Page 101 of Whirlwind
“As much as I’d love for you two to bury your bullshit, I’m going to advise against it until after we win that cup,” Coach Cole says to Cillian and me. He wears a wide grin as he walks to his usual place in the locker room for his post-game speech.
There’s a text from Lottie waiting for me after I’ve showered and changed.
Lottie:
OMG, great game, bro! I wish I’d been there. CALL ME!
“What’s up, sister?” I ask, calling her on my drive home from the arena.
“Dude, you got beat up tonight.”
“You should see the other guy,” I say.
“I love it when you fight,” she says almost wistfully. Lottie is a pacifist in her own life, but damn, that girl loves a good sporting rumble. “That’s not why I called, though. Or you called…whatever. How’s Kit?”
“As well as can be expected, I guess. She’s got a lot to work through.” I don’t hold secrets from my family. They know all about my fuck up the night of the gala, and I filled them in on some of the details from my trip to Maine. Kit’s full story isn’t mine to tell, but they know enough.
“I’ve been thinking about her a lot. Every time I do, I start to cry. She really doesn’t have any family, and I can’t imagine what that’s like,” she says, even now, getting a little choked up. “Would it be okay if I texted her?”
“Of course it would, Lot.”
“Okay. I just…I just want her to know she’s not alone. You know?”
“I know, sweetheart. I’m sure she’d appreciate that,” I tell her, holding back my own emotion. How lucky am I to have such a loving and supporting family, and what have I ever done to deserve them? When someone like Kit gets so little, it makes me painfully aware of how unfair life can be.
“Even if you can’t fix things with her, I’m going to be her friend. Okay?”
“Yes, and I fucking love you for it.”
“I love you, too, Tyson,” she says before she goes on a rant about how I need to ice my face. “In fact, you should probably ice bath. Did you do that at the arena tonight?”
“Yes, Coach.”
“That’s good. You need to be ready for the next game. Dad says we’ll try to get to as many games as we can. Mom’s alreadyclearing the calendar of any other commitments. Whatever that means, it’s not like we’re the Kardashians or something.”
This then leads to a whole conversation about the latest celebrity gossip. Something about a book to movie controversy and lawsuit. I don’t know what the hell she’s talking about. It never matters, though; I just like listening to her.
Kit calls her ADHD her squirrel brain. Lottie is the same, jumping from one topic to another faster than I can sometimes keep up with. I’ve never minded it. It keeps my life interesting, and who wants a boring life?
28
Kit
Isee when Tyson gets home. Of course, I do. Since I’m sitting at my front window, waiting for him to get home. I’ve become that girl.
Willa called after the game. She told me he and Cillian had a “scuffle” because of the night of the gala. There’s no reason for me to feel badly about that, yet, I do. Or maybe badly isn’t the right word, I feelsorryfor Tyson.
I also feel turned on, because I watched the game, and his fight with Mullins in the third period was hot as fuck.
Again, I’ve become that girl.
For the last half hour, I’ve sat here at my window, staring at the dark house across the street and trying to sort through every feeling I’m having about the man that lives there. When I asked Willa what she thought I should do about Tyson, she told me to trust myself.
“For as long as I’ve known you, you’ve made the best decisions for yourself. Why would that change now?” she’d said.
Except, I haven’t always trusted my head. Especially now, because my grandmother’s last words linger and repeat on a steady loop.
Don’t follow in my footsteps.
