Page 63 of Tell Me Softly
“Whatever, it’s still my fault.”
“It’s Marissa’s fault for turning around and puking when she should have been there to catch you. If she was sick, she shouldn’t have tried to compete,” my brother said.
“What none of you should have done is get drunk the day before the fucking competition,” Kam roared. I had to admit, I agreed with her. But I kept a cool head and said, “Taylor, go warm up. The game starts in an hour, and you all need to start getting ready.”
“I want to stay with her,” he responded, not even looking at me.
“Taylor, please, I’m fine,” Kam said with a pleading expression.
“I don’t care what you said. You hit your head. You need to go to the hospital.”
The doctor came in just then and replied, “Trust me, it looked worse than it was. She was lucky. She’ll probably get a knot on her head and a little bruising, but she’s not showing any signs of concussion. I recommend you take her back to her room for rest and keep a close eye on her for the next twenty-four hours. If she throws up or if something doesn’t feel right, then she should go to the emergency room.”
Kam nodded, climbed down from the stretcher, and walked out with my brother and me.
“Do you want me to go back with you?” my brother asked, wracked with worry. There was something strange in his eyes: care, a softness. Was Taylor falling in love with Kam? That made me sick, but I covered it up as best as I could.
“Taylor, don’t make me repeat this again. Go practice. Now. I’ll worry about her. You’re the team captain now. You need to show leadership.” I could tell Taylor was cursing me inside. But Kam finally managed to convince him.
“Tay, if you don’t go, I’m going to get mad for real.”
“Fine,” he said, disappointed, and giving me a threatening look. “As soon as the game’s over, I’m coming to check on you.” He leaned in and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Kam was tense and said nothing as Taylor walked away. The air was thick with tension when we were alone. After a few seconds, she broke the silence.
“Are you going to give me another week’s detention because he kissed me?”
Well…someone was angry, then. Instead of giving in, I said, “Come on. The bus driver’s outside; he’s going to take us back to the motel.”
“What if I don’t want to go to the stupid motel, though? What if I want to stay here and watch your brother play? What if I don’t want to do what you tell me?”
I took a deep breath.
“Kamila, please. Get in the bus, go to your room, and let us play our game in peace.”
Instead of arguing, she started walking at a brisk clip. When she’d climbed the steps inside the bus, she turned around and said, “You don’t need to come along. Actually, I’d prefer you don’t. I don’t want you to have to act like it matters to you whether I make it back safe and sound or not. I realize you need to pretend you’re a good person to feel better about yourself. But you can skip it. Your job is to coach the basketball team. And it seems like that’s all you can handle.”
I was livid. I wanted to give her a piece of my mind, but just as I was about to open my mouth, I heard Coach Klebb shouting at me from the doorway.
“Thiago! Come here and explain to me why the hell I have half the team throwing up in the locker room!”
Kam smiled smugly and turned around, the doors closing in my face behind her. I looked back at Klebb. I wanted to ask him how it was only my fault no one supervised them last night.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Kami
One of the girls from the team texted me the whole night, so I was able to follow the game minute by minute.
And they won.
They won because they were prepared. Unlike us. Just the thought of it made me furious. Kate had no idea how to lead the squad. I got it: her dream was to be the captain, but it wasn’t just a title, it meant responsibility. You couldn’t party the day before a competition. No matter how much you felt like it.
I never liked being mean, but if I had to, I could do it. And that only made the celebration sweeter when we finally got to go home with our trophies.
I was anxious to see the guys on the team, even for a breath of fresh air. But I stayed in my room. My head was killing me. I still couldn’t believe they’d just let me flop down on the floor like that. I was furious.
I heard everyone come back around seven. All the guys were shouting and clapping. They were so excited; I was sure you could hear them from miles away. Ellie opened the door a few seconds later.
“How are you?” she asked, worried about me, hanging her head.
