Page 31 of Unfix Me

“That’s Kai,” I said.

Brooks leaned forward. “He’d better turn this around.”

“They can do it.”

Kai got taken down and I sucked in a breath. He got up and shook out his arms, but it wasn’t until the next play was set up that I started to relax. That was my least favorite part about the game. One of my friends got a concussion during a homecoming game and another fucked up his knee pretty badly. I was always worried about an injury, not just for me, but for my friends and teammates.

You should like rough sports, my dad had said.They get the blood pumping.

So did a minimal-risk jog, but I hadn’t told him that.

Thinking about my dad just reminded me of my last conversation with him over the weekend. He’d been trying to call me for five days now, but I never picked up. I didn’t know what there was to say and, frankly, I was angry.

On Sunday, he asked me when I was going back to see Derek. I’d simply told him that I was still thinking about it. That didn’t go over well. Things escalated to the point where he tried to guilt and shame me, claiming that I was on a downward-sloping path and trying to live in denial. I couldn’t deal with it, so I decided not to for a while, even though it was bound to bite me in the ass when I did finally pick up the phone.

My mom left a sobbing voicemail, which was worse. It probably made me a bad son, but I hadn’t responded to her either.

I straightened as I watched Kai run across the field. He was incredibly fast. The crowd erupted when he made it to the end zone. There was still a ways to go, but it was a solid step. He appeared lighter on the way over to the sideline and as soon as he made it, West nearly tackled him.

The rest of the game wasn’t as great. The former wide receiver took over and even though we scored a couple more times, so did the other team. We’d inched closer, but it wasn’t quite enough. The energy on this side of the stadium was noticeably less exuberant as the clock neared zero.

I wasn’t disappointed in the way it turned out. This was only the team’s second game and according to Brooks, they won the first one. People like West, though, had a hard time with that. I could tell from the way he walked as they headed toward the locker room.

Without any particular reason, I said a quick goodbye to Brooks and made my way down to the field. I managed to squeeze through without anyone stopping me. Once I was in the end zone, I tipped my head back and took in everything around me. I couldn’t imagine playing in a place this size. During a win, it might make you feel like a god, but when you lost, it would be as if the field goals were looming over you, taunting you.

It must have been a while that I stood there because when I looked around, the stands were mostly empty. I was surprised nobody had kicked me out. I turned around and saw a shape standing in the tunnel that led to the locker room. It grew larger, then Kai came into view.

“Are you that impatient to see me?” he called. He was grinning as he jogged over to me. “How was the seat?”

“It was a seat.”

His eyes narrowed. “I worked hard for that. You don’t want to know what I did for it.”

“Called dibs?”

“Pretty much,” he laughed.

He dragged his fingers through his damp hair, still sporting that smile. Wearing a t-shirt and basketball shorts, he looked so casual and calm. I wondered if he ever worried about things in his day-to-day life. What was there to worry about when you were Kai Adler?

“So, this ritual,” I reminded him.

“Oh, yeah.”

Grabbing my wrist, he pulled me toward the sideline. I resisted the urge to yank my arm back, instead waiting until he came to a stop. I shoved my hands into my pockets and watched him pull a duffel bag from underneath one of the benches. He crouched and unzipped it, then pulled out a few things- a lighter, a bag of what looked like coins, and a jar. Weird combo.

“Sit,” he instructed, settling on his ass.

I dropped to the ground in front of him and sat criss cross. He opened the bag to pull out one of the coins, then passed it to me. I ran my thumb over the smooth surface, realizing it was wood.

“Am I supposed to understand this?” I asked.

“Patience, grasshopper.”

With a frown, I flipped the coin over. There was a small, carved football on it. It was a little choppy, but impressive for the size of the thing.

“I make them,” he said before I could ask.

“You keep whipping out new skills.”

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