WEST
It was game day. I used to love Fridays during football season. Dad would always wake me up, and we’d eat breakfast together while we talked over the plays and what I needed to do to win.
This morning I’d woken up to a clatter of dishes in the kitchen. I’d jumped up and run down the hall to find Momma standing in the middle of a pile of broken plates. Tears had been streaming down her face as she’d looked up at me. “I was trying”—she’d sniffed—“to make you breakfast. I couldn’t reach the top shelf. Your dad always reached the waffle iron for me. I slipped and pulled the second shelf down with me.” Another sob had shaken her chest.
I’d gone over to her and pulled her into a hug. “Momma, go back in there and be with Dad. I can make my own breakfast. I’ll clean all this up. He needs you with him.”
She’d nodded against my chest and sobbed again.
That was how I’d started my day.
Getting to school and seeing Maggie was all I thought about as I kissed Mom’s cheek good-bye and then kissed my dad’s forehead and promised him we’d win big tonight. I’d tell him all about it when I got home.
My chest hurt, and my throat felt tight, but I knew if I could see Maggie, if I could hear her voice, I’d be okay. Calling her wasn’t an option because she’d be in Brady’s truck and she wouldn’t talk in front of him. So I had to get to her this morning and get her alone. Before I completely broke down.
Brady’s truck was parked outside school when I pulled up. Never had I been more thankful to see it in my life. I didn’t waste any time talking to people who called out my name. I had to get to my locker. To Maggie.
When I saw the back of her hair, my chest eased some. She was here. I focused on her as I made my way through the crowd, needing to remind myself that I could do this. I could make it through this. Maggie was with me.
“Hey,” I said almost breathlessly as I got to our lockers. I waited for her to turn and look at me. It was odd how just the promise of seeing her made things seem better.
She closed her locker and then turned to face me. The smile on her lips slowly fell as she studied my face. She knew. Without me saying a word, she knew I was dealing with some shit. That was something I needed from her. Her understanding without me having to explain.
Her hand slid over mine as she stared up at me with a gentle strength that was just Maggie. I flipped my hand over and threaded my fingers through hers. Then she squeezed my hand tightly even though it dwarfed her small one. “I’m here,” she whispered, barely moving her lips.
That was what I needed. The tightness in my chest eased away, and I could breathe deeply again. “Bad morning,” I explained, although she’d already figured that out.
She nodded and her thumb brushed against my hand. I liked the way it felt to have her palm pressed against mine. Everything I doubted about myself, about my ability to deal with this, about life —she cleared it all away with just one touch.
“Good morning, sexy.” Serena’s voice broke the spell that had been wrapping around us, and Maggie’s hand was instantly gone. She moved away from me before I could say anything, and then she slipped past me and into the crowd.
I jerked away from Serena’s hand on my shoulder, pissed she’d interrupted us. I didn’t get much time with Maggie during the day. If I was going to play tonight, I needed her to help get my head right.
“What’s wrong? You tense about tonight? You know you’ll be amazing. You always are.”
I moved to my locker without answering her. The past couple of days she’d been good for me. With her hands on me and her mouth doing things for me that felt more than good, I wasn’t thinking about anything else.
But today Serena would have to back off. Sex was not what I needed. Forgetting everything by getting off between her legs or in her mouth wouldn’t work today. That only lasted for a few minutes. Then the shit was all back.
Only Maggie’s presence helped me.
“What’s the matter? You’re all grumpy. Come to the bathroom and I’ll ease some tension for you. Like yesterday. You liked that, didn’t you?”
I didn’t want to be reminded how low I had sunk. If Maggie knew I used girls like this, she’d be disgusted with me. She hadn’t used anyone to ease her pain. She’d dealt with it alone.
No one got hurt just so she could feel better.
“Not interested today. I got the game to focus on,” I finally said to Serena, moving past her and toward my first- period class before she could catch up to me.
By lunchtime I had missed Maggie at her locker twice more, thanks to Serena holding me up in the hallway. My gaze was locked on the door of the cafeteria, waiting on Maggie to come inside. I knew she’d go out to the picnic tables again. She’d been doing that most of the week. I’d tried to get her to come inside, but she didn’t want to. She wanted to sit in the heat and read.
Serena came in first and made her way straight toward me. I knew I’d asked for this by messing around with her, but today I wanted her to just step back. We were fooling around; we weren’t in a relationship. She seemed to be forgetting that, even though I’d made it very clear before we had sex the first time on Wednesday. Two days later does not make us exclusive.
But she sure was trying to get her claws in me.
I shifted my gaze back to the door, waiting on Maggie. Just seeing her would help.
“So, you and Serena, huh?” Brady asked as he sat down across from me.
I shrugged. “Not serious.”
He laughed while opening his drink. “I don’t think she realizes that.”
“I made it clear Wednesday when she started this thing.”
Brady nodded. “You fuck her?”
This wasn’t his business, but I nodded.
He smirked. “Actions speak louder than words.”
I was getting pissed. What was his deal? It wasn’t like he wasn’t fucking Ivy, and we all knew he wasn’t serious about her. She was a rebound from that mystery girl he’d dated this summer. The one he was always too busy with to do anything else. The one none of us had ever met.
“What’s your problem?” I asked, annoyed, and still keeping one eye on the door for Maggie.
He leaned forward. “My problem is, you’re going through hell right now. I want to help you, but I don’t know how. The person you want to help you has been through her own hell, and she doesn’t need you holding her hand secretly in the halls and fucking Serena in the damn bathroom hours later.”
Whoa. Okay, so he saw us holding hands this morning. That was what this was about. I got that.
“You’re my best friend, West. I can’t imagine what you are dealing with. But I do know Maggie doesn’t need you playing with her head. It’s not fair to use her, man. She lost both parents at once. In a fucked-up, crazy, horrific way. Don’t do this to her. Please, don’t hurt her.”
Serena sat down beside me before I could say anything else. “Y’all ready for the game tonight?” she asked in true cheerleader-pep style.
Brady glanced at her and gave her a smile that didn’t meet his eyes and nodded before dropping his gaze to his food.
I wasn’t hurting Maggie. It wasn’t like she had feelings for me in that way. I had been careful to keep this at a friends level. I mean, she hadn’t even liked me in the beginning. She understood me now, but she wasn’t attached to me. Was she? No, she wasn’t. She was too good for me, and deep down she knew it. I had explained to Brady that we were just friends. So, obviously, I was allowed to fuck other girls. And I wouldn’t hurt Maggie. Hell, I’d kill anyone who did.
Serena was saying something, but I didn’t hear her because Maggie had walked into the cafeteria. Her gaze immediately locked on mine. She smiled at me then turned away quickly. Like she did every day. She wouldn’t look at me long, and that smile wasn’t a real one. Why wouldn’t she look at me? Had I done something wrong?
Asa sat down on my left, and Gunner sat down beside Brady. Talk about tonight’s game soon took over, and I didn’t let myself worry about Maggie sitting outside all alone, reading in the fucking sun. I also managed to ignore Serena’s annoying laughter. We weren’t that damn funny. Why did she laugh so much?
