Chapter Thirty-one Lacey
Chapter Thirty-one
Lacey
A few weeks ago, I couldn’t understand why my friends got so worked up before their boyfriends’ games.
Claire and Andie are different in their panic when it comes to cheering on their guys, but they both absolutely lose their minds.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the excitement and nerves of sports, but caring about someone on the field has pushed that anticipation and anxiety to a whole new level.
As the starters for Frost Lake run out onto the field, I get my first hit of nausea. I’m generally a positive person, and I’m confident in the team, especially Vaughn, but knowing how much this means to him has me as much of a mess as Claire next to me.
She squeezes my hand, and I squeeze back until I’m not sure either of us can feel our fingers.
From the jump, Frost Lake starts out strong. The guys look calm and focused, and Pacific is sloppy and can’t seem to keep control of the ball. Despite that, it’s the end of the first half before we manage to score. Rowan kicks in a short rebound to the left corner.
Relief swoops through me, and I jump and scream with the rest of the crowd. Everyone chills out a little after that first goal. We finally sit, and I take another deep breath that has my shoulders falling from where they were hunched up and my stomach stops clenching with pain.
Torrance is sitting on the other side of Claire. She leans over her to ask me, “Are you dating Vaughn Collins now?”
“Oh.” I’m surprised by her question. Actually, I’m surprised she’s talking to me at all. I didn’t say much to her the other night at the movies.
“Umm…yes. Sort of.” We haven’t put a definite label on it, but he said he wanted to be better at relationships and we’re kissing an awful lot.
Claire shoots me an amused expression. “You’re wearing his number on your back and face. I think you’re solidly in the dating phase.”
She turns to Torrance. “They’re in that awkward yet fun beginning stage where communication is trumped by all the making out they’re doing.”
She’s not wrong about that last part.
“He’s really cute.” Torrance smiles at me. She’s pretty. Her smile lifts higher on one side, and she has a small beauty mark. “When I found out Claire had gone from Vaughn to my brother, I couldn’t believe it.”
She looks at Claire with a mildly sympathetic grin. “No offense; it’s just he’s my brother.”
She screws up her face and Claire laughs.
“None taken.”
“Are you dating anyone?” I ask Torrance. I guess if Claire has forgiven her, I can make an attempt too.
“No.” She shakes her head, which makes her reddish-brown hair fall over one shoulder. “Being the new girl is only cool if you aren’t upstaged by a way cooler older brother.”
She gives a dramatic eye roll that makes me chuckle softly.
Since I don’t have siblings, I don’t know what that might be like. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine. You learn who your real friends are, you know?”
“What about that guy in your English class you had a crush on?” Claire asks her.
“He started dating someone.”
Claire’s smile falls. “Bummer.”
The action on the field grabs our attention and halts our conversation. Vaughn shouts something to his team, looking authoritative and confident in a way that makes my skin prickle. He’s a good captain, and he looks good doing it.
For all the excitement leading up to the game, it feels like time moves slowly during the second half. Pacific has tied the score, but Frost Lake continues to dominate possession.
The stands are quiet as the minutes tick down, but then all of a sudden Vaughn steals the ball on the Pacific side and sprints toward the other end. The crowd is on their feet screaming, or I am anyway.
Vaughn with the soccer ball is a beautiful thing. None of the defenders can catch him. The goalie shuffles his feet, hands up, as he waits in the net.
Number nine kicks the ball hard from the right wing, and it rockets into the back of the net.
The bleachers shake as everyone jumps up and down, hands raised over our heads. My heart is racing so fast.
“We are so dating!” I yell to Claire and Torrance over the noise.
They both laugh at me, and we continue to scream and cheer. The guys on the field look a little more relaxed too as they high-five and shout celebratory things like “Nice goal,” “Way to go,” and some things that have the referee side-eyeing them for language.
Our excitement comes too soon, because Pacific pushes the ball down the field and returns the goal, evening the score again.
Frost Lake kicks the ball into play and starts down the field. My stomach is in knots.
“Let’s go,” I yell.
The words are no more out of my mouth than a Pacific player strips the ball from Eddie and takes off.
