai says, tilting to view me past his mother. “You’re here?”
“Umm.” A nervous giggle mumbles out of me. “Hi.”
Kai waves, his brow furrowing despite his grin. “Hi.”
