Chapter 12
I’m riding shotgun in Evan’s car, the windows are rolled down causing pieces of my hair to whip in the wind. I breathe in the sunshine with a big smile on my face. I push play on my favorite Ozzie mix and sing along. Evan’s been a little quiet on our drive to Trevor’s big game. I look over at him, his expression is so serious and his eyes are on the road. Which I am kind of use to because he is so cautious about everything, but I’m wondering why he’s not smiling.
I turn the dial down, “what’s on your mind?” he shakes his head but doesn’t say anything. I don’t understand why he’s not talking. I slump back in my seat and let my head thud against the headrest and I think back over today at school. Nothing major seemed to go down, except he wasn’t really talking or smiling. I knew something wasn’t right, “I know something’s wrong.”
Evan sighs and runs a hand through his hair before we stop at a traffic light, “I don’t want to bum you out on Trevor’s big day,” He thumps his thumb on the dashboard.
I watch his thumb as if it’s the most amazing thing in the world. Today is Trevor’s big day; today’s game would have college scouts all coming to watch him play and there’s not much that could ruin my excitement for it so I was down for whatever was going through Evan’s mind. I know Evan would want to know what was going on with me, “no, tell me.”
Evan pulls into a busy parking lot with kids from school screaming like lunatics; all with painted faces and bodies. Evan slams on his brakes as a crew of shirtless boys with maroon bodies point and scream and leap over his car. Evan blows his horn and yells out the window at them. I get a little nervous when one of them runs towards the car like a crazy person, but he stops and moons us. I immediately cover my eyes and squeal. Evan parks the car, looks at me and we both laugh. But it’s short-lived because whatever is on his mind is a heavy burden, “I wanted to keep this to myself, but I can’t lie to you.”
I gather my hands in my lap and fidget with my fingers, “go on.” I wait for him to spill the beans, because the anticipation is killing me.
“Mom’s being all crazy,” he shakes his head and then he looks me in the eye, “she’s on my case about me missing youth group tonight to be here, but it’s a big game for Trevor and I think I should be here.”
I nod confused, “but you’re on the team too, you kind of have to play.”
“We don’t usually have games on Wednesday nights but when we do mom makes me miss them for youth group.”
I avoid rolling my eyes. I mean I think that’s a little ridiculous because he is committed to the team and it should understandable that he misses youth group on a game night. But I knew very little since I was new to the whole church scene, “well I understand she doesn’t want you to miss but she did agree to you playing sports and that’s a commitment and it’s wrong for you not to show up,” I shrug and I really didn’t see any other way around it, “besides the scouts could take notice to you too.”
Evan laughs, “It all fits in with the answering to God and not man.” I frown I guess he did have a point. It was a yucky situation, but he already made his choice it looked liked. Evan sighs and looks at me, “but mom is taking it to a whole different level,” he looks out the window, “she’s blaming you and saying you’re having a negative impact on me.”
I’m taken aback. I’ve never met the woman, how could she say something like that about me when she doesn’t even know me, “I don’t understand.” I say.
Evan nods, “Exactly. I’ve never missed youth group before and I always give in to what she wants, so when I rebelled she was kind of shocked. So she started blaming you and saying you are a bad influence on me,” he takes my hand, “don’t worry I stood up for you,” and then he smiles. He smiles his smile that tells me everything is going to be okay. “And I told her you’ve been coming to youth group with me and you’re an amazing person.” I smile a little. He shakes his head, “Anyways, I’ve always hated missing games, like you said it’s a commitment thing.”
I squeeze his hand relieved that he isn’t dumping me, I kind of thought the way he was acting and talking that he was going to break up with me for sure, “well I don’t want to cause you any problems with your parents.” I say, even though I think his mom sounds annoying.
Evan unbuckles his seatbelt and grabs his bag from the back of the car, “well it’s just my mom you have to worry about. My dad’s pretty chill. And I’m not worried about a thing,” I get out of the car and he kisses my nose, “I just don’t like the idea of anybody thinking badly about you.” I smile and give him a good luck kiss before he heads to the locker room. Then he frowns at me, “who are you sitting with at the game?”
“Melissa will be here later.”
He backs away and walks towards the school to the locker room and calls over his shoulder, “Just wondered if it’d be Kim or Kammie.”
I frown after him shielding the sun from my eyes. I doubt Kim would be at the game, then again maybe she would be I don’t know. I had been wondering if she would show up or not. Trevor had asked me a hundred times if I would text her for him and see how she was doing. I had already tried texting her multiple times and her only response to me was that she was going to do some soul searching and she really needed people in her life that were faithful and honest. So basically she was ditching me as a friend. I did text her that I missed her. I didn’t get a response. That had been several months ago. Several months ago and Trevor was still a complete wreck.
Multiple girls have been trying to sink their claws into him; all in vain because he only has eyes for Kim. A little too late, but he’s definitely learned his lesson. And as for Kammie we’re not as close as we once were. I’m not sure why but there is a major strain on our friendship. I mean we still talk but it all kind of seems superficial and she’ll come over sometimes, but it’s not the same. Ever since we started dating we don’t have time for each other. Well I have time for her, it just seems she doesn’t have time for me. Maybe it’s the guilt that keeps her away, or maybe it’s because Trevor just acts so different around her, I don’t think she feels completely comfortable anymore. It’s like Trevor is scared to go near her, he told me it’s because he doesn’t want to do anything that would blow his chance with Kim. Blake still comes around though, all the time. He doesn’t really seem affected by this which is strange, he just hates that Trevor is so upset.
I search the crowd for someone I know that I can talk to until Melissa gets here. Kammie should be here since Blake is on the team too. I whip out my phone and shoot her a text r u here?. I stuff my hands in my pockets and walk over to the concession stand to grab a drink while I wait for a reply. The line is a little longer than I expected. I look around the field and see all kinds of people frolicking and having fun. Someone behind me clears their throat, “you excited about the game?”
I turn around and see it’s Blake, “hey, aren’t you suppose to be in the locker room with the rest of the team?”
Blake waggles his brows, “I’m a rebel.”
I roll my eyes, “where’s Kammie?”
He stuffs his hands in his pockets and his face looks all serious. But he kind of always looks like that, always brooding and mysterious. I tilt my head and the sunlight glinting from his hair makes me notice he’s frosted pieces of his hair with a soft blonde making him look even more like a vampire diaries hottie, “at a friend’s house or something,” he shrugs and looks a little awkward.
I frown against the sun; I frown against the little pangs in my heart at his revelation, “where has she been? I mean she hardly talks to me much less comes over anymore,” at this my pocket vibrates but I don’t bother getting it out. It could be Kammie but it’s most likely Melissa announcing her arrival.
Blake raises his shoulder and lowers it, I don’t know if I am crazy or not but it seems like his shoulders and chest have started filling out. Do guys hit growth spurts when they’re eighteen? I mentally shake myself and focus on his words, “it’s hard for her y
ou know? She feels bad about what she did and she doesn’t feel comfortable around Trevor.”
I nod, “yeah well maybe they both should have thought about things before they did what they did,” I stomp a pebble in the ground and burry it in the dirt with the toe of my shoe, “it’s like why should I have to lose Kammie and Kim? I mean I miss my friends.”
Blake honestly looks like he feels for me, but I think I feel sorry for him. He’s tied down to a girl who can’t even be bothered to show up to an important game of his; she can’t even be bothered to tell her best friend what’s going on, “I better get back to the locker room. I saw you standing over here and well I just was going to say hey.”
I think that’s a little weird but I don’t say anything else. He steps out of line and walks away. I rise to my tip toes so he can see me over the crowd, “hey! I like your hair,” he gives me a smile and shakes his head and then I scream, “Oh and knock em’ dead tonight!” He nods at me and smiles. I turn back around and when it’s my turn I order my coke.
I head back to the stands digging in my pocket to check my phone. My heart leaps in my chest when I see it’s a text from Kim. Hey do you care if I sit with you? I wipe my eyes and reread the text two or three more times because I can’t believe she’s texted me. I shoot her a text back and ask where she is. She replies within seconds and tells me to wait at the bottom of the bleachers because she sees me. So I do. I’m feeling a little nervous when I see her loping down the stands and my eyes pop out of my head when I see she’s wearing a jersey with Trevor’s name and number on it. She shrugs, “what? He’s the only reason I came.”
I smile and nod, “I like it.” At first we just stand there but then I decide to go for the kill and I squeeze her guts out. She giggles and pries herself out of my grasp, “hey you’re killing me.” At first it’s really awkward and then we catch up for lost time. I’m careful not to talk about Trevor which is killing me. We make our way up the bleachers and then head back down and decide to go for the bottom behind the team’s bench. Kim turns a strained look in my direction and she doesn’t look at me, she just stares at the field, “where’s Kammie? I thought ya’ll were like attached to the hip.”
I sigh and slurp on my straw, “yeah I did too. She hasn’t been coming around or talking to me.”
Kim raises a brow, “well,” is all she said on the matter at first but then she puts on some lip gloss and looks at me, “maybe I would have came around to you sooner had I known,” she shrugs. “I just didn’t want to see her because it hurts,” she sighs, “and it still stings, but I’ll get completely over it one day.”
I didn’t want to press the issue too badly but I had to for Trevor, “so you don’t plan on working things out?”
Kim makes a face, “I mean it comes in waves. Sometimes I am ready to pick up where we left off and other times I am like okay if he’s cheated once he’ll do it again,” she turns her eyes into slits, “and I so don’t want to be married and have him cheat on me.”
I sigh. I completely understand and if I didn’t know Trevor like I did I would say she is being smart; but I do know him and I do believe him when he says he will never make another mistake like this again, “he’s been going to youth group with us, and he told me he’d go to church with me when I go for the first time,” Kim smiles to herself and I can see she’s a little torn, “and I know my cousin. I know he’s beating himself up over this and he should be, but I know he won’t do anything like that again.” I grit my teeth because I need her to believe in Trevor, “I just know it.”
Kim pulls her shades out of her bag and puts her eyes on the field as the players run out in their places, “well I still think we should just kind of be friends and not really date. I mean this is senior year, we’re going to college and we’ll be starting our lives for real,” she licks her lips, “what if we go far from each other? How can I trust him then and I meant what I said that, I love him too much to hold him back.”
I clap and scream when I see Evan, Trevor and Blake hustle to their places. I was so into cheering that I hadn’t noticed Melissa had slipped in next to me until she yelled in my ear. I shoot her a glare and she sticks her tongue at me. I lean in Kim’s ear, “you should come over after the game.” She shoots me a weary look but doesn’t reject the idea.