Page 86 of Fair Catch
“I figured we could grab some grub at the caf before you have the pleasure of practicing in this frigid rain,” he said in a fake British accent like he was a maître d’.
“Not h—”
“I don’t care if you’re not hungry,” he said before I could finish, his voice more stern now. “You need to eat.”
I didn’t have the energy to argue, so I simply gestured for him to lead the way.
I locked up behind us when we were out of the dorm, my heart racing as other teammates filled the hallway from the doors on either side. I didn’t dare look behind me to that last door on the left, didn’t dare turn to see if Zeke was one of them.
Just the thought of seeing him had my stomach in knots, and Gavin glared at me like he knew it, but didn’t say a word.
When we were outside, I popped a big black umbrella over the two of us, walking beside Gavin’s chair as we slowly made our way across campus.
“How’s practice going?”
I sniffed. “Fine.”
“Just fine? How’s your backup doing? Think he’s ready for Saturday?”
“He’s not my backup anymore,” I reminded my brother. “I’m his. And he’ll be great, I’m sure.”
“Not as good as you.”
“As long as he makes the kicks, it doesn’t matter. I’m easily replaced.”
Gavin frowned at that, nudging me. “Hey, that’s not true and you know it.”
I just shrugged, zipping up my rain jacket as the wind started blowing the drops sideways.
“I was with Zeke last night,” Gavin commented after a while. When I didn’t acknowledge, he added, “He’s miserable, you know.”
“He should be.”
Gavin gave me a look. “Why, because he messed up and made a mistake?”
“That boy is a mistake.”
“What is your problem?” Gavin pulled to a stop, waiting until I did the same. “He’s like our brother, but you’re treating him like a criminal.”
“He almost got me kicked out of school!” I yelled, loud enough that a few students gave us wary glances as they passed. “And look what he did to you!”
My hand flung out before I could think better of it, and my brother’s face went lax, his eyes reflecting a mixture of hurt and surprise that I’d said it.
I sighed. “I’m sorry, I just…” I sniffed, nodding toward the cafeteria. “Come on, let’s get out of the rain.”
“What happened between you two?”
I stiffened at his words. “You know what happened. He plagiarized my—”
“There’s more to it than that, Riley, and to be frank, it really pisses me off that you think I’m dumb enough to not know better.”
I swallowed, and for the first time in days I felt my eyes stinging with tears. There was nothing I hated more than fighting with my brother.
“Gav, please,” I managed, finally looking him in the eye. “I can’t do this right now.”
“Do what?”
“Anything other than try to just fucking wake up every morning,” I confessed, eyes glossing over. “I know you deserve more answers. And I know you hate to see me like this, to see your best friend like…” I shook my head, because even thinking about Zeke made everything inside me shut down. “I know it’s hard. But right now, I really need you to just… do the twin thing, okay? Be here for me without asking anything of me.”
Do the twin thing.
That was the one card we could pull to make the other shut up.
Gavin let out a sigh through his nose, chewing the inside of his bottom lip before he gave one short nod.
I nodded back my thanks, and then we went the rest of the way to the cafeteria in silence, eating most of our breakfast the same way.
I was so exhausted by the time I made it to the field that you’d have thought it was the end of the day rather than the beginning, and my body protested as I changed into my practice jersey and pads. I opted for a thermal underneath, though I knew it would do nothing against the icy rain.
I’d nearly escaped before Zeke walked through the locker room doors, but when he did, he sucked all the air out with him.
He looked exactly how I felt, the skin under his eyes baggy and swollen, his face ashen and long, entire body slumped like he was carrying the weight of the world where no one could see. Raindrops clung to his hair and eyebrows, rolling off his jacket and onto the floor as he ambled in. His eyes found mine as soon as he entered the room, and he stopped mid-step, like he’d just stumbled upon a wild bear in the woods.
I’d done my best to avoid him since Coach pulled us into his office, and for the most part, I’d succeeded. I ignored his only text and every call that came through, from early in the morning until late at night. I made sure I was gone when Clay said he was coming by, and during practice, I stayed at the other end of the field or sideline whenever possible, only being in his vicinity when ordered to do so by our coaches.
