“Yup.”
“So you spend Christmas with the guy and his family and all you’re going to say is ‘cool’?”
“I’m his tutor. We talk all the time.”
“Are you trying to tell me nothing happened between the two of you while you were at his house?”
Her question throws me. I don’t want to lie to her, which really leaves me only one option. Taking in a deep breath, I’m about to come clean when another car pulls up next to us. I don’t think I’ve ever been happier to see Colton.
My eyes shift to the passenger side, my heart practically stopping when I see Zack step out of the car. I take him just as he turns to give Zoe and me his winning smile.
“Hey!” Jesse says, his eyes firmly fixed on Zoe.
“Hi!” Zoe says cheerfully. She gives me a look that says we’ll be picking up where we left off later before walking over to Jesse. Colton sends a nod my way, then pulls out his phone and turns away from the group.
Then, there’s just Jesse and Zoe, Zack and I. Zack hangs back and I realize we’re both battling the same confusion right now. Neither one of us knows what to do next.
Part of me wants to just walk right up to him and kiss him, but the other part of me doesn’t know the rules.
“Hey,” he says to Zoe, his gaze lingering on me for a beat too long.
“Hi, Zack. How was your Christmas?” Zoe, the jerk, asks.
He gives her a smile that tells her he knows what she means. “It was the best I’ve ever had.”
“Any particular reason why?” my roommate pries.
“Emma,” Zack replies, pausing, and I almost choke. “Nice to see you.”
I hold back my laugh. “Nice to see you too.”
As if my words have given him permission, he starts toward me. I hold my breath, stunned when Zack pushes my glasses to the top of my head and plants a kiss on my forehead.
“I knew there was more to it!” Zoe exclaims, destroying the moment.
“What do you mean?” Jesse asks.
Zack stands beside me, his hand brushing against mine briefly before placing them into his pockets.
“Nothing,” Zoe says. I’m grateful she’s not making this a bigger deal than it should be.
“When did you guys become such good friends?” Jesse asks, looking at the way Zack and I are standing so close together.
“Over time,” Zack says. Jesse only nods.
Another car pulls up and I breathe a sigh of relief. I was not enjoying the awkwardness. Kaitlyn and Mia get out, coming to join us in front of Zoe’s car.
A few more cars pull into the lot and park. Doing a mental count, I realize almost the entire football team is here and for the first time, it doesn’t feel uncomfortable.
And there’s only one person I can credit that to.
33
EMMA
How quickly life changes. I mean, it’s been less than two weeks since I met Zack.
Five days since Christmas.
Two days since Good Night Lights.
He’s already become such a huge part of my life. I know whatever this is will end eventually, but I’m determined to have fun before it does.
Getting emails from him, even if they’re only two sentences long, or something silly, has become the highlight of my day. My phones pings with a notification and I smile. Thank goodness Zoe isn’t here right now. I don’t want her to get the wrong idea. We aren’t her and Jesse.
I unlock my phone and open up my email.
To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Subject: Movie?
Hey you,
I’m on my way to football practice for a couple of hours. I don’t have to go to work today, so I was thinking maybe you’d want to watch a movie with me?
Yours,
Zack.
I think about his invitation, knowing that with football and work, he doesn’t really have time to spare, but he’s trying to make it work. As for tutoring time, we haven’t been following Dad’s instructions either. I mean, it was unrealistic for him to expect us to meet me every single day for biology, especially with all the things Zack’s juggling.
People don’t know about his struggles, a voice whispers, reminding me that Zack is doing all this work in secret. No one knows how much he deals with, especially my dad.
He expects football to be the main thing—the only thing—in Zack’s life. But it isn’t.
He’s been completing all the work I assign him though.
To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Subject: Aren’t you sick of me already?
Good luck at practice! I’d love to watch a movie, but what do I tell Zoe?
Emma
To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Subject: Impossible
Tell her you’re going to the movies with me. Tell her we’re not really going to watch the movie but will probably make out the entire time like we’re in high school. Tell her you’ll be wrapped in my arms.
Tell her whatever you want.
I’ll come by at 7 PM.
Zack.
I blush as I read his words. Even though my mind says no, my heart says otherwise, and I’m looking forward to spending time with him.
To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Subject: You’re too much
How about I tell her I have a tutoring session instead? That might be easier to explain considering I haven’t really confirmed what she thinks about us. No one knows, right?
I’ll meet you outside the library.
Emma.
My phone chirps with a notification almost instantly. Opening it, I take in every word.
To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Subject: Just enough for you
Sure, you can say that. No one knows, although I don’t know if I like keeping us hidden. It’s not like we’re doing something wrong. Are you ashamed? Regretting us?
Zack.
I can’t believe he thinks I’m the one who’s trying to hide us, although, I guess I am the one insisting we don’t tell anyone. That’s not because I’m embarrassed of him, though. I just think the fewer people who know, the fewer questions I’ll have to answer once we’re through.
To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Subject: …
I’m not ashamed. I just think it’s better this way.
What do you think my father would say?
Emma.
Throwing the phone onto my bed, I stare at it, simultaneously afraid and anxious to hear the next email come through.
To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Subject: You didn’t deny it
All you had to do was mention your father…
He just yelled at me to get on the field.
Gotta go. See you later.
Still yours,
Zack.
I don’t respond. Instead, I scan my inbox for any emails I may have missed today. Apparently, whenever I look at my inbox now, if it’s not an email from Zack, I tend to ignore it.
I pause, my finger hovering over the message, when I realize there’s an email from my father. Whenever he reaches out to me, it’s never for something good.
To: [email protected]
From: Coach Wilson
Subject: Tutoring Sessions
Emma,
I need you to come to my office and update me on tutoring. I’ll see you here at 11:30.
Staring at the one-line email from my father, I can feel my anger rise. He didn’t even ask how I was doing. He just expects me to do exactly as he commands. The sad thing is, that’s exactly what I’ll do.
ZACK
“I need you to come to my of
fice after you shower,” Coach says, walking by my locker as he retreats into his office.
My mind races. Does he know his daughter spent Christmas with me and my family? Is he about to make me pay for that? Mindlessly, I go through the motions of getting showered and dressed. Leaving all of my things in my locker, I beeline toward Coach’s office to get this conversation over with.
As I near the door, I hear him yelling and I curse under my breath. If he’s in such a bad mood already, I can only imagine what’ll be waiting for me on the other side of that door.
“You are still my daughter and you answer to me!” Coach screams.
The words cut through. My feet are moving before my brain catches up, barging into Coach’s office. He jumps up from his chair, and while the look on his face is frightening, it pales in comparison to the effect the tears on Emma’s face have on me.
“What do you think you’re doing?” I ask him, furious that he made my girl cry.
He looks at me puzzled. “Wait outside until I’m done,” he says, signaling to the door.
“No.”
“No?” he snarls. No one talks to Coach like this, not when he holds the keys to the kingdom.
My spine straightens. “No. I will not wait outside.”
He leans forward, gripping the edge of the desk tightly. “This doesn’t concern you.”
I cross my arms in front of me. “This does concern me.”
“How?” he snarls.
I look at Emma. I bet she’s trying to figure out what I’m doing. Well, it beats the hell out of me.
“Emma’s my tutor,” I respond, the strength of my words getting lost in my inability to define what we are. Because she doesn’t want to. I’ve never wanted anyone to lay claim to me, but with Emma, it’s what I’ve wanted since we finally kissed—maybe even before then.
Coach huffs, his nostrils flaring. “She’s my daughter. This is a family matter.”
“You shouldn’t be yelling at her,” I argue.
“You’ve got some damn nerve, son!”
“Just leave it,” Emma says, her voice fragile. As she sits here in front of her father, she looks nothing like the witty, strong girl I’ve come to know. She doesn’t resemble herself. She seems empty, sad…hurt.
I stare at the man in front of me—the one I’ve practically worshipped since before I even started attending Bragan. He’s the one who’s stripping away all the things I love about her and he doesn’t even seem to notice.
I turn to Emma. “He needs to treat you better.”
She deserves to be treated better.
“Don’t tell me how to raise my kid,” Coach booms. “Have you gone crazy?”
Maybe I have. “I wouldn’t tell you how to do it if you realized how much you’re hurting her. She cried on Christmas day because she couldn’t spend that time with her family, because you’ve ignored her for most of her life.”
As the words leave my mouth, I pray Emma doesn’t get mad at me for sharing the truths she confided in me.
“How would you know?” he spits out.
“Because she spent Christmas with me,” I say, standing as tall as I can, trying to muster the strength because even I have the urge to cower from him.
“So that’s where you were for Christmas?” he says, directing his words at Emma.
“You said we had to do tutoring sessions every day,” I interject.
“I didn’t mean during Christmas, Hayes.”
“You didn’t specify,” I tell him, shrugging.
“You don’t even know him,” he says to Emma.
She looks from me to him. “I didn’t know him when you forced me to tutor him either. What did you expect me to do for Christmas?” Her words take on a little more strength and I feel a sense of pride that she’s finally standing up for herself.
“Spend it with your family!”
“Which family?” She says, getting up from her seat. “Mom is living with her sister because she can’t stand the way you treat me. And you? What did you do for Christmas? I had two choices. Spend Christmas by myself in my dorm or with Zack. I chose him.”
Emma comes to stand beside me, our arms brushing.
Coach Wilson looks at our proximity to each other. “How do I treat you, Emma? Enlighten me.”
“How do you treat me?” she echoes.
His expression hardens. “Yes. You go to school for free because of me. I pay for your books, your phone bill, your car. I give you everything you need. You don’t want for anything.”
“I’ve never lacked anything material, you’re right about that.”
Should I be here for this? Initially, I spoke out because Emma wasn’t doing it for herself and I just couldn’t hold myself back. She’s found the strength now and I’m wondering if I’m overstepping.
Before I can do anything, Emma slides her hand into mine. Coach’s shrewd eyes follow it and I swear the man would jump across the desk and beat the crap out of me if he could.
I should be terrified, but fear is nowhere to be found—not when Emma’s holding my hand. She straightens. “When was the last time you told me you loved me?” she asks.
Coach shakes his head. “You’re my daughter.” He says this like it answers her question.
“And that’s been a problem for you. You never wanted me.”
“That’s not true,” he replies softly.
“Yes, it is. You wanted a boy.”
“I wanted a boy, but it doesn’t mean I didn’t want you too.”
Shaking her head, she asks, “When was the last time you told me you loved me?”
He’s avoiding her question, and my heart aches for her. My parents tell me they love me every time we talk.
“I don’t recall, Emma Lynn. I didn’t think you needed me to say it all the time,” he says, resigned.
“The last time you told me you loved me, I was ten.”
“That’s not true. I must’ve told you after that.” Even as he speaks, he’s clearly doubting his own words.
“I remember it clearly. It was for my birthday and Mom nudged you because you weren’t saying anything. I don’t think you even meant it.”
“You’re my daughter,” he argues again, weakly.
“And that means nothing to you. If I’d been your son though, that would’ve been a different story.”
“Why are you so obsessed with this son thing?”
“Because you are. You’ve reminded me for years that you’d wished I was a boy—a boy you could teach football. Someone you could watch games with. Someone you could cheer for. And while I can’t play football professionally, Dad, I could’ve learned to love the sport.”
He begins to shake his head, his expression caught somewhere between confusion and realization. “I don’t know where this is coming from.”
“You’ve neglected your daughter and your family,” I tell him, frustrated that Emma is using every bit of strength to speak these words to him and he isn’t following.
Coach looks down at our joined hands once again. “What is this?” he asks, pointing.
“And just like that, this conversation is over,” Emma says. She lets go of my hand, grabs her bag from the chair and starts toward the door.
“I’m not done speaking!” Coach bellows.
She turns around to look at him. “That’s the thing, Dad. You were supposed to be listening, for once, but you failed even at that.”
“Come back here!” Coach shouts, but unlike the guys in the football team, Emma ignores him and continues out the door.
I begin to follow her out but stop when Coach snarls, “Where do you think you’re going?” I glance back at the man I used to idolize. It’s funny how all I see now is someone too ashamed to admit he’s made a mistake by alienating his daughter.
“I’m going after my girl.”
Jabbing his finger at the seat Emma just vacated, he commands, “You need to sit down. Right now.”
Idly, I wonder what his punishment will be. After all, inse
rting myself into his personal matters, for holding his daughter’s hand and spending Christmas with her, are all good enough reasons to bring down his wrath.
My second greatest fear is he’ll bench me.
My greatest fear is that everything I’ve sacrificed has been for nothing.
I almost do it—give in, give him what he wants—but then I think about the way Emma’s hand shook in mine as she finally stood up to her father.
Then, just like that, my fear evaporates like smoke. In its place is a protectiveness I’ve never felt before. Giving my back to Coach, I open his office door and walk out.
Emma needs me.
And I’m starting to realize I need her too.
34
ZACK
It’s New Year’s Eve. To me, it feels like this last week has flown, but I can’t escape the party that’s about to kick off. It’s not even 10:30 PM yet, but people have flooded the Football House. As I make my way downstairs, I realize I’m eager to party but more excited to see my girl.
I reach the landing, my eyes gravitating to someone I didn’t expect to see. I’d forgotten about the girl in the red dress—I truly had—but when I see her dancing with her back to me just a few feet away, the memories I thought I’d lost flood me. I remember how her dress fell to just above her knees, revealing gorgeous long legs. She was absolutely breathtaking with her hair cascading over her shoulders and down her back. Tonight, she looks just as beautiful.
Bragan Boys (Bragan University Boxset) Page 55
