Page 47 of Echoes of Us

“Noah, are you sure about this?” I asked, searching his eyes for any sign of doubt.

He nodded instantly. “Yeah, Atty, I’m so sure. I can do this. I can do it with you,” he said, pushing up on his toes and kissing me. His lips were soft and desperate, his arms wrapping around my waist and pulling me close. “Just don’t leave me, okay?” he said against my chest.

The weight of his words dropped heavily on me as I wrapped my arms over his shoulders, holding him tightly. What the hell had I gotten myself into?

CHAPTER

TEN

AFTER

He was at practice again, this time wearing the uniform. I had to work through it, and it sucked. I hated having him here, in this space, so close to me. The coach had accepted his application, and three days later, here he was. At least he had the decency to keep his head down and not try to start a conversation with me. He even stopped calling me Atty.

I felt like a bomb waiting to explode. That’s how the rest of the team saw me.

I wasn’t used to getting scolded—not by my mom, not by teachers, and definitely not by my coach. Almost every day after practice, Hank and the coach called me aside to give me a good sportsmanship talk. They paired me up with Noah that first week. They thought it would help break the ice. I was serving, and he was supposed to receive. At first, he appeared nervous just being around me. Towards the end of it, I think he might have been just as pissed as I was. I hadnever been this aggressive with my serves, and he didn’t manage to catch one. I got told off that day after practice, but Hank didn’t pair us up again.

Ezra and Colin weren’t talking to him either. I expected it from Ezra; he didn’t like Noah. But Colin was a surprise. It surprised Noah too. He didn’t look happy the first days back. He was miserable, but it started getting slowly better, like everything did, if you gave it enough time.

That was until the first game.

We had a game with another school about three weeks after he started training—a qualifying match. I was a regular on the team, and Noah was an alternate. He didn’t play for the first set, and we won easily. When he got called into the rotation for the second set, I knew it would blow up in my face. Ezra got pulled out, and it threw my whole balance off. I was so used to him being there, like a safety blanket, and now it was like someone had yanked it away and thrown a snake in its place. I knew where Noah was, and I told myself all I had to do was throw it away from him. I kept the game from him, and the other team caught on. We started falling behind on the scoreboard, and I got more worked up. The coach called my name angrily several times, but I kept doing it.

When we reached the set point, Noah called for the toss. I knew it was the right shot, and I still sent it the other direction. We lost that set.

“Atticus, what the fuck?” Hank barked at me.

I stood there with my arms crossed. “Pull him out,” I said.

Hank turned away, refusing.

“You’re the one with the problem here, King,” the coach spat. “This is a team meet, a qualifying game, and you’re throwing a goddamn tantrum on the court.”

“It was fine when he wasn’t playing. You just have to pull him out. I told you I couldn’t play with him,” I insisted.

They both stood there looking at me.

“You’re out for the next set,” the coach said.

I gaped at him. What? “But I?—”

“I don’t care if you’re a better player. Right now, you’re a shit player, who can’t get his head on straight. You’re benched for the rest of the game,” he said.

I closed my eyes and exhaled through my nose. This wasn’t fucking fair.

“Coach.” Noah’s voice came as he walked over to us. His jaw was set, and there was tension in his shoulders.

“Step back, Rossi,” the coach told him.

“Pull me out,” Noah said.

“What?”

“Pull me out of the game. It’s my fault. Pull me out,” Noah insisted.

The coach turned towards me. “See? That’s good sportsmanship behavior,” he said.

I let out a bitter laugh. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” I muttered.

---