Chapter 47
The Penalty
Nico
I’m in a fog as my parents and the doctor talk about options for me. Surgery, physical therapy, rest. Something about meniscus and ACL and six months of recovery. Six months! Fuck.
“We’ll be able to schedule him for surgery on Monday. You might need an extra day off school, but you should be able to return fairly quickly.” The doctor speaks in a comforting way.
“What about football?” Dad asks. “He’ll recover to play in college?”
“With the right physical therapy.” The doctor slides her gaze to me. “As long as you follow the regiment we provide, you should make a full recovery.”
A full recovery. Recovery. Fuck.
“School?” I meet the doctor’s eyes.
“As soon as you feel up to it. Definitely not the day of surgery, but we’ve had some athletes go back the day after or a couple days after.
It depends on your pain management and any accommodations they need to make for you.
” She rubs the bridge of her nose. “You can always get someone to bring your schoolwork to you. Or you can go to online school.”
Fuck that. I need to be where Harper is.
“Crutches?”
She nods. “You’ll have a brace and for the first week we want you to stay off it except when in PT.”
I look at my mom. “Is Harper here?”
She nods and glances nervously at my dad.
“Any more questions for me?” The doctor probably had to come in for this. I doubt she normally works on a Friday night. But my father knows how to pull strings. My future is important to him. He wants to be able to tell everyone his son is in the NFL.
“No, Lisa. Thank you.” My father runs a hand through his hair. “I think you’ve done everything you can do tonight.”
My leg is in a brace. Crutches sit near the bed I’m on. There’s not more that I can do. I’m out for the season. No more football. My record will have to stand on its own. Inside I’m a roiling mess of anger and disappointment, but what’s done is done.
“Ice and elevation. Take it easy.” The doctor gives me a look and touches my good leg. “If you don’t, you might complicate the tears. Bright and early Monday morning. The nurse will drop off your instructions. We’ll get you back on the field, Nico.”
I nod and narrow my eyes at my mom. “Bring Harper in.”
“Thank you, Dr. Williams.” My mom shakes her hand before going out of the room to get Harper.
Dr. Williams follows her out with a final smile, leaving me alone with my dad.
“This is the girlfriend your mom has been talking about?” He moves in front of the door and gives me a don’t-fuck-with-me stare.
“Harper Davidson is my girlfriend.” Give only the information he asks for. I’ve known that my whole life.
He settles in the chair and watches me. “Her father has something we want back.”
“We?” I wait and when he doesn’t answer, I add, “Her father has been gone a long time.”
“He took something. We have reason to believe it’s still in the possession of the mother and the girl.” His voice is so cold, like neither of them matter.
“Harper. Her name is Harper.” I meet his glare with one of my own. She matters to me.
His eyes narrow on me. “She’ll be around the house, since you’ll be confined to it for a while. I’ll just ask her myself.”
“No.” Fuck, no. Harper’s always been scared of my dad. He’s a scary dude.
“Then see what you can find out.” He stands and looks disdainfully at my leg. “Otherwise, your recovery will be the least of our worries.”
He opens the door and Harper stands there with my mother. Harper backs up a step with her eyes wide.
“The doctor said we can leave when we want.” Mom looks between me and Dad. She probably means for us to go home. Fuck that.
“You two should go out and finish your date.” I meet my dad’s eyes. “Harper can make sure I get home safe.”
My father nods in acknowledgement, thinking he has me. That I’m just as willing to use my girlfriend for information as he is. He can think that all he wants.
“That sounds good.” Dad takes Mom’s arm as she looks like she wants to protest. “There’s nothing he can do but rest and ice anyway, Sarah. We can still make our show.”
Mom looks torn but then nods and comes over to me. She presses her lips against my forehead. “Remember what the doctor said.”
It’s all I’ll be thinking about this weekend. “Have a good night out.”
They head out and the door shuts behind them. Harper comes over and takes my hand.
“What’s the verdict?”
I pull her closer, and she sits on the edge of the bed. “Surgery Monday. Out for the season, but I should be able to play next year, if I can get on a team.”
When she frowns, I resist smoothing my finger over her forehead. Her gaze goes to the brace on my leg. “What can I do for you?”
“So many options, sunshine.” I smirk at her blush, because I’ll get her to myself more now too. It may be the one bright spot to all this. “But first, let’s get out of here.”
Harper
Mom is still out on her date when Kenz drops us off. Nico worried about his mom wanting to check on him, so I offered my place. After all, my mom is out on her date.
