Page 33 of The Alternate Captain
Kelly is Bettsy’s sister?
She can’t be.
But she is.
I’m doubting myself for a moment until she rounds the corner, and our eyes meet. Those are the same shade of green that I remember from the crowd.That’swho Bettsy was pointing at. Not the guy covered in face paint next to her.
Does she realise it’s me?
The questions fly around in my head as she stops in front of me.
Talk, Johnny. Say something.
“Hi.”
“Hello,” she says, her eyes dipping to admire a spot on the floor in front of her.
“You’re Bettsy’s sister,” I say.
It’s almost a whisper, and at first, I wonder if she’s heard me. But she nods.
Fuck.
His eighteen-year-old sister.
If someone almost ten years older was sniffing around my sister at her age, I’d have cut his balls off.
“Kelly,” I say. “Can I—did you know?”
She shakes her head.
“But—you ghosted me.”
“Stop. Please. I’m so embarrassed. Please don’t make this even worse for me.” Tears form in her eyes, and I have to hold myself back. Because she’s Bettsy’s damn sister.
Bettsy’s sister. She knows stuff. And I know stuff. And we flirted and... fuck.
This is one big mess.
A door opens in the distance, and I catch the last of the laugh. Bettsy’s laugh. Probably flirting with the nurse or something.
And then it all comes flooding back. All the talk of his sister... and leg breaking. I mean, he wouldn’t actually break anyone’s legs, would he? Mine especially...
A queasy feeling washes over me.
I’ve thought about Kelly. I’ve thought about her in ways that someone should not be thinking about his linemate’s sister.
“He can never find out about...” I blurt out as Kelly’s eyes meet mine for a split second. I realise I have zero emotional intelligence “...us. He can never find out; you understand that, right?”
She raises her head slightly and finds my eyes. “Yes. Let’s pretend I don’t know you and you definitely don’t know me.”
“Fine.”
“Fine.”
“But what the hell happened, Kelly? Did I—”
“Let’s just forget about it. Please.”
