Page 62 of Bad Teammate
“I went to bed fairly early, but I had a great time at the party. I loved meeting all the players’ wives.”
He didn’t say a word. He was going back to sleep, wasn’t he?
I shook him by his shoulders. “Sa~sha. Wake up!”
He wailed. “Why do you sound so happy?”
“Because I am!”
“Well, you’re being annoying.”
“Good.” I jumped higher, my feet landing on the mattress on either side of his body. “Annoying you is part of my job.”
He grunted and waved his hand at me. “You’re being a terrorist. Go away.”
“No.” I stopped jumping. “Seriously, get up. I looked at the schedule on your refrigerator. You’ve got a morning skate at ten o’clock. So you’d better get your butt up and moving, or else you’re going to be late.”
“Ah. Now you sound more like yourself.”
Still, he didn’t move.
I jumped on top of the brother-shaped bulge beneath the comforter and squeezed him tight. “Can I come with you to the morning skate?”
“Why would you want to?” he asked, his voice muffled beneath the covers. “There’s nothing to see. It’s just us skating around an empty rink for an hour. Plus a bunch of annoying reporters.”
“I want to see what your life as a pro athlete is like. Why do you think I wanted to visit you, anyway?”
He scoffed. “Good question. I’ve honestly got no idea.”
“Sheesh. Cut the attitude. That’s no way to talk to your sister.” I rabbit-punched him through the heavy comforter. “Can I come or not?”
His silence told me he didn’t want me to come. I decided to sweeten the pot.
“I’ll make you eggs for breakfast if you let me come.”
He groaned. “Fine.”
With the promise of breakfast, Sasha tossed the covers off his body and slowly dangled his legs over the edge of the bed. He looked so haggard and rough in the mornings, like a stray dog that lived in the streets.
Wait a minute.
My eyes narrowed at him. “What time did you get home last night, anyway?”
“Why, Katya?” He kept his eyes trained on his bare feet. “Worried I’d catch you doing something you weren’t supposed to?”
What?
Adrenaline pumped through my blood. Did he know something? Had we been caught?
No.
It was impossible.
If he’d caught us, Derek would’ve warned me. He was just being my weird and paranoid brother.
“No,” I said, “I’m worried I’d catch you coming home wasted. Like you sounded on the phone a few days ago.”
“Look, I had a couple drinks. But I’m fine. I just need to eat breakfast.”
