by Dean, Ali
Afua took a deep breath. “And we think there’s been a mistake,” she rushed out.
“Three mistakes,” Pigtails added.
“Girls, I really don’t have much say in the process. This is probably something you should speak to the coaches about.”
The third one, Melissa I think it was, explained, “We thought we’d explain it to you first, get some advice.”
“Uh, yeah, okay. Shoot.” This was weird. Awkward. But I could handle it. I was fine with weird and awkward. After all, I spent most school days with the advanced placement honor roll crowd. Some stereotypes rang true.
“See, all three of us play for New England Elite,” Afua offered. It was the same club I played for. They were sophomores, so likely on the U-16 team. “And ODP.”
“There are girls who made varsity who are only on Commonwealth or Premier FC and didn’t make ODP,” Melissa said. She referred to the other two club teams in the greater Boston area, which weren’t quite the same caliber as New England Elite.
I felt a presence beside me. It was Louise. “Being on certain teams doesn’t guarantee you anything, girls. You’re all good players but you know varsity at Defiance Falls High is probably the most competitive team in the state to make. It’s four different age groups.”
The one with pigtails mumbled something under her breath I didn’t hear. Louise asked, “What was that, Kylie?” Oh, right. Kylie Cornwall. The one who had an older sister who knew Cruz liked whiskey.
“Nothing,” she answered.
Louise pushed, “No, I thought it was something about how I’m only on the team because of Hazel.”
I reared back at that. “What? Um, no. Louise’s been on New England Elite and ODP since we were eleven. She didn’t make varsity until last year, as a junior. You girls are sophomores, right?” They didn’t correct me so I went on. “I don’t know where you got the idea that I’m in charge, but I’m not.”
I sensed the guys before they made their appearance known. They were behind me, and a tingle went down my spine. Cruz was with them. Afua’s eyes widened and she took a step back. Melissa’s mouth parted in surprise, and Kylie’s eyes went to her feet, suddenly not so brave.
“Oh come on, Haze, you’ve always been in charge,” Bodhi said, throwing an arm over my shoulder.
I rubbed between my eyebrows, feeling a headache coming on.
“I’m going to the weight room,” I announced, so over this conversation. “I’m sorry you don’t think the team choices are fair,” I told the girls. “But you should talk to the coaches about it. Or, in my opinion, just accept it and do your best on JV so you can make varsity next year.” I could keep going, give a little lecture about how life’s not fair and sports definitely aren’t fair, roll with the punches, and all that jazz, but I didn’t want to get on a soap box. The trio seemed on a mission, and giving too much advice would only backfire on an audience who didn’t want it.
I wondered briefly if their parents or someone had encouraged them to approach me. From what I remembered from Cruz’s party and seeing them around tryouts and school, they were a little intimidated by me, not looking to get in my face.
A hand snagged out and pulled me back. I knew immediately it was Cruz. “Not so fast, Hazel. You need to eat. If you want to lift, we can do that first, but you’re coming with us to dinner.”
Heat flamed on my cheeks. “Oh, really?” I sassed.
“Five of us. One of you,” Spike said with a shrug.
“Sorry, cuz.” Bodhi flashed me a fake pout.
I narrowed my eyes. “You’re not sorry.”
He shrugged. I looked to the girls. The sophomore trio were watching us like we were putting on a show just for them. Louise looked a little confused.
“You want to come?” I asked Louise. She had been my steadiest friend in high school. We’d carpooled for soccer, shared hotel rooms at tournaments, and studied together. If I was going to be forced to hang with the guys, I needed a buffer.
“Are you eating now or lifting first? I don’t have time for both. I still need to finish my college essays.”
Oh, right. She’d emailed me her first drafts and I hadn’t finished editing them. “I’ll get you your edits tomorrow,” I promised. Glancing to the guys, I noticed they were all looking at Cruz, who was looking at me.
I gave him wide eyes that said, what, I can’t invite my own friend?
“Fine. Let’s go. Hazel, come with