Page 104 of Saving the Halfback

Nolan cleared his throat, stretched, rolled his shoulders, and then noticed the three of us staring at him with varying levels of concern. “I’m good. Once I warm up, I’ll be good.”

“Or you’ll end up hurting yourself, and we will be out a quarterback,” Ethan said.

“I’m good. I won’t leave you guys hanging.”

That wasn’t my concern, though.

We were warmingup when Nolan’s dad came walking down to the field, sitting in the stands and waiting. I saw the look in Lachlan’s eyes and quickly grabbed his arm as he began stalking toward Nolan’s dad. “Don’t,” I told him. I knew, from experience, how men like him reacted. “You’ll make it worse.”

Nolan called out for the team to take our usual run around the field, and we all lined up. We kept Nolan in between us, though, Lachlan taking the back of the line, so when Nolan called out, Lachlan was the first to run up, overtaking the line and getting into place in front of Nolan. Ethan was behind me.

We made it around with no incident. I didn’t want to leave Nolan when it was my turn—I had a bad feeling—but when he called out, I ran ahead to overtake the line. Then it was his turn.

Nolan ran, pushing himself with more effort than I’d ever seen him use before, and then he collapsed. The team stopped immediately and surrounded him. Ethan called for Coach. By the time I pushed through the group, Lachlan was kneeling beside Nolan’s head. Nolan was awake.

“Okay, guys, back up, back up,” Coach ordered. “Get started in your groups,” he called and then blew his whistle.

Everyone began taking a few steps back, murmuring to one another. I knelt, though, ignoring Coach and taking Nolan’s hand in mine. “I’m all right,” he said to me, squeezing my hand.

“Did you black out?” Coach asked.

Nolan nodded. “A little.”

“Before or after you fell?”

“Before, I think.”

“Did you hit your head?”

Nolan shook his head. “I just, I had some pain in my chest, and everything went black.”

Coach nodded. “I want you to sit this practice out.”

“All right, all right. He’s okay.” Nolan’s dad walked up to us. “A few too many late nights, right, Nolan?”

Nolan nodded. “Yes, sir.” He sat up while I kept hold on his hand, helping him. Nolan didn’t look at his father like he was afraid; he looked at him as if he was determined. “I’m fine.”

Coach shook his head. “You need adequate sleep, all right? We can't afford to lose you, but you have to take care of yourself.”

Nolan’s dad chuckled. “It’s what I tell him all the time. Your body’s a machine, gotta keep it oiled and give it the proper fuel. Are you good to keep going, Nolan?”

Coach shook his head. “No, not today. He can sit out or go to the nurse’s office and rest, but he’s not practicing.”

Nolan’s dad frowned. “Right, then.”

I could see Nolan’s heart racing, the artery on his neck bulging. “I’ll sit out,” he said. “I’ll be good on the bench for a bit.”

“Lachlan, Ethan, can you help him to the bench?” Coach said. “Bailey, back to practice.”

I stood up when Ethan and Lachlan took each of Nolan’s arms and helped him to his feet, walking him over to the benches.

Nolan’s dad shook his head. “Kids think they can party all weekend and bounce right back.” It was on the tip of my tongue to say something. To yell at him. To call him out. If I did, what punishment would I receive? How much would it hurt when I spoke out against this man? I hated the person I had been trained to be.

Coach wasn’t buying it, though. He turned to Nolan’s dad. “We talked about this when you signed him up.Itrainmyplayers how I see fit. I don’t take well to parents stepping in. If you want to take over, then sign him up for a rep team.”

Coach didn’t wait for a reply. He turned around, blew his whistle, then started shouting commands with a bit more demand than he had before. Lachlan sat with Nolan for a few minutes until Coach called him back. We focused on the practice, but my eyes kept shifting back over to Nolan. His dad was gone, but Hadley and Katie were now sitting next to him.

Nolan’s eyes never left me.

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