Page 83 of Steeling Her
“What did he say?” Austin turns to face me, replicating my dad, and I shake vigorously.
“Trust me, you don’t want to know,” I assure him, not taking my eyes off of Nick, the gorgeous guy I’ve grown feelings for. It makes me sound so weak, but he looks so sexy in his football uniform. He looks at the camera for a spilt second and my stomach flutters, knowing that he can’t see me but still affecting me.
“What’s his name?” Austin asks while grinding his gleaming white teeth. My brother is so protective.God help the girl he marries. If he ever marries.
“Ryan.” I cuddle my face into my dad’s neck, not wanting to do this right now. My dad’s pulse is beating against my face. His heart is beating hard because he’s annoyed again.
“Ryan what?” My dad pushes for a definite answer. This has not been my day.
“Averman.” My words tickle my dad’s neck as he strokes my hair like I’ve always loved. I shiver from how good it feels. “I’m going to have to teach Mr. Averman some manners about how to treat girls right. Especially my daughter.” I close my eyes, the scent of my dad surrounding me.
I drifted off with a blank dream. I remember nothing but blackness around me. I didn’t get to finish watching the game, but I had woken up for a few seconds when I felt people kiss my head and murmur a goodbye. I had an exhausting day, trying to calm my dad and brothers down from the two boys causing havoc in my life right now, not to mention a certain girl beginning with an “M” who likes creating more drama for me.
The truth is, I do still miss him.
The next morning, I’m being released with take home antivirals and strict orders to sleep a full eight hours a night with plenty of fluids. No meat, just vegetables, and to get some fresh air when I get headaches. The doctor has written down a few things for me and has also given me a doctor’s note describing the problem to the college admin.
I’m sitting on the bed, watching my mom pack my clothes back into my suitcase. Layer by layer, she folds them over and sets them into place like a jigsaw puzzle. Then, my dad enters back into the room to ask if we’re ready to go. We both say yes as my mom zips up my case, and we make our way down to the elevators, but not before I say a quick goodbye to Mrs. Lauretta. She’s such a sweet lady for talking to me each morning. She also has a huge thing for Chris, so he kisses her goodbye, making her laugh.
The dull thumps of the wheel from my suitcase moving over the gap between the tiles occupies my head.
Ba-dumph. Ba-dumph. Ba-dumph.
Chris presses the button on the door and it opens wide after a while. There is a young couple in the elevator. The guy’s eyes widen to an astronomical amount at the sight of my dad and brothers.
“Holy shit! Man, I’m a huge fan of you guys!” he blurts out while his girlfriend face palms herself, making me laugh. The guy nervously fishes out his phone and asks, “Do you mind if I get a quick picture of you guys?” My brothers laugh at him and position themselves around the guy while his girlfriend takes his photo.
“Would you like one too? I can take it?” my mom asks his girlfriend and she thanks her while handing over her phone.
“I’m sorry, I actually don’t know who you guys are, but I know it’s probably something to do with football?” And I burst out laughing again at her. She’s so tiny when standing next to my dad and brothers, who are giants compared to her. She shuffles herself into the middle. “He’s obsessed with anything football!” She rolls her eyes before smiling at the camera.
“Then you don’t deserve a goddamn picture with them, babe!” Her boyfriend playfully jabs back, making us all chortle. “Thank you so much!” He smiles at the photos my mom took. “What brings y’all down here midseason?” he asks as we descend to the ground floor.
“This one caught a virus and decided to not wake up, so we all came to see if she was alright.” Chris points his thumb in my direction with a roll of his eyes. I kick his shin because he’s making me sound like a burden. But he then wraps me up in a hug, peppering kisses on my head.
“I hope you’re feeling better.” The girl smiles with a look of pity on her face.
“I’m feeling better, thank you. I’m glad to be out,” I shyly admit. I’m never good at talking to people. I get so nervous like I’m not prepared. I need to be prepared most of the time or else I end up saying something stupid. The door opens for us all to walk out and we say goodbye to the nice couple.
“They were lovely.” My mom sighs, watching them leave to the left of us while we walk out the entrance. A gust of wind blows my hair around, and it’s quickly met with yells and flashes of cameras. My dad tucks me under his arm and my mom occupies the other side. Austin and Chris walk in front of us, guiding us out to the car park.
“I didn’t think they knew we were here!” my dad says with a growl as he’s looking around. He knows I hate this commotion. I grip him tight. He feels me pulling myself closer to his body while we maneuver through the sea of bodies calling “over here!”, “how are you feeling?”, and “any update on the team?” They repeat their questions over and over, along with other questions about my brothers’ newest female conquest. Once we’re in the car park, my dad lifts me up into the car and shuts the door once Chris climbs in beside me. I’m in the middle of my two older brothers and my parents are up at the front. Lots of photographers surround the car, bellowing for us to look at them.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
The car horn echoes around the darkness, and he starts to drive.
“I will run these sons of bitches over if they don’t get out of my damn way!” my dad yells out at them, hearing his southern accent come out. It always does when he’s yelling angrily at people. You can hear it on TV sometimes when he’s yelling at his players. “MOVE!” He swats his hand in the direction to get out of his way. Once they do, he takes off and rams his foot on the peddle.
“Jesus, Dad!” Chris holds onto me and Austin grips my hand.
“Sorry, kids, I just don’t want them bothering you. You guys may be used to it in LA with whatever girl is on your arm, but I know Carter isn’t. I don’t need her face everywhere right now.” My dad swerves out of the hospital once he puts the ticket in for the barriers. He twists and turns, allowing me and my brothers to slide from side to side in the back.
I start laughing because I feel like a rag doll. My dad looks at me in the rear view mirror while my mom twists her body around to face me. “There’s that beautiful smile!” My dad sends me a relieved look. I have his smile while I have my mom’s looks. “Last one!” He turns, and I crash into Austin while Chris is trying to hold his body weight off me so I’m not crushed by him.
“Sorry,” I mumble to my brother, who smiles down at me.
“I was more worried about fatty beside you crushing you, C-dog.” Austin points his chin to Chris, who reaches across to smack him on the head. Austin opens his mouth to try to bite him back like they used to do when we were younger. All of us sit up straight as we continue the drive back to campus.
