Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
AYDA
After the excitement of the morning, the afternoon gave way to calm and quiet.
Once I’d adjusted to the stinging on my back as a constant reminder of my tattoo, I found myself following Harry, and his promises of shiny new stock, into the pawnshop.
My banter with him was constant. It had become normal for us to talk in taunts interspersed with laughter, and that was only ever interrupted when his coughing fits took over and made it harder for him to respond.
It was so hard to sit back and not nag him to see a doctor and do something proactive about the cough, but nagging only made him pick up a smoke and smile with defiance at you, so I left him alone, sliding a glass of water in front of him and nodding at his thanks.
I’d come to adore Harry. I knew Drew respected the hell out of him and had a tighter connection with him than most of the other guys, and I could see why.
He was damn smart, and witty, too. He knew everything about everything, even the useless things that had no real place in the world.
I loved working in the pawnshop just to spend time with him.
I always came away feeling like I’d learned something.
Harry was assessing a diamond being pawned when I saw Libby’s car pull in through the front gates.
The vehicle had barely stopped when Tate threw the passenger door out of his way and pushed out, stretching to his full height before heading to the gym rather than The Hut, which never really boded well.
He’d taken a page from Drew’s book with his frustration recently, and took his issues out on the bag rather than stewing and snapping people’s heads off.
One nod of acknowledgment from Harry, and I pushed out from the shop and headed to where Libby was standing, wincing when Tate slammed the door of the workout room behind him. She jumped when I spoke, her attention having been fully on Tate.
“What happened?”
Libby released a long breath, her hands finding her hips as she stared at the building my brother had disappeared into. “They had a meeting with the new coach today.”
“Fuck. How bad was it?”
“Well…” She turned to face me and shrugged. “I didn’t think it was too bad, but I said the wrong thing, clearly.” She gestured to the building again and shook her head. “And the boys call us women dramatic.”
I squeezed her elbow and gestured to the gym with a smile. “Let me see if I can do some damage control. If you see Drew, let him know where I am, would you?”
“I will. I’m sorry, Ayda. I should have known better after the talk you had with him about this.”
“Girl, this is shit that goes back years. There’s no way you could navigate it. Thanks for being patient with him.”
Libby’s hair was in her eyes as she took one last longing look before I set off at a fast walk. I purposely didn’t ask what was said because I figured Tate would tell me the moment I entered the gym.
I heard the dull thuds and the hissed breaths as I opened the outer door and was swallowed by the shadows of the gym.
Standing and watching my brother, it was easy to see the influence Drew had on him.
He held himself the same way, his legs worked in the same direction, and his punches landed true and hard on the bag as he danced in and out of the rhythm.
The only difference was that Tate always led with the same fist, where as Drew could switch things up when he needed to.
I let him work out his frustrations a while longer before I let him know I was there. I sat on the bench of the leg press as his hands reached out to stop the bag the moment he caught sight of me.
“The bastard is going to be replacing him as soon as coach thinks he’s ready. I not only have to deal with the asshole next season, I have to deal with him for training for the rest of this year. I just… I wanted to punch the smirk from his face when he found me in the crowd, A.”
“How long do you think the transition will take?”
“The way coach is fawning over him? A week. Maybe two. I heard him talking to Mr. Isaac about getting out of here earlier. He and his wife are going to buy an RV and see America. He doesn’t want to be here, which means we’re stuck with Hove.”
“Did Jacob say anything to you?”
Tate released the bag and dropped on a weights bench close to where I was sitting. “He didn’t need to. A look was all it took. You know what he’s like. It was the way he’d look at me when I’d ask him to throw the ball with me.”
“T, I know you’re frustrated—”
“I’m fucking beyond frustrated.”
“Language.”
Tate turned and looked at me with exasperation. “Seriously?”
“Yes. Seriously. At least until after your college interviews next year. Heathens need not apply. As for Jacob, steer clear as much as you can, do your best on the field and if he fucks with you—”
“Come to you or Drew. Yeah, you said already.” He ground his jaw, his leg jumping as his foot tapped against the mat.
“It’s not going to be easy.”
