Page 30 of Puck'N Enemy
Coach has another coughing fit, forcing me to rein in my rage.
He sips water from a bottle by his side. When he’s finally better, he looks at me calmly.
“Dylan got involved with a criminal like Pete because he wanted to help you,” Coach says slowly. “He became a drug peddler to get the money to help you and your family. I’m not supporting his ways but the kid had his heart in the right place.”
I stay quiet, remembering the times he’d slip me thick wads of cash.
“I delivered pizzas to some guys today and they gave me a fat tip,”Dylan’s words ring in my mind.
Initially, I didn’t want to take his money but he forced me to take it.
“Take the money or I’ll feel like an outsider,”Dylan would say to me.“I won’t believe you love me if you don’t take the money.”
He’d dig into my emotions, the ones who wanted to chain Dylan to my side.
At the same time, my mom was constantly harassed by the loan shark and his awful partners. I’d find her crying and worrying about me and my sister.
The little money I made from working part-time jobs was never enough to pay the installments. So, I took the money Dylan gave me.
“Is that how he got involved with Pete?” I slowly ask.
Coach nods.
“Even a son-of-a-bitch like Pete Volkov could see Dylan was loyal and hardworking,” Coach Becker says with a grim look on his face. “He wanted Dylan to become his right-hand man and work for him.”
“It still doesn’t change anything, though. Dylan chose to side with him and hurt me.”
Coach shakes his head. “Pete threatened to kill you if Dylan didn’t make a clean break with you. The asshole didn’t like someone else having a claim on him.”
I’m reminded of the dark emotions swirling in Pete’s eyes the day I met him. He’d been possessive of Dylan and hated it when I showed up to threaten him.
“Did he want Dylan in the same way I wanted him?”
“Maybe,” Coach says, his eyes looking into mine. “But that’s not the most important thing. Dylan didn’t have a choice back then. He was made to feel that as long as he stayed with you, you wouldn’t be safe. So, he did things the way he thoughtwould fix everything. He cornered you and beat you up, ensuring you’d see the act as betrayal.”
“Why didn’t he explain this stuff to me?” I say, feeling a chill spread through me.
“Dylan didn’t think he deserved you,” Coach says in a low voice.
“That’s bullshit!”
“You need to put yourself in his shoes, Logan,” Coach says calmly. “He grew up in foster homes. He never had a family or any friends who stayed by his side. You’re the only one who made him feel the warmth of a constant friend. He loved you and when that kid loves, he’s willing to go all the way for you. Just look at me.” He gestures at himself. “It’d be so much easier on him if he stayed on campus, but he’s here, making sure I’m okay.”
I go silent.
The guy Coach just described was the Dylan I knew.
He was hard and sharp around the edges, impossible to get through, but once you got past that, he was the best friend and lover you could ask for.
No matter how betrayed I felt, I could never make sense of Dylan’s actions.
The pieces of the puzzle are slowly falling into place, giving me a full view of what happened all those years ago.
“Did Dylan run to escape Pete?” I ask after a while.
“Yes,” Coach affirms my guess. “He didn’t want to be used by that asshole again.”
“Pete was arrested back then,” I say. “I remember seeing the news on TV. Dylan could’ve stayed back and explained everything to me. I’d have understood his reasons and forgiven him. He didn’t have to leave!”
