Page 35 of Bending Under Pressure

“Yeah, I know,” I sigh. “I canceled yesterday, so she’s here today.” I lift my head to glance past Haley. Natalie and presumably Keira are standing underneath an umbrella only a few feet away from my parents.

“Are you going to be okay?”

My gaze drops back to Haley. “Yeah.”

Her voice lowers with her sincerity. “Sorry

you lost. I wish we could go to Dead Man’s Curve, but I have to go with Jess and it’s raining.”

I dip my head. “Maybe Cam and I should sneak out and pay y’all a visit. Thanks for checking on me.” I kiss her cheek and take her hand in mine. “Let’s go face everyone.”

“What?” she squeaks next to me. “I’m going with you?”

“Yep.”

My parents’ eyes are on me when I don’t approach them first. I might not have told them about Natalie because I was hoping she would bail on me. No such luck.

“Hey, Keelan,” Natalie says with a smile. She touches my arm and adds, “I’m sorry about the game.”

“It happens,” I shrug, my eyes darting to the girl next to her. She looks a lot like Natalie, about the same height already. She would be an eighth grader, if she’s three years younger than I am.

“This is your sister, Keira. She wanted to come meet you.”

“Hey.” I give her a nervous smile.

The girl suddenly lunges forward and gives me a hug. “It’s so nice to finally meet you!” she exclaims while I stand frozen in shock.

I refuse to let go of Haley’s hand, even though she loosens her hold for me to, and my other hand is holding my helmet and pads, so all I can do is stand here. “You, too.”

She takes a step back with a large grin. Her eyes move to my left, so I add, “This is my friend, Haley. Hales, this is Natalie and Keira.”

“Nice to meet you,” Haley tells them.

They nod their head in agreement.

“So, did the Sandersons not come to your game tonight? I hope it wasn’t because of me,” Natalie says.

“Uh, no. My parents,” I might have emphasized that, “are here.” My eyes find Mom’s and I tilt my head with a lift of my chin for them to come over. But it’s not just them, it’s Cam and Jess too. Once they are standing next to me, I reluctantly introduce them. “Natalie, Keira, this is my mom, Octavia, and my dad, John.” I swear Natalie flinches a little. “Plus, my brother, Cameron, and his girlfriend, Jess.”

Mom and Dad are flawless with the usual pleasantries, even though I’ve totally caught them off-guard. The guilt is already eating me alive.

“It was nice of you to come to Keelan’s game, Natalie,” Mom says. “I hate to be the one to ruin any fun, but we should be getting home. The boys have an early morning tomorrow.” Plus, the rain is beginning to come down harder. It’ll be pouring any second now.

Natalie nods in agreement. “Yes, we don’t want them out too late,” she replies. Why is she saying we? She has no say in when I go home. She turns to me. “I’ll see you soon?”

“Sure.”

I get an awkward hug from her and then another breath-stealing hug from Kiera before they walk away. Who knew the girl had so much strength? At least she’s excited about me. Better than the opposite. Mom is eyeing me, and I just know I have some explaining to do when we get home. Mom isn’t much of a fan of surprises, especially ones like this.

“We’re going to walk the girls to Jess’s car,” I tell her. “Then we’ll be on the way home.”

“You better,” is all she says before Dad ushers her away with a laugh. He enjoys Mom’s behavior too much.

“Kiera looks like she’s dying for a brother,” Jess says halfway to her car.

“She did seem really excited,” Haley adds.

“How old is she?” Jess asks.

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