29. Juliet #2
“Here they come!” Roquel smacks my side excitedly and jumps up with the rest of the crowd as the banner decorated earlier in the week by the cheerleaders is ripped to shreds as the team runs onto the green.
I rise to my feet as well, clapping and going onto my toes to see over the heads of those in front of us.
Lex is the first one I see—with his height and mass, he’s the easiest to pick out of a crowd.
Nolan is next, and then, finally, Gio. My clapping rises into a loud crescendo and it doesn’t stop until the rest of the crowd descends back into their seats and the game begins.
Roquel leaves to get the two of us a few sodas and comes back, demanding a play-by-play of everything she missed. Thankfully, nothing too major has happened and Gio seems to be performing well despite being locked to the field the entire time.
In the second quarter, there’s a particularly rough tackle from Rockville that takes him down to the ground. I grind my molars as I glare at the asshole. The black-and-white dressed ref peels the guy off Gio’s body, blowing the whistle so hard that the ref’s face is practically swollen red.
“He’s fine,” Roquel assures me. “He’s fine.”
He better be, I think, or I’ll find out who the fuck Number 27 is on Rockville’s team and break his fucking kneecaps in retribution.
Gio jumps up from the ground and seems to shake off the assault with little issue, and I breathe a sigh of relief. Annoyance cuts into me when instead of being benched, that same Rockville offensive lineman is allowed back onto the field.
On the next play, though, I cackle as Gio switches course and slams himself into the fucker, slamming him into the cold, hard ground. Even though Roquel and I are several seats up and it’s impossible to truly see Gio’s expression from up here, I can picture him smirking behind his mouth guard.
“Damn.” Roquel whistles low and long. “He’s vicious when he’s pissed.”
Flicking one of the strands of hair off my shoulder, I shrug. “That asshole had it coming.”
She turns her head in my direction and arches a brow. “You’re getting particularly protective, aren’t you? What would Lex or Nolan think?”
I focus my attention on her. “Why would they care?”
Both of her brows jump towards her forehead. “Um… which one of them are you dating again?”
“Does it matter?”
“Well, I mean, I guess not—but they might not like you being so into another guy, especially one of their friends.”
“And if I’m with all of them?” I tilt my head in her direction as her eyes bulge.
She shoots a look out to the field and back again. “ Really? ”
Adjusting my ass on the rock-hard bleachers, I return my gaze to the game as the second quarter comes to an end and the cheerleaders take the field for halftime once again. My silence must be answer enough because Roquel makes a sharp sound of dismay and then mutters a quick, “What the fuck?”
I’m no longer listening to her, though, as Coach Danley—who I recognize from my first day of school—rushes onto the sidelines of the field.
Though I don’t like the motherfucker because of his obvious hostility towards me, I’m laser-focused on him now.
He’s not one of the assistant football coaches, so he has no business being on the field.
After a quick stop by the guys’ actual coach, after which Nolan is called from the others where they’re all huddled around, a sense of dread works its way into my veins.
Something is wrong.
I’m moving before Nolan even reaches Coach Danley, ignoring Roquel’s call after me. My eyes are locked on Nolan as he removes his helmet and mouth guard. Lex and Gio must have the same sense that I do because they turn and head towards him without prompting, taking off their helmets as they go.
I hit the bottom of the bleacher aisle with Roquel not far behind me and take off running towards the gate on the long side. Just as I reach the opening that game attendees aren’t normally allowed to enter, I watch the color drain from Nolan’s face and his helmet slip from his hands.
Oh, God.
“Juliet!” Roquel nearly slams into my back, her breaths panting out in sharp bursts of white clouds.
“I gotta go,” I tell her. “I’m sorry—I can’t—I’m sorry Roquel, I’ll call you later.”
Roquel tries to say something more, but I’m already on the move again, leaping over the gate and dodging a few teachers in ref wear as they try to stop me.
“Nolan!” I scream his name, holding a hand over my head.
Lex is the one that hears me first, though.
He whips his head in my direction and points back the way I came.
He mouths one word and I halt so abruptly that one of the teachers chasing me plows into my backside, nearly sending both of us to the ground.
“Miss Donovan!” the man huffs in irritation. “You can’t be?—”
Before he can finish, Lex is there, grabbing my arm and waving him off. “We gotta go,” he says.
“What is it?” I ask, trying to look back, but Nolan is already gone, and so is Gio. Neither of them is visible on the field. Where did they go?
“We’re meeting Nolan and Gio at the car,” Lex tells me.
“What happened?” It’s bad, I know it is. If it weren’t bad then Nolan’s face wouldn’t have looked like that.
Lex’s expression pinches and his fingers constrict on my biceps as he helps me through the gate and follows after me. “Nolan’s mom was in an accident,” he says. “We’re heading to the hospital.”
Oh. Shit.