Getting hurt is always a possibility in football. I’ve seen Luke hurt twice now. Only once from football though.
But after a game, they all have bruises the next day.
“How long do you have to use those?” I hold the door open as he walks into the kitchen on the crutches. I rush over to the panel to turn off the alarm.
“Hopefully less than a week.” Nico turns to look at me with a smug look. “I’m hoping to dance with you at Homecoming.”
Fuck. For a few minutes, I forgot about Homecoming and being on the court. Remembering how cocky Zach was and Nico hitting him in the knee to knock him down. Was this payback? How would that even work?
My brow furrows. Am I just looking for conspiracies everywhere now?
“What’s got you thinking so hard?” Nico asks.
“It’s stupid.” I shake my head. There’s a lot going on and my brain can’t keep up with all of it. This isn’t a Scooby-Doo mystery. “Just that you took out Zach’s knee after the assembly.”
“What? And Zach made the guy take me out?” Nico isn’t laughing at me.
I pause in front of the refrigerator and look over at him. “You think?”
Nico shrugs. “I don’t know what to think about the situation here. It’s been a mess since I stepped foot in this town.”
He gives me a knowing look, and I hold my breath for a second. This town has always been a mess.
“Was it better in New York?” I ask quietly as I turn back to the refrigerator and stare blindly at the contents. Does he regret coming here?
“Different, not better, sunshine.” He blows out a breath. “The guys. You. All of this is worth it to me.”
“If you want to talk weird. My mom is on a date with Mr. Wick.” I turn my head and wait for Nico’s eyes to meet mine.
He grins. “That’s pretty weird.”
I sigh and close the fridge. When he keeps walking to the couch, I hurry over to help him sit down. I take his crutches and duck under his arm to help ease him down.
“There are perks to being injured.” Nico kisses behind my ear and a little rush shoots through me.
I pull away a little flustered and turned on. I fan myself briefly as he settles back against the couch and lifts his braced leg onto it.
“What’s the likelihood of your mom watching the video feed?” Nico arches an eyebrow.
Heat rushes through me. I glance at the cameras and shrug. Grabbing a pillow, I wait for him to settle back on the arm of the couch before propping his knee with the pillow under it. Before he can make a grab for me, I hurry to the kitchen to get an ice pack.
I should get myself one while I’m at it. He’s hurt that should come before either of us do.
“You hungry?” I glance over the meager offerings in the freezer. Weekends are for restocking food.
“Starved.”
The hunger in his voice causes a shiver to race through me. When I bring waters and the ice pack over to the couch, he drags my hips down to sit on the edge in front of his stomach.
“I can order a pizza or something.” I set everything on the coffee table.
He brushes my hair off my neck. His fingers leave tingles in their wake. Anticipation floods me. We’re alone, finally.
The game should be over by now. Kenz had to return to pick Brandon up for the party they’re going to. Nico texted the guys while we were in the car. They may or may not come here. They didn’t really say either way. There’s a party...
When I glance over my shoulder at Nico, his dark eyes capture mine as he leans in and kisses me. I turn into him, opening beneath him. His hand slides into my hair, cradling my head.
“Is this okay?” I whisper against his lips.
He smiles. “Better than, sunshine.”
His lips open over mine and his tongue slides against my lips. I part them and moan at the brush of his tongue against mine.
A dull beep of a horn makes me pull back. “What was that?”
“Nothing.” He claims me again, drawing me against his body. I buzz inside, restless and needy.
The door opens and voices reach into the fog surrounding me. I pull back from Nico and turn to see my mom coming in with Mr. Wick behind her. My mouth opens and closes. Heat engulfs my face.
“She’s at the game and then a party—” Her words cut off when her eyes meet mine. “Harper?”
“Mom?” I arch an eyebrow. Mr. Wick has his hand on her waist. Almost possessively.
He steps away and looks down at the floor.
Mom seems to come back into mom-mode. She steps forward and sets her purse on the table. “Nico. Why are you two here and not at the game?”
I turn to Nico, but he gestures to his knee.
“Nico got injured.” My gaze returns to my mom and Mr. Wick, who is now in our house. A teacher is in our house. With my mom. Too weird.
Mom walks into the living room and I move out of the way. Nico grabs my hand before I get too far.
“Is it sprained or worse?” She glances at the brace. “Have they done an MRI? Do your parents know?”
Nico chuckles. “We came from the hospital. My parents were there. Surgery on Monday. Harper brought me here so I could elevate it.”
