Page 3 of Solo Stan
“Because she’s a girl I have to go easy on her?” Connor retorted.
“No, you should go easy on her because she’ll lay your little dumb ass out and I’ll pretend like I didn’t see anything.”
“Whatever,” Connor said, throwing the ball roughly at Nia, who narrowly caught it.
Luis put his body between Elias and Connor, but Elias easily evaded him. He shoved Connor in the chest and then stood over him, looking down with disdain. “Get your weight up, little boy,” Elias said, his nostrils flaring.
“Get my weight up? Get your age down, old man,” Connor replied, slipping the grasp of the others.
Connor grabbed Elias by the front of his shirt, and Elias panicked. Realizing he couldn’t fight a thirteen-year-old, he raised his hands in a too-little-too-late gesture of surrender.Fuck,he thought as he felt the bite from Connor’s fist against the side of his nose like an electric surge through his body. Elias was thrown off-balance and crashed into Luis, his head ringing like a church bell. The red-hot pain radiated in his face. Everything went white for a moment, and Elias laughed at his own stupidity as his mouth filled with blood from his gushing nose.
From the corner of his eye, all he saw was the orange blur of the basketball whizzing through the air. It collided with Connor’s stomach, creating a resoundingsmack. The impact caused him to stumble backward. Nia then forcefully pushed Connor aside.
“Let’s go,” she urged, taking a firm grasp on Elias’s arm.
“Are there seriously no girls you can play with instead of these little assholes?” Elias asked, spitting blood onto the ground.
“I promise they’d hit you a lot harder.”
“I know you know that’s not what I meant.”
As they left the court, the boys began to argue, their harsh words echoing across the street. Elias’s admiration for Luis deepened as he defended Nia’s right to play with them. Clearly, Luis had a crush on Nia, but Elias’s little sister was completely oblivious. What Elias couldn’t figure out, however, was whyhisface was the one to suffer for it.
“You didn’t have to do that,” Nia said as they ascended the stairs.
He wiped his nose on the inside of his shirt. “I know.”
“You’re going to get in trouble again if Mom and Dad find out.”
“I know.”
Nia leaned her head against Elias’s arm. “Thanks.”
When they reached the apartment, Elias headed to the bathroom and splashed water on his face for relief. Blood that was thinned by the water dripped from his split lip. He reached for some blue mouthwash and swirled it around. When he spat it out, it was tinted pink.
Elias returned to his room, where he threw himself onto the bed, getting droplets of blood on the sheets. He turned over, and his eyes fell on his reflection in the mirror sitting on his bedside table. He got only a moment’s reprieve before a forceful knock boomed at his door, a sound he recognized too well—one that told him he’d fucked up.Again.He’d left bloodied tissues in the bathroom, so he knew it wouldn’t be long before he got that knock.
As the door creaked open, he braced himself for the upcoming lecture. His face was rigid, a mixture of apathy and defiance.
“If it isn’t Cassius Clay in his prime,” Dad teased, aiming a few air punches at Elias’s stomach. “Except Nia told me you folded like Cassius Play-Doh.”
Elias stared blankly at his father. “Go ahead and get the lecture over with.”
“All right, now, Salty Ray Robinson, take it easy. I’m messin’ with you.”
“Did you come here just to make jokes?” Elias asked. He covered his face with his arm.
“I’m here to pick up your sister,” Dad replied. “It’s my weekend.”
“You’re not helping.” Mom had appeared in the doorway, and she was talking to Elias’s father. “Just go get Nia ready. I’ll handle this.”
Elias’s father resigned easily, leaving the room to help Nia gather her things.
Being eighteen, Elias no longer had to go with Nia. He hated to leave his mother alone in the apartment now that William was gone too. But feeling the heat of his mother’s rage, Elias nearly called his father back to save him.
“This was your last chance, Eli,” Mom said resolutely. “You’re going to live with your uncle in North Carolina. We’ve talked about this before, and your father and I agree it’d be the best thing for you.”
Elias kept his face covered. “You’re not even going to let me explain what happened?”
