Page 61 of Scoring the Player
The needle disappearsunder my skin. “Geez, Doc. An IV?”
“You fainted, and you’re running a fever. You run into anyone with a virus or a cold?”
I shake my head.
“We’ll run tests for the flu,” she says, picking up her tablet.
“I don’t have the flu.”
She pauses and looks up at me. “How do you know?”
“I, uh…” I stare at the floor.
“Arnaz, everything we discuss here is confidential. Did something happen?”
I tried not being a coward. That’s what happened.
“It doesn’t feel like the flu is all I meant,” I mutter.
“I am ordering you to skip the next two games to hydrate and rest.”
“Not necessary,” I argue.
“Non-negotiable. Have your meds changed?” she asks, staring at her iPad.
“No.”
“Okay, sit tight. I’m going to order a few tests.”
When I get home,I manage to put down a couple bites of the soup I had delivered and pass out.
Dad’s fistslammed into the table as he barked at me to never ever speak those words again. I stared at my food, hating myself for making him upset. I only mentioned that I wanted to marry Jimmy because he collected twice as many beetles as me. Mom and Anaïs would win Red Light, Green Light if they remembered to freeze like they are right now.
Mom slammed down her fork, and I wished I hadn’t drunk so much blue lemonade because I had to pee so badly. Squirming, I plugged my ears to block out the ringing. I always made them scream lately. Wish I could figure out how to stop doing that. I’m dragged under the table, and then arms are wrapped around me.
Anaïs.
He yelled that I was an a-bomb-a-nation, and I started crying, because if I were a bomb, what if I went off and my entire family exploded? The front door slammed just as Mom pushed back her chair. Anäis wiped my face and whispered that it was okay. She used to cry like me before the tiny lines began on the inside of her thigh. She wore Band-Aids there now—not my favorite ones with the unicorns. I wanted to be strong like her and never cry. He said real men don’t cry, but when he wasn’t around, Mom said he’s an idiot, and I should cry whenever the heck I wanted. Maybe I’d start drawing my own lines on my leg. I didn’t want mine to bleed like hers because then I’d have to wear the dinosaur bandages because he yelled at me the last time I wore the unicorn ones. Said I should wear the green dinosaur ones because I was a boy, but I liked unicorns more than dinosaurs. Didn’t he know they had magical powers and got their energy from the sun?
Anaïs crawled from under the table and reached for me, but I shook my head. Covered in sweat, I squeezed my thighs together really hard. I just needed the world to stop for asecond so I could get it under control, but then the walls shook as Mom’s bedroom door slammed, and I erupted.
I gasp awake. Chest pounding, I kick back the sheets and shuffle to sit up.
I rub my face, then stab my phone screen.
The hell?
I slept twelve hours.
I get up to piss, then settle back under the covers and bingeExosphere.
I don’t remember dozing off or setting an alarm, but the ringing stirs me awake.
Not an alarm.
I shuffle to the door, already knowing who’s there.
I grunt.