Mr. Wick shifts and I narrow my gaze on him. He’s watching both of us like we’re naughty teenagers. Fortunately, we hadn’t gotten too naughty before they came in. The heat in my cheeks grows. My fingers had been itching to touch his skin, but I hadn’t started tugging at his shirt.
I double check but he’s still completely unrumpled. Good.
“Harper, did you grab the ice pack?” Mom looks up at me.
I grab it off the coffee table and hand it to her. “We just got here. I was going to order a pizza.”
“I can go, Jennifer, if you’re busy.” Mr. Wick gestures to the door, looking uncertain.
“No, David. Please stay.” She glances at me. “We can still watch that show I was telling you about.”
I swallow, because this is going to get even weirder. “Do you want any pizza?”
“No, we just ate.” Mom puts the ice pack on Nico’s knee. “You guys don’t mind watching an episode of a home improvement show? They did a house that looks like the one David grew up in. I thought he’d enjoy watching.”
That sounds super boring.
“We don’t mind,” Nico answers for us. His hand tightens on mine slightly.
“Great.” Mom straightens the skirt of her dress. “Order your pizza. I’ll set up the show. David, you can sit over here.”
Fuck, this feels like the twilight zone, but I put in an order for pizza. I’m not hungry, but Nico is and I have a feeling the others will be here sooner rather than later.
I sit down next to Nico’s feet and hold a pillow against my chest.
Mom and Davi—Mr. Wick sit in the arm chairs and make themselves comfortable as the show plays. I sit straight, unsure how to react. Nico presses his toes against my hip and I glance his way.
Smiling, he mouths, Relax.
Easy for him to say. He hasn’t had Mr. Wick for multiple classes over the course of three years in high school. To him, Mr. Wick is just another adult. To me, he’s one of my favorite teachers.
He didn’t always put up with the horsemen’s bullshit, especially in class. He’s a fair grader and honestly tries to teach us something in every class. Even when he’s tired and seems done with the world, he still does his job.
But that’s all he is to me: a teacher. Not a guy who my mom knew in high school and then went out on a date with. Did she ask him here to be alone with him?
I wasn’t supposed to be here.
Wait a minute. I straighten.
OMG! Were they going to do more? Maybe make out on the couch? I wasn’t supposed to be home all night. Was my mom going to get some?
I stare at her in horror as she talks about the show. She looks great tonight. The dress we got fits her perfectly. I don’t know much about my mom’s life outside of our shared one. Does she have a booty call I don’t know about?
Has she honestly been waiting for my dad all these years?
Was she going to fuck my teacher in our house?
The doorbell rings and I bolt to my feet. “I’ll get it.”
I take the pizza from the guy and lock the door before setting the box on the island. Mom’s still talking to Mr. Wick. Nico looks like he wants to get up and help me, so I grab a handful of napkins and just bring the whole box in, setting it on the coffee table.
Mom arches an eyebrow, but I sit on the edge of the couch next to Nico and get him a piece of pizza. Mr. Wick clears his throat.
“Maybe I should head out.”
When he begins to rise, Mom stands first. “You know, why don’t we go and get a drink somewhere? We can talk more.”
The knot in my stomach unwinds. But that doesn’t mean she won’t make out with him. How’s that going to be on Monday at school? What if my mom ghosts Mr. Wick? How fucking awkward would that be?
Nico’s hand rests in the center of my back, calming me as Mr. Wick heads for the door.
“I hope you feel better, Nico. David, do you mind waiting a moment?” Mom sighs. “Harper?”
I don’t want to go, but I follow her into the back TV room.
“Is everything okay?” Mom asks as soon as I shut the door.
“Of course.” There’s so much I haven’t told her, even though she knows more than any other of our parents.
“David thinks you were coerced into this situation with the guys. Is that true, Harper?”
Fuck. I look down at the floor. “No.”
“Okay, now tell me that while looking me in my eyes.” Her tone is fierce.
Oh, fuck. I lift my gaze. She wouldn’t understand. Fuck, I don’t understand, but they’re mine.
“I—”
The doorbell rings. We both turn to look at the door to the office.
“This conversation isn’t over.” Mom walks out the office door. I follow her into the living room and then my cheeks heat as Luke, Eli, Caden, and Jack come into our house.
Mr. Wick’s eyes are suspicious as he looks at my mom.
Mom just shakes her head and goes to the cabinet above the refrigerator. She grabs a bottle of rum and sets it on the island. “I guess we’re having a drink here.”