Chapter 12
Landon
Summer Before Junior Year
“Goal!”
Ainsley holds her arms out straight on either side of her as she runs in a wide circle. “Wanna tell me again how a girl can’t score on you, Patrick?”
He tosses his stick onto the grass like the sore loser he is. “They’re not defending you. They’re going easy on you because you’re a girl.”
I hunch over, bracing my hands on my knees as I suck in ragged breaths. “The fuck I am. Let me see you defend her.”
Evan’s chest heaves as he nods. “She’s fast as fuck.”
Ainsley grins wide. “You boys are looking a little tired. Should we call it quits already?”
“How are you not even winded?” Aiden, our attacker, asks.
Ainsley shakes her head. “You gotta do more cardio.”
“She’s a freak of nature,” Ivori calls.
I’ve never seen anyone play quite like Ainsley.
She’s fast and agile on her feet, but her mind is just as quick.
It’s like she can see the play before it happens, anticipating everyone’s moves so she’s ready to adjust and adapt.
She makes me question my own skills, and watching her play makes me want to push myself harder, to be better.
She scores on Patrick two more times before we end the game, too exhausted to continue any further. We head back to my house after, the usual hangout spot in the summer.
Mom greets us at the door, a beaming smile lighting up her face. “Did you guys have fun?”
“Patrick didn’t,” Ainsley says, stepping into the house.
“Aww, how many times did she score on you?” Mom asks.
Patrick grumbles something under his breath, ignoring her question.
“Too many times for his ego.” Evan hugs my mom before heading straight for the kitchen.
Mom wraps her arm around my waist, walking through the house with me, her eyes on Ainsley ahead of us. “How are you, my love?”
“A little sweaty.” I press a kiss to the top of her head, glancing around the house. “Dad home?”
Her smile fades. “Yeah, he’s in the den watching TV.”
I lower my voice. “We won’t be too loud.”
She pats my back. “Don’t worry. Have your fun.” She swings open the refrigerator door, and pulls out two glass baking dishes. “Made lasagna today.”
“Hell, yeah.” Evan opens the cabinet and pulls out a stack of plates while Ainsley digs into the drawer for utensils.
We busy ourselves setting the table, and then Dad shuffles into the kitchen.
His blue eyes land on me. “I thought I told you not to play.”
My shoulders straighten. “We were just having some fun. It wasn’t an actual game.”
His eyes narrow. “Do you really think that’s wise? What if you rolled an ankle or worse? You’d be screwed for next season.”
The room falls silent, my friends shifting around as they pretend not to listen.
“Well, I didn’t.” I lift my right foot and rotate it to show him. “Both ankles in-tact.”
His lips press into a firm line. “Foolish decision, as usual.”
Mom pats his shoulder. “Let’s leave the kids alone and go back into the den.”
But Dad doesn’t budge, his eyes boring a hole into the side of my head as I turn away.
It’s better to accept the beating and get it over with so it isn’t looming over me. But my friends are here, and he won’t hit me in front of them. No, he hides his anger like the coward he is.
For now, I’ll get away with disobeying his orders.
For now, I’ll pretend like I have a normal family the way my friends do.
For now, I’ll enjoy my high school years before they’re over, and I’m on the other side of the country, as far away from my father as possible.
Ainsley nudges my shoulder with hers, bringing me back to the present. I glance down at her, and my stomach does a somersault. I stare into her hazel eyes for as long as she allows me to, before she glances away as her cheeks tinge a pretty pink.
Ainsley Morgan is a lot of things, and shy isn’t one of them.
But the small smile she offers me is different than the one she gives Evan, or any of the other guys in our friend group.
She’s beautiful, even all sweaty with her messy brown strands sticking out of her ponytail in different directions.
She’s unlike any girl I’ve met at our school.
Confident, honest, outgoing, she knows who she is and what she wants, and she isn’t afraid to take it. She doesn’t take shit from anyone.
She’s everything I wish I could be.
We take our plates out into the backyard, and I start up the firepit.
