by Maisy Morgan
“I’d like for you and Lilly to come to Tripp’s game tonight if you’re able,” Mary said, and Matthew’s face lit up.
“Really?” he asked.
“Yes,” Mary said. “I know it would mean a lot to Tripp if you were both there.”
“We’ll be there,” Matthew said. “Wouldn’t miss it.”
“Thanks, Mom,” Lilly said, smiling at her. “Have you two gotten any further along on Donnie’s case?”
“Not quite,” Preston said. “I don’t suppose you can tell us anything about Sven’s assistant Tasha, can you?”
“Nice woman,” Matthew said. “I think she’s the one who gave my headshot to Sven during the audition phase. At least that’s what Donnie told me.”
“Yeah, that’s what Sven was saying,” Preston said. “Any idea if there was any sort of friendship—romantic or otherwise—between Tasha and Donnie outside of a professional one?”
“I’m not sure,” Matthew said. “He never said anything to me.”
Preston nodded. “Well, one step at a time. We’ll figure out what happened to Donnie, Matthew. I won’t give up until I do.”
Chapter Sixteen
Tripp enjoyed playing on the school’s junior varsity team, but frankly, after his star moment on the varsity team earlier in the season, junior varsity had lost some of its magic touch. But tonight he felt a certain level of revived energy for the junior varsity games. His mom was there, and he was as determined as ever to make this a blowout game. As the only player on the team who had ever played on varsity with the upperclassmen, Tripp had become a sort of leader on the field. The team looked to him for guidance, and the junior varsity coach relied on Tripp to make some of the calls.
In the crowd, Tripp could see his family and friends amongst the fairly empty bleachers—quite different from his one experience playing alongside Bradley and the upperclassmen. Even still, seeing Hannah and Draco cheering and clapping on the front row put a grin on his face. And, to add to the hype, was his mom and her boyfriend, Matthew. His mom had gone out and bought a shirt from a local sporting goods store that depicted the Whitewater wildcat, and Matthew had taken it a step further—he had painted his face like this was some big NFL game. It was a little embarrassing, but the truth was it made Tripp smile from under his helmet and mouthguard.
As he had hoped, the game was a washout. He had gotten the junior varsity players really pumped up in the locker room at the start of the evening’s game, and they had come in hitting hard. The game soon came to a crushing end, their team coming up victorious 41-10. Tripp celebrated with his team only briefly in the locker room before changing and hurrying to meet his friends and family in the parking lot.
“Super awesome, kiddo,” Matthew told him, and Tripp smiled.
“Your makeup’s running, there, Matthew,” Tripp teased—the school's colors had smeared terribly on his face by the end of the game.
“You did awesome,” Hannah told Tripp and offered up a high five.
“Thanks, Hannah,” he said, smiling at her. He was surprised she had made it to the game; she had skipped school that day, and he assumed that she was sick since she had missed the entirety of the day, and not just drama this time. He allowed himself to wonder for a second how she was before the hype and excitement of the game shocked him back to reality.
“You killed it,” Draco said.
His grandmother suddenly nudged him to get his attention. She was pointing. He turned to see where she was directing his attention to, and he saw Coach Lawson, the varsity team’s head football coach, waving him over. “I’ll be right back,” Tripp told his friends and family who were all gathered around Preston’s truck.
He scurried across the parking lot towards Coach Lawson, smiling. “Didn’t realize you were at the game tonight,” Tripp said.
“Yeah,” Coach Lawson said, smirking. “Getting close to the end of the season. I like to check out the junior varsity kids to see how they’re coming along. Got to say, Tripp, I’m impressed. I mean, you already impressed me that night you filled in on varsity. I got my eye on you, kid.”
“Really?” Tripp asked.
“I hope you’re planning on sticking with it,” the coach said. “Because I’d like to see you on varsity come next year.”
“Wait, seriously?” Tripp questioned, his eyes glistening. “I’ll just be a sophomore, though.”
