Page 142 of Saving the Halfback

“He’s like forty!” Chase started pacing. I still didn’t take my eyes off Lachlan; he stared right back at me with cold, guarded eyes. “How old were you?” Chase demanded.

I took a deep breath as Nolan began running his hand up and down my back soothingly. “I was fourteen, sixteen when he took my virginity.” My voice came out pitchy, and I cleared my throat in hopes of calming it.

And then…it all spilled from my heart. All those days Dad was busy with the farm, buying up land, making deals with renters, shuffling the allocation of properties. The nights worried about Lachlan, Chase, and Ethan. Not only did life get between us, but we also were changing, our hormones kicking in. I felt rejected, and I made a point to tell them that, now I knew that wasn't the case, but at the time, I felt I didn’t have control over any of it. And then Ed was there.

He was so good. It was like the fairy tale every princess wants, and that’s what he said I was to him, his princess. He seemed to find me every time I was crying and whispered sweet nothings into my ear. He found ways to wiggle into my life, help me out, but most of all, he told me how amazing I was. He told me how mature I was for my age and how I was beauty beyond years. He was a swindler of beautiful lies. He weaved them in and out until it was all I could hear.

Was he abusive? Not at first. Little things here and there that weren’t even seen as abusive because he wasn’t like that, so maybe it was me. I did something wrong. I did something different. I found myself begging for him because I wanted so badly to keep his attention, I had no idea it was fake. It was a ruse. When he took my virginity, I told him it didn’t hurt. That's when he touched me more and told me I was perfect for him. I would forever be with him. In truth, it was so beyond painful that I cried for days. He gave me no space, no time, no recovery. I just thought this was normal because there was no one in my lifeto tell me otherwise. I was trying to be as strong as he told me I was.

Once that part of the relationship started, when I was sixteen, which he always told me was legal, I lost a part of me I didn’t realize I even had to lose. All energy was sucked out of me, and I became a walking shell. A soulless entity. That’s why this year with the guys had meant so much to me. I was recovering more than just my friendship with them—I was finding my soul again.

“And then he got hurt.” It was a half lie, though not really a lie, but it was enough to make me feel guilty. It was a truth that I kept buried so far down that I wasn’t even sure if I knew it fully.

At some point, Chase had fallen back into his chair. Lachlan no longer looked at me. Instead, he stared out toward the house, his fingers tapping on the arm of his chair as he worked something out in his mind. “Is he recovering?” Lachlan asked, his voice different, his eyes on Chase.

Chase shrugged. “I’ve heard he may be a vegetable. Apparently, the bull really did a number. But it’s all talk among the workers, no one really knows.” My parents hadn’t shared the updates with the rest of the crew, not wanting to gossip or share privileged information that Ed might not want shared.

“I don’t want to talk about him,” I said.

Lachlan’s eyes swung to me, and a shiver ran down my spine. Immediately, I cast my eyes down.

“Don’t,” Ethan growled at him. Lachlan snarled in response. I got to my feet, sensing a fight, but over what, I wasn’t sure.

Lachlan stood and met me halfway, unable to stay still any longer. His arms pulled me in protectively, his fingers threading through my hair. Then he leaned down, breathing me in, grounding himself. “I need to know he’s suffering,” he whispered in my ear.

I shook my head. “We’ve already had a close call with the law, and someone has died this weekend. I just want to go to school tomorrow.” I pulled back to look into his eyes, pleading. His pupils were pinpoint, I was losing him. “Please. I just want to go to practice, play football, and be a teenager. It’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

He melted at my words, his eyes soothing over until they were those sweet baby blues I loved so much. His rigid body softening to my curves as he took two deep breaths, holding me in for a moment longer before nodding. “For now.” It was the only promise he would give me. I won for now, but he wasn’t letting it go.

Lachlan pulled me into his lap as he sat down. “Will I ever get my own chair anymore?” I joked.

“No,” Lachlan, Chase, and Nolan said in unison. Ethan just grinned, his eyes glazed over in thought, until Chase picked up a stick and threw it at him.

“What the hell?” Ethan cursed.

“No daydreaming her,” he said.

“I’m not daydreaming, I’m remembering.” His grin spread wider until Chase got out of his chair, his grey eyes darkening. “Sit down, I’ll group message later.”

I was pressing myself farther against Lachlan, my cheeks burning red, but the sound of the group message had me perking up. “Group message?” I asked.

“Not for you,” Lachlan said, pulling me closer.

“What? You’re excluding me?” At first, I thought he was joking, but they all had serious faces.

“Think of it as a boyfriend support group.” Lachlan shrugged. “We need to vent somewhere about our firecracker girlfriend.”

Girlfriend? I rolled my eyes to hide how much the term warmed my heart. “I’m not a firecracker. No one knew I even existed before I joined the football team.”

“First of all”—Nolan sat up—“you glared at the other team's lineman on Friday.”

Chase chuckled. “I wondered what was happening.” Something in his voice was off, though.

“Did you see her do the fingers thing, theI’m watching youthing?” Nolan asked.

Ethan smirked. “Yeah, thanks for riling him up for me.”

I realized I was staring at Chase and shook my head, returning to the conversation. “Sorry. He was over the line before the snap almost every time andnevergot called on it,” I defended.

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