Garrison
Ican barely breathe as I stare at Bates and Kennedy Reeves. What the hell is she doing here anyway? It looks like she’s here just to raise hell because, although I’ve seen Bates pissed-off many, many times, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen him look this angry.
When I saw them talking, I wasn’t surprised to see Bates looking annoyed by her presence. Most people look that way around Kennedy, but when he led her into the woods, my hackles rose. Something felt off—really off.
I didn’t hear much, but I did hear Kennedy tell him she knows what she saw. And I swear I heard something sounding like “gay.”
And my heart races with worry, thinking maybe she also saw Bates and Trav. That she knows their secret. And that’s very, very bad. There’s no way she’ll keep her mouth shut.
Bates shifts to look at me, tipping his head back slightly as if he’s in agony at the mere sight of me. “Why the hell are you here?” His eyes meet mine.
“You just looked upset is all,” I say honestly. Truthfully, I don’t know why I’m here. I have no idea why I came out here.
Kennedy crosses her arms and looks at me, her death glare aimed right at me. “Whatever. This is stupid.” She stomps off, brushing past me as she walks by, and then, it’s just Bates and me.
I should probably go back to the party, I know that. But damn if I’m not concerned. “Did she see you two?”
“What?” His tone is full of fury as he faces me.
“You heard me.” I fold my arms. “Did she see you and Travis? Is that what this is about?” Why do I keep pushing him? I need to walk away.
“No. Travis isn’t even here. He won’t come near me.” The surprise must flash in my eyes because he silently curses under his breath. “That wasn’t about me.”
“Then what was it about? Because she seemed pretty fired up, and so do you. It’s not like you to lose your cool.”
It’s the truth. He’s a salty, grumpy motherfucker, but he rarely gets outright angry. He’s usually always in a straight-faced, passive mode. “None of your goddamn business, Dixon. Why are you following me? What is wrong with you?”
I stand up a little taller, my pride taking a hit with him calling me out.
“Nothing is wrong with me. What the hell is wrong with you?” He winces, but I continue, “Why can’t you understand we’re a team?
That I’ll have your goddamn back, if you need it.
If Kennedy is saying she saw something and running her mouth, maybe I can talk to her. ”
He moves closer to me, stopping when he’s only a foot away. “We are not a team. Jesus fucking Christ.”
“Yes, we are. We both wear the Panther jersey. That makes us a team.”
“No.” He shakes his head, fury in his eyes like he’s about to break. “We aren’t. It’s a game. That’s all it is, Dixon. A fucking game. We aren’t a team, and I don’t need your help with Kennedy Reeves.”
“She looked upset.”
“I don’t give a fuck what she looked like.”
We’re both breathing hard, our chests pumping, his eyes in line with my own since we’re about the same height. “Look, I get it, okay? But if she saw you and Trav—”
He cuts me off quickly, “She didn’t see me, okay? I had nothing to do with what she saw.”
I study his face, full of anger and possibly fear. “Oh, shit.” He cocks his head to the side, glaring at me. “She saw your boyfriend with someone else?”
“Jesus. Christ.” He tips his head back, looking up at the sky. “You really are fucking dense.” He drops his eyes to meet mine again. “Travis is not my boyfriend.” He keeps his voice low. “She didn’t see Travis or me. She wasn’t talking about us.”
Who the hell was she talking about then? It doesn’t make sense.
“Get the fuck out of here, Dixon. Leave me alone. We aren’t a team,” he says before I can ask anything else, and for reasons I can’t explain, that fucking hurts. I know what he sees when he looks at me. He thinks I’m an idiot, but if he’d just talk to me, maybe I could help.
“Why won’t Travis talk to you?” I can’t seem to help myself.
“Don’t worry about it. Don’t worry about Travis or me. Just keep going on with your damn life and keep your mouth shut.”
“I don’t get you,” I say angrily, “I don’t get why you can’t just fucking talk to me. You may not like me, but we’ve known each other our entire lives, and like it or not, I know something about you that you don’t want anyone else to know.”
He steps even closer now, his finger poking into my chest and his jaw tight. “Is that a threat?”
What? Wow, I really can’t talk to him. “No. It’s just the truth. It’s a fact. I know this about you. You’re holding something in that probably hurts.”
He drops his hand and laughs humorlessly. “You have no idea.”
I swallow thickly, my throat aching with everything I keep in. Everything I’ve always kept in. “Yes. I do.” My voice is low, almost a whisper as if I didn’t even mean to say it out loud. Like my body is protecting me from my thoughts.
“What?” He’s studying me too closely now, my skin prickling with heat and nerves.
“Nothing,” I say quickly and step back, trying to keep my head clear. “I just meant that I’m here to talk if you want to talk. And I can talk to Kennedy if she knows something. Not threaten her or anything crazy, but I can talk to her.”
“Don’t,” he says carefully, his eyes still searching my face for something.
“Fine. Whatever.” I give up. I huff and start to walk away, but his voice stops me from leaving.
“Why do you care so much? About me and Travis.”
My head drops down slightly, my shoulders slumping, and I’m glad I’m not looking at him anymore. “I told you. We’re part of a team.”
“We aren’t.”
“Fine, Bates. Live alone with it. Fucking choke on it until you can’t breathe anymore,” I say, finally getting my feet to walk away.
Why do I even bother with him?