Page 19 of Why We Break

We both laugh at that, and she changes the subject. “Oh don’t think you’re getting away with us not talking about you. What was that with the coach? He’s totally into you, Han! And he’scuuute,” she sings, stretching out the word as far as she can.

“Yeah, yeah, he’s not terrible looking or anything like that. But he’s probably just being nice. I’m not reading much into it,” I tell her seriously.

Caroline groans at that, but thankfully lets it go since we’re walking through the gates of the field where most of the girls are waiting for us to give them instructions.

“All right, ladies, let’s warm up that stunt sequence and be ready to hit it full out,” I call out, desperate to get lost in something other than this conversation with my best friend. “Let’s get it, ladies.”

CHAPTER 15

WILL

“All right, guys. I know it’s been a busy week, but it’s time to get focused,” I tell the team after we finish warm-ups for the game. “There’s already a packed house tonight, and we need to go out there and prove that we have what it takes to make the playoffs this season.”

A few of the players cheer in agreement when I mention what’s at stake with this game, and I wait for them to calm down before continuing.

“Like I was saying, I don’t think I need to tell you that we need this win. Brookside’s in our region, and if we get this win we’re guaranteed a spot,” I tell them, motioning for them to quiet down as they start to cheer again. “But I’ve told you all week we’re gonna have a lot of eyes on us after what happened last week. So when we go out there, keep your heads down and your mouths shut. Do you understand?”

The boys respond with a chorus of “Yes, Coach,” and I nod.

“Okay. Remember your routes and leave it all on the field. Take a minute, get your head on straight, and let’s win this dang thing.”

The team and the other coaches hoop and holler, and after a few minutes I gesture for Blake to lead the pregame ritual. He nods before standing and gesturing for the team to crowd around him. The other coaches and I watch as he yells, “Who are we?” and the boys respond with “Springside” over and over, getting louder, jumping and yelling until it feels like the concrete walls of the locker room are shaking with the volume. After a few minutes, they break the huddle and the locker room goes silent as they start to line up, waiting for us to lead the Saint Spirit Stroll.

There’s still almost thirty minutes until kickoff, but I can hear the energy outside already ramping up as the fans line up and wait for us to make our way outside. As the team gets set, Theo leans over and looks out the small window before whispering, “Okay, I knew tonight would be intense, but I’ve never seen this many people at a high school game in my life. Where the hell did everyone come from?”

“I told you this place takes Homecoming pretty seriously,” I tell him, straightening my headset.

“Yeah, no shit,” he responds, shaking his head as Jason, Kent, and the other coaches join us.

“Let’s go make playoffs, huh, gentlemen?” Kent says, just as I open the door to the chaos outside.

I ignore him, letting the other coaches lead the way and trying to push aside the tug of annoyance I’m still feeling at him from the way he flirted with Hannah earlier today.

Seriously… you have a game to coach. You do not have time to be worried about Hannah’s love life. And you certainly can’t ignore your defensive coordinator during the game.My subconscious reminds me, and I shake myself, trying to get my head right as I step out of the locker room where hundreds of fans are lined up chanting along with the cheerleaders. “Black, blue, white… Fight, Saints, fight.”

I try to tune out the lines of people as we make our way to the field and nod along as the band starts to play the fight song. Eventually, Theo opens the gate that leads to the field, and I take my position on the sidelines as the band gets reset for the national anthem.

As soon as they finish, the captains step on the field, shaking hands with the players from Brookside, before the refs step up to toss the coin. I pump my fist when we win the toss, deferring to receive after the first half, and wait for the team to bust out of the run-through sign that the cheerleaders painted.

“You're still good with us trying the new play on our first possession, right,” Marcus asks, and I just grunt in agreement, mentally sizing up the players on the Brookside sideline. They have a couple of boys that I know from watching films who are fast as shit, but if we can keep them contained, we should be okay. I turn to remind Kent to tell the boys to make sure they keep their eyes on number seven for the bulldogs one more time, but when I turn to my left, Theo’s the only one still standing beside me.

“Where the hell’d the rest of ’em go?” I ask, searching the sideline as the team runs through the sign and heads toward us.

“Those two went to make sure the special teams are ready to go,” Theo replies, gesturing to where Marcus and Jason have pulled the kickoff team to give them their last few reminders.

“Right, but where’s Kent?” I question, “He was just right here.”

“Looks like he’s talking to Hannah,” Theo answers, gesturing to where Hannah is standing with the cheerleaders, talking to my defensive coordinator like we’re not less than a minute from kickoff.

I feel my anger rise because what the fuck are they thinking. Without responding to Theo, I turn and barrel toward them, feeling my temper get stronger and stronger the closer I get. Just as I step beside them, Hannah lets out a laugh at something Kent said, and I snap.

“Sorry to interrupt the party, but since it’s clear both of you forgot, we have a fucking game to win. And it just so happens, I need my defensive coordinator to do that,” I growl, thankful there aren’t any students around to hear me.

“Sorry, man. She said she needed to talk to one of us,” Kent says, already turning and heading back toward the team.

I turn back to Hannah and cross my arms as I scowl at her. Her blonde hair’s blowing in the breeze, and I catch a whiff of the damn vanilla perfume she always wears, which only makes me angrier for some reason.

“I know this is hard for you to understand, but the world doesn’t revolve around you. Some of us actually need to focus on this damn game, Hannah, so if you could leave my staff alone, that'd be great.”

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