Ainsley drags a chair next to mine, and plops down into it, her long, toned legs outstretched in front of her. “So, your dad seems like a fun guy.”
A laugh tears from my chest as I squeeze my eyes shut, the tension rolling off my shoulders. “Yeah, he’s loads of fun at parties.”
She shakes her head as her smile fades. “Your mom’s so nice. How did she end up with a guy like him?”
I shrug, shoveling a forkful of lasagna into my mouth. “She says he was different when they were younger, but I don’t see how someone could just change like that.”
She tips her chin in Patrick’s direction. “I don’t want to know what kind of husband he’s going to be.”
“Don’t let him get to you. He’s not worth your energy.”
She lets out a long sigh, settling back against her chair. “I don’t get why he hates me so much.”
“He’s threatened by you, plain and simple.” I tap my shoe against hers. “Little dick energy.”
Ainsley grins. “I wonder how he’d feel if we were on the same team. He wouldn’t be competing against me.”
“I mean, I’m on his team and he’s still a dick.”
She laughs. “True.”
“Have you looked at any colleges yet?”
Ainsley glances out toward the tall trees at the far end of the yard and lowers her voice. “I’m going to PCC.”
My chin jerks back. “Community college? What? Why?”
She wings her gaze to mine. “My dad’s sick.”
My stomach bottoms out as I lean forward in my chair. “What do you mean?”
“He has cancer.”
Oh, God. “When did you find out?”
“The morning after the championship game.” She offers me a small smile, but her lips wobble. “He was waiting for the season to end before he told me.”
“What are the doctors saying?”
“They caught it too late, so it’s in an aggressive stage.” She clears her throat. “Incurable.”
My fingers twitch. “Maybe he needs a second opinion. Maybe—”
“He’s been to two doctors, and they both said the same thing.
” She sniffles, and hikes a shoulder as she blinks up at the sky.
“I’m going to spend the summer with him, and make his remaining time as comfortable as possible.
I don’t need to go away to some expensive fancy college just to become a teacher. I can do that here, and stay with him.”
I reach out and clasp her hand. “I’m really sorry.”
“Me too.” Unshed tears shine in her eyes, but she doesn’t let them fall. “I don’t know what I’m going to do without him.”
Guilt seeps into my veins for all the times I’ve wished my father would die. Not because I’d be upset if he did, but because I wish hers wouldn’t.
“I don’t know the right things to say, but I do know that you won’t be alone.” I squeeze her hand.
“Thanks, Landon.” She squeezes me back before pulling back her hand and setting it in her lap. “So, what about you? You’ll definitely get a full-ride between lacrosse and your grades.”
“I’m counting on it. My number one is UCLA.”
Her eyebrows jump. “Oh, so, not too far.”
I chuckle. “Nah, just the complete opposite side of the country.” I glance at the window leading into my kitchen, sadness clenching my heart. “I hate leaving my mom, but...”
“It’ll be good for you to get away,” she finishes.
She means get away from him.
“That black eye you had last month,” she glances to the others to make sure they’re not listening, “was from him, wasn’t it?”
I roll my lips between my teeth as I nod once.
Her eyes narrow. “Shithead.”
He sure is. “Listen, uh, the guys don’t know.”
No one does, and I’d like to keep it that way.
“Got it.” She pulls up her legs and crisscrosses them on the chair. “Look at us with our daddy issues.”
I let out a loud laugh, and Evan glances our way. “Why don’t you two join the group and stop being anti-social.”
Ainsley sticks out her tongue while Ivori smacks Evan’s arm and scolds him for interrupting us.
Pretty sure she knows my secret.
That I’ve got a big fat crush on Ainsley Morgan.
This friendly rivalry between us, the need to be better than the other...it drives us to work harder, to sharpen our skills and hone our crafts. But it’s also pushing us closer together.
Somewhere along the line, I started liking Ainsley more than the win.
Ainsley’s hazel eyes meet mine, and a pretty pink tinges her cheeks.
And I think she might have a crush on me too.