“There’s always a handful of sophomores who make the cut,” Coach Lawson said. “And you will definitely be one of them if you keep up the good work. Besides, you already are good buddies with half of next year’s seniors. Bradley’s been whispering in my ear like crazy that I need to keep an eye on you, and I’m glad I listened to him. I’m impressed.”
“I’ll definitely be trying out next year,” Tripp assured him. “I would love to be able to play on a team with Bradley before he graduates.”
“Good,” Coach Lawson said and gave Tripp a friendly pat on the back. “Keep it up, Tripp.”
“Thanks, Coach!” Tripp said and watched Coach Lawson walk off through the parking lot.
Tripp’s insides were fluttering. He bolted back towards his grandmother and the others and couldn’t talk fast enough to tell everyone the conversation he had just had with the varsity coach. He felt like he was walking on air. “We should go out and celebrate another Tripp victory,” Preston said.
“I’m buying,” Matthew said.
“Oh, we’ll definitely get in on that, then,” Draco’s dad, Roy, teased.
“Yes!” Draco said, looking quite satisfied that he would be going out to eat so late with his friend.
“We’re probably going to call it a night,” Cindy said, and Hannah nodded in agreement. She looked very tired, and Tripp wondered again if perhaps she had been at home sick today. It bothered him that she felt like she had to come out to the game while she wasn’t doing great.
“Oh, okay,” Tripp said. “Thanks for coming to the game, though.”
Hannah smiled at him. “Wouldn’t have missed it.”
He was a little disappointed that they wouldn’t be coming too. He had hoped to talk to Hannah about scheduling time for them to practice their scene. Tripp was growing increasingly nervous about performing in front of the school in the showcase; he and Hannah had hardly read lines together at all, let alone practiced how they were going to do the blocking. He was scared of looking like an idiot in front of everyone. Now that the football season was nearly over, his focus was going to be on preparation for the showcase and passing his exams.
Cindy and Hannah left, and everyone else loaded up into their cars. They had elected to head to the nearest Mexican chain restaurant for their evening celebration of Tripp’s team’s victory. Tripp sat across from Draco, and his mom sat to his right at the large table they had for everyone: the Morris family, his grandmother, Preston, and his mother and Matthew. Draco’s little sister was there, demanding her own bowl of cheese dip, which Tripp and Draco immediately dug into when it was placed in front her, resulting in a few friendly but angry spats between the two siblings.
Lilly laughed. “You boys leave that poor girl alone,” she said.
Tripp smirked at her and took her cheese dip that she and Matthew had ordered for themselves instead. Matthew laughed. “You started it, Lil,” he told her.
There was much laughter shared around the table that evening. Tripp could hardly remember a time when he had laughed so hard. He wished Hannah had felt up to coming because it was one of the best nights he’d had in a while. When it came time to leave, they all gathered out in front of the restaurant, bidding each other farewell. His mother and Matthew, who had since washed the sticky school colors off his face in the bathroom, were telling Tripp goodbye—complimenting his game and the plays he had made. He gave his mom a hug, and he didn’t let her loose for a while. Her arms wrapped around him tight, and he felt oddly secure in her embrace. He was so happy that she and Matthew had been able to make it out to the game and support him, even with ev
erything going on.
“I’ll see you this weekend, right?” he asked her when they pulled apart.
She smiled brightly at him. “Of course you will,” she said and kissed his forehead before leaving with Matthew.
His grandmother smiled at him. They said goodbye to the Morris family, and he and his grandmother joined Preston in his truck. The evening continued to be rather blissful for Tripp. He and Preston talked on the way back to Brooks about the game and about how they felt they would be able to get the Volkswagen ready to drive by that summer: a very exciting idea indeed.
“I’ll be sixteen come next school year,” Tripp said. “I’ll be able to drive it to school in the mornings.”
“Sweet,” Mary said. “You can get yourself up and ready for school next year, and I’ll be able to sleep in.”
Tripp laughed. Preston dropped them off at the house and left for the evening, and once they were inside, his grandmother pulled out a few chocolate raspberry tarts she had brought home from the shop that day. They wound up staying up late, just the two of them, laughing and talking about school and the shop—avoiding all talk of Donnie when they chatted about his mom and Matthew. “He’s really cool,” Tripp admitted.
