Page 4 of The Wrong Quarterback

A sudden wave of panic washed over me, sharp and unforgiving. My heart started to race, my chest tightening so fast I couldn’t catch my breath. I felt like I was drowning again, like everything was too much, pressing down on me until I couldn’t think straight.

“Casey? You okay?” Gray’s voice broke through the haze, concerned now, as he shifted closer to me.

I shook my head, trying to suck in air, but my throat was too tight, my lungs too constricted. “I…I can’t…” The words wouldn’t come, stuck in my throat as the panic clawed at my chest.

Gray’s hand was on my shoulder, steady and warm, grounding me in the storm. “Hey, hey, it’s okay. I’m here, Casey. Right here.”

“I can’t…breathe,” I gasped, my hands shaking uncontrollably.

Gray’s hand slid down my arm, his touch gentle but firm, like he was trying to pull me back from the edge. “Casey,” he said frantically.

And then he kissed me.

I froze, my mind going blank. His lips were warm, soft against mine, and for a moment, everything around me stopped—the panic, the fear, the overwhelming sense of loss. It was like being jolted out of a nightmare, waking up suddenly to find everything still.

He’d never looked at me like that before, like I was something more than Ben’s little sister. And yet, here he was,kissing me. It shocked me so completely; it snapped me out of the spiral I was in, yanking me back into the present.

Before I could second-guess myself, I kissed him back. My heart pounded, not from the panic anymore but from something else, something raw and unexpected. For the briefest moment, everything felt…right. His hand cupped the side of my face, gentle but sure, and I leaned into the kiss, letting myself get lost in it, in him.

When he finally pulled back, his blue eyes searched mine. I blinked, still shaken, still trying to catch my breath as he pushed up from the dock and stared down at me.

“I’ll wait for you to get older. But in the meantime, you don’t have to worry about being alone, okay? I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere.”

His words hung in the air between us, heavy and strange, and I wasn’t sure what to say. I didn’t even know what I was feeling anymore. I watched him as he walked away, giving me one last, long look once he’d gotten to the shore.

“I’ll see you, Casey,” he called out, giving me a sad wave before he turned and walked back across the lawn.

As soon as he was out of sight, I turned back to the water, staring at it as I listened to the crickets and I felt the warm breeze, and I heard the sound of the screen door screeching as he went back into the house.

Standing up, I slipped off my black dress, and I dove into the dark, murky depths.

Sinking down, down, down into the silence. I let myself sit there for a moment before I finally kicked back up to the surface.

Knowing there wasn’t anyone around who was going to save me anymore.

CHAPTER 1

CASEY

TWO YEARS LATER

Freedom. That’s what it felt like as I drove toward my dorm in my beat-up Honda.

It felt like I could breathe again.

The weight that had pressed on my chest for the past two years seemed to be lifting as I took in the sprawling expanse of the university. The orange brick buildings lined with trees, the wide open spaces, the students walking in groups or rushing around. It was alive here, vibrant. So unlike the house I’d left behind, that felt like it had died the night that Ben did.

I’d been afraid that I’d get here and immediately burst into tears thinking about my brother. But so far so good.

That felt like a good sign.

I’d held out hope for about six months after the accident that my hand would heal, and I’d still be able to try for piano performance at Juilliard or the New England Conservatory of Music. It had soon become apparent, though, that my hand wasn’t going to be improving anytime soon.

And so I applied here. The University of Tennessee.

Where Ben was going to go before the accident and where Gray was now.

I told myself that the death of my dream had nothing on what Ben had lost, but even now, I felt guilty, like I was walking in his would be footsteps. Mama had wanted me to go to the local community college, something small and safe and close to home. But I couldn’t do that. I couldn’t take one more day of her grief. I’d insisted on coming to Tennessee right away, and she hadn’t even bothered to say goodbye when I left.

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