“No shit. The worst part of it all is that everyone is welcoming him back like some unsung hero. He walks around that place like he owns it. The douchebag even winked at some of the girls like he was some Hollywood pretty boy. The team thinks this is an amazing turn of events and the principal couldn’t say enough about how lucky we were to have him. ”
I made a gagging motion, and the first sign of humor appeared on Tate’s face in the form of his lips twitching at the edges.
“He always was good at selling to a crowd.”
“He should sell some cars then.”
I lifted a leg and kicked Tate in the knee playfully.
I hated seeing him so down and pissed off about something he loved to do.
I hoped to hell that the situation wouldn’t taint his love of the game.
I hoped even more that Jacob would see what an asset Tate was to the team and not mess with him every chance he got.
The group of people I would fight for had grown in the past year, but Tate was my blood, and I would make sure he was happy.
I would make sure he had every available path to seeing his dream come true.
“We’re gonna get through this.”
“I know.”
“I’m going to make sure this works somehow.”
“I know you will.”
I nodded, satisfied with his reaction and the calm that was slowly crawling back over him.
“You also need to apologize to Libby.”
“Fuck,” he dragged the word out and put up his hand as I opened my mouth to admonish him. “I know… language.”
“Thank you.”
We sat in silence for a while. I stared at the bag, wondering at its magical qualities to give men their power of thought back, and I was almost certain Tate was having a one-sided conversation with Libby in his head.
The girl was crazy about him, even if she refused to admit that fact to herself.
She’d just fallen for him when his hormones were going stupid and his brain was struggling to keep up with the growth of his body.
She had the patience of a saint, but even that would only last so long.
“Ayda?” I glanced up and saw Kenny slipping in through the door, his hands pushed into his back pocket as his glance moved between Tate and me. “Tate.”
“Brows,” Tate mumbled, his hands clasping and hanging together between his legs.
Tate really wanted to talk now, and I knew when it was my cue to leave. With my hands on my knees, I pushed up and gave Kenny a smile of thanks.
“Don’t forget to do your homework,” I said over my shoulder and pushed out of the building, blinking in the bright February sun.
When the black dots in my vision were blinked into submission, the yard rolled out ahead of me, and at the other end, leaning against the porch rail of The Hut, I spotted Drew. Picking up my pace, I skipped to a stop in front of him, my forehead landing on his shoulder with a painless thud.
“The rest of this school year is gonna suck,” I said, dragging out the last syllable.
“What’s happened?” he asked, throwing an arm around me and pulling me closer to rest his chin on my head.
“It’s begun. Jacob Hove has been announced as the new coach, and they think it’s only going to be a week or two before he’s full-time.
” I leaned closer, leaching warmth from Drew’s body, wrapping my arms around his waist. “To make matters worse, everyone has their hero worship on for the return of the prodigal son.”
“And I bet Jacob loves that,” he blew out quietly. “Tate taking it badly? Stupid question considering the direction you’ve just come from and the look on Libby’s face. Wait… She is called Libby, right? Or is it Lucy?”
“It’s Libby,” I huffed out and rolled my eyes before rocking back so I could look up at him.
“Tate’s going to be okay. It’s just the worst-case scenario for him.
I think he was hoping he had a while to get used to the idea before Jacob became coach.
I agree, this isn’t ideal, but as long as Jacob is fair, there’s nothing that can be done.
I swear, Drew, he better not fuck with Tate.
I’ll…” I trailed off. There was no way to finish that sentence without making myself feel worse. “I hate him.”
“Careful, darlin’. Some people aren’t worth the hate.
He’s one of them.” Drew squeezed me tighter with one hand, brushing my cheek with his other.
“I can’t promise you anything other than we’ll do our best to make sure Tate gets through this.
And if Jacob pushes too hard, I’ll drag up the old me, set him free, and smash some kneecaps.
” He leaned closer to whisper, “I’m totally, totally okay with that. ” Drew grinned.
“You’re right, hate is too passionate a word.” I slid my arms up from his waist and over his shoulders with a small sigh. “Kneecaps might work. He’d suck as a coach if he couldn’t walk.”
“Just say the word and your wish is this outlaw’s command.”