“I about died when he showed up with his face painted for the game,” Mary said, and Tripp laughed.
“Yeah, that was kind of lame… but… I don’t know. It was cool of him,” Tripp said. “He kind of reminds me of my dad a little bit.”
His grandmother smiled weakly at him. His dad was a touchy subject for them both. “I miss him,” she told him.
Tripp nodded. “Yeah, me too.” While Tripp missed his father terribly, he had to admit his grim situation had turned out better than he could have hoped. All he’d had in LA was his dad. And this grandmother he hardly knew at all at the time. His mother had abandoned him when he was a toddler. His whole life had revolved around his dad and a handful of friends who hadn’t even bothered staying in touch with him when he moved out to Georgia. He could have wound up in some foster care situation if his grandmother hadn’t stepped up. Now, he had her. A nice house. He had Preston, who was like as a second father to him now. He had two best friends in Draco and Hannah, and he had made a number of other good friends as well. Real, honest friends. Now, he had his mom for the first time in his life, and she had an awesome boyfriend who seemed to really care about him. Tripp would give anything to have his dad back, but he would never say he hated his life how it was now. He had a good life, with good people in it. He just wished his dad could have been a part of it all somehow.
The two of them exchanged sleepy looks that spoke for themselves. “Night, Tripp,” his grandmother said as he headed off to bed.
Tripp slept well, exhausted after the game and after the long evening of celebrating. The next morning, he woke up with a start. His alarm was going off, but the house was too quiet for a Friday morning. His grandmother was usually calling him down for breakfast around this time. He shut off his alarm, quickly got dressed, and made his way downstairs, calling, “Grandma! You up? We’re going to be late!” He scooted around the rest of the stairs and down the hall, his steps light and buoyant with youthful energy.
He spun around into the kitchen, and he smiled to see that she was already awake. She was seated in the breakfast nook. “Oh, hey!” he called, his good mood from the evening before still lingering.
Then, he caught sight of her face. She was still in her robe, her hair pulled back out of her face. She was gripping a coffee mug, but she hadn’t taken a single sip out of the cup. Her eyes were a bit red and glossy like she had been crying. Tripp’s pleasant mood vanished all at once. “Grandma?” he beckoned, and she, at last, turned in her chair a bit, paying him some mind.
She wiped her eyes on her robe sleeve and forced on a very slight smile. “Hey, sweetheart,” she said and took a deep breath. “Come over here and sit down. There is something we need to talk about.”
Chapter Seventeen
Tripp sat down slowly. He didn’t know what this was about, but he knew it wasn’t good. With everything going on with Matthew and his mother, he worried for a moment if perhaps they had just found evidence that Matthew had indeed been the one to kill Donnie. The thought made him anxious, but he knew it couldn’t possibly be true. This was about something else. Someone was hurt—or worse.
“Grandma? What’s going on?” he asked once he was seated beside her at the breakfast nook.
She breathed slowly and deeply. He could tell that whatever this was, it was eating her up. She cleared her throat. “I wanted to tell you sooner,” she said. “But it wasn’t the right time. It’s about Hannah.”
“Is she hurt?” Tripp asked quickly.
“She’s sick,” his grandmother said and reached out and touched his arm. “They found out she has cancer, Tripp.”
His stomach dropped. He stared blankly at his grandmother for a moment. “Cancer?” he questioned. “What… what kind? How… how bad is it?”
“The doctors say they caught it early, but it’s still a bit soon to tell. They’re meeting again today with her team,” Mary said. “It’s mostly in her hip, and her kidneys have been affected by it. She is going to have to have some sort of surgery and might have to do chemotherapy, but we don’t know yet.”
“Is she… is she going to die?” Tripp asked, holding his breath, waiting for the answer.
“Not today,” she promised him. “The doctors are very hopeful that she’s going to do well with treatment.”
Tripp breathed out a long, deep exhale and tapped his fingers nervously on the table. “What can I do?”
