Page 107 of Bad Teammate
Sasha didn’t need me to translate what Derek was saying. He knew. Ashamed, he nodded and apologized in Russian.
“I’m so sorry,” he said, so I translated.
“You’re sorry? You’resorry?” Derek closed in on Sasha in a second. Clenching two fistfuls of Sasha’s shirt, he threw him up against the wall and kept him pinned there. Sasha cowered helplessly. Derek hadn’t fought back during their skirmish earlier—but seeing them like this, it was obvious who would win arealfight between them. I was worried that Derek was going to swing at him. If he did, Sasha might take back everything he told me just a little while ago.
“Please don’t hit him, Derek!” I pleaded.
The protruding veins in Derek’s wide neck throbbed as he stared down a defeated Sasha, face-to-face.
“You’re lucky I care about your sister,” he snarled.
Begrudgingly, he let Sasha go.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
Derek marched over to one of his overturned couches, stood it upright and sat in it. He buried his face in his hands and let out a wounded groan. “They were dead-right about Niko. He’s hopeless. Absolutely hopeless.”
I didn’t know who ‘they’ were, but I didn’t bother translating.
Instead, I sat next to Derek, touching my hand to his thigh. “He’s not hopeless. I’ve told him everything, and I really think he understands what he did was wrong.”
“You think he understands?” Derek laughed with disbelief. “Look what he did to my house. Who doessomething like this?”
“I know. Believe me, I know. But I’m telling you, I think he hit rock bottom today.”
“Doubt it,” he said. “How does this even happen?”
I could’ve explained it to Derek myself, but I thought it should come from Sasha and be in his own words. So, I translated as Sasha explained what happened last night. He apologized profusely for the mess, promised to clean it all up, buy him a new TV and replace the coffee table and the window and pay for any other damages. He apologized for the fight at practice, too, and promised he’d apologize to the rest of the team for causing a distraction as soon as he could.
“My sister means so much to me, Derek,” he said. “We don’t always get along, no, but she’s helped me out so much. Our parents are gone now. She’s all I got left. I know that doesn’t make my behavior okay, but … that’s why I freaked out. But if youtrulydo care about her … I promise you, I won’t get in the way.”
Derek blinked as he processed what he was being told. “Really?”
“Really,” Sasha said. “In fact, I’d be pretty happy if you end up together. You’re one of my best friends.”
“Jesus,” Derek muttered to me. “I’d hate to see what he does to his enemies.”
“But I really think he means it, Derek,” I said.
Derek put his arm around me and pulled me near. I wondered if it was a test, to see if Sasha would charge him like a bull.
Sasha didn’t, thankfully.
“Listen, Niko,” he said. “Idocare about your sister. The way I feel about Katerina, I’ve never felt for anyone else, not even close. Everyone’s giving me shit because I said I love her, but I’m not afraid to say it. When you meet the person you’re meant to be with, youknow. I love her and I won’t let her go. I hope you can understand that.”
Sasha nodded. “I understand that now. Hearing you talk like that helps a lot. I’m sorry I freaked out. There’s a lot of crazy shit going on in my head all the time.” He waved his arms around at the living room mess. “It’s not an excuse, but when I did all this, I was blackout wasted.”
“That’s another thing,” Derek said. “You’vegotto stop drinking. It’s a problem for you, bud.”
“I know. I’m planning on quitting.”
“No—planning isn’t enough. You need to quit rightnow.You need to never have a drop for the rest of your life.”
Sasha quietly bobbed his head in agreement.
“They’re trying to trade you right now,” Derek said.
I gasped. “What?”