Two guys break away quickly. Rowan and Vaughn sprint after them, but they’re too far ahead.
Barrett stands in the middle of the net, ready to defend the goal.
They pass back and forth twice before one sends the ball high into the right corner. Pacific leads by one.
With a groan, we take our seats.
“There’s still time,” Claire says, but her voice lacks conviction.
My gaze lands on Vaughn. His jaw is set in a hard line, and his eyes have this focused but slightly wild look about them. Coach Collins calls a timeout.
Claire stares down at her feet, and she’s muttering under her breath, “We can do this. They’ve got this.”
I don’t look anywhere but at Vaughn through the time-out and as they take the field again.
There’s an intensity in his every movement.
My stomach is in knots as I watch him take control of the ball.
He kicks it in to Rowan, who passes it back.
There’s a grace as he moves, easily getting by defenders and finding an opening.
All eyes are on him as he kicks the ball toward the goal.
Silence hangs over the crowd, all of us collectively holding our breath as the ball sails through the air. The Pacific goalie jumps to protect the goal. His fingers look like they barely brush the ball, but it’s enough to keep it from falling into the net.
The whistle sounds, and the Pacific players jump and cheer. Their fans are loud, or maybe it’s just that it’s dead silent on the Frost Lake side. No one moves or says anything for several long seconds. The shock wears off slowly. Someone claps and yells, “Hell of a season, boys.”
And then the rest of us snap out of it as well. I feel numb as I bring my hands together. Vaughn’s head is down as he untucks his jersey and walks to the sideline.
Rowan puts a hand on his shoulder and says something, but Vaughn doesn’t look up or reply.
The usual after-game handshake happens between the two teams. Vaughn never looks to the crowd. He focuses only on each activity like he’s forcing himself through the motions.
I feel like I’m going to be sick.
The team heads to the locker room, and the crowd moves in the space between the field and the parking lot, lingering to wait for the guys to come out and maybe because all of us are still mourning a loss we didn’t see coming.
It’s a long time before the players trickle out. Austin is among the first to show. His expression is as grim as I’d expected. His dad pulls him into a hug, then his mom. Torrance gives him some sympathetic words, and his little brother, Wyatt, holds up a half-eaten cookie to him.
The whole scene is endearing and heartbreaking. They worked so hard, and now it’s just over.
Austin finally looks like he can breathe a little easier when Claire lifts onto her toes and plasters herself to his front, hugging him hard.
When Rowan comes out, he meets my sad smile and steps over to me.
“I’m really sorry about the game,” I say to him.
“Thanks. Didn’t go our way this year.” He adjusts the strap of his bag higher on his shoulder and blows out a breath. He does a quick glance around the crowd like he’s looking for someone. I wonder if his family came, but asking right now doesn’t feel appropriate.
Most of the team has made it out now, but there’s still no sign of Vaughn.
I stop Rowan before he walks off to get pats and sympathy from the rest of his friends. “How is he?”
“You know Vaughn. He always takes it harder than any of us.”
I already knew that was the case. That’s just who Vaughn is, but hearing it makes my stomach twist.
“Are you heading to Doyle’s?” he asks. He already looks like he’s shaking off the loss. I know it won’t be that easy for Vaughn.
“Yeah.” I nod. “I’ll see you out there.”
I move closer to the doors while I wait for Vaughn. Minutes pass, and there’s no sign of him. I pull out my phone to text him, but I can’t decide what to say. I’m good at being optimistic and cheerful, but this is trickier. I’m not even sure I’m the person he’d want comforting him.
“Hey.” Claire steps up behind me. “We’re leaving. Do you want to ride out to Doyle’s with us?”
“No, I think I’ll wait.”
She gives me a sad smile. “You might be waiting awhile.”
He can’t stay in there all night. Can he?
“Come with us,” she says. “He probably just needs some time to himself. But when he’s ready, he’ll go to Doyle’s to be with the rest of the team.”
I hesitate, but it’s cold out, and I’m either going to have to bust into the boy’s locker room to find him or wait him out.
“All right,” I say following her and Austin to the parking lot.
I glance back before I climb into Austin’s Jeep, but there’s still no sign of him.