“You can pray for her,” Mary said. “There’s not a lot we can do right now.”
“Okay, then, I’m… I’m just going to go get ready for school,” Tripp said, standing up suddenly.
“School?” his grandmother questioned. “I thought you might want to stay home…”
“No, I’d rather just… I don’t know… I can’t do anything about it, can I?” he stammered, and he walked over to the pantry and pulled out a bowl of cereal.
“I think it might be a better idea if you stayed home today—”
“I just want to go to school!” he snapped, making himself the cereal. “I mean, what is me staying home going to do to fix anything? She’s still going to have cancer, right?”
He was upset. He knew this, and he knew that his grandmother knew it, but he wouldn’t relent. She kept trying to say she thought it was a good idea for him to stay home, but Tripp kept pushing back. He didn’t want to sit at home today talking about how Hannah had cancer. He would much rather head to school, where he could pretend that she didn’t. It would be easy to just pretend she was home with the flu or some cold.
He persisted, and finally, his grandmother consented. They drove to school. He was late, so his grandmother had to come inside with him to get him checked him. She told him a hundred times to call if he wanted to come home and that she’d come get him, but he brushed her off and stormed off towards first period. Immediately, he regretted the decision, but he wasn’t about to call his grandmother and admit defeat. First period he kept staring at the spot where Hannah would usually park her wheelchair. He felt nauseated and was unable to pay attention during class. They were in the computer lab that day working on their research papers for their latest paper assignment. Tripp spent the entire time researching the effects of chemotherapy and different types of treatments, which only made him feel worse.
His second class of the day was science. He sat next to Draco, and the moment he walked in and scooted his chair up next to him, Tripp knew that Draco had heard the news as well. “Mom and Dad told me last night after we got back from dinner,” Draco said. He looked terrible. Paler than he normally was, which was really saying something for him. The last thing Tripp wanted to do was talk about it, but Draco kept on. “I mean, cancer… when I hear about it, I always think about, like…my grandad. He was old, though. Lung cancer from years of smoking. He di
ed from that. It was terrible. I don’t think about kids our age dealing with stuff like that. And Hannah! Like she hasn’t been dealt enough already.”
“Draco, shut up,” Tripp muttered sheepishly, and Draco seemed to sink within himself for a moment. Tripp sighed. “I’m sorry,” he said, knowing that Draco was probably just as worked up about the news as he was. “I’m surprised you came to school today,” Tripp said.
“Yeah, well, you’re here, aren’t you?” Draco asked.
“I guess,” Tripp said as their science teacher stood up just as the bell rang to get them all started for the day. He wanted to ask Draco about his grandfather, but he thought better of it. He had learned more than he wanted to know from the computer lab that morning.
When Tripp entered into his math class, he spotted Hannah. He smiled brightly. She had just checked in after having been at a doctor’s appointment that morning, and he hurried to sit by her. “Welcome back,” he said to her, and it must have read on his face because her brow scrunched up terribly.
“Oh, wow, you know, don’t you?” she asked, lowering her voice.
Tripp blushed. “Um…”
“About the cancer,” she said. “Look, please don’t talk about it at school. I don’t want everyone knowing just yet. I’m still waiting to hear back from a bunch of doctors.”
“Oh, yeah, of course,” he said. He cleared his throat. “Um… Hannah… if you, er, if you need anything.”
“I’m fine,” she said shortly.
Tripp elected not to bring it up again. He knew better; if she wanted to talk about it, he’d be an open ear, but he wasn’t going to bring it up. He caught himself staring at her several times. She didn’t look like someone with cancer, but then again, he wasn’t really sure what that would look like. He had never known anyone who had gone through cancer and cancer treatments. The only experience he had with cancer came from television dramas. Sitting there in class with her, she seemed less moved by it than he did. But then again, he supposed she had probably known for a lot longer. He was still walking around in a state of shock from the news his grandmother had delivered that morning. Their math teacher stood up in front of the class, explaining some various new equations they were to learn, and Tripp scribbled down notes—only halfway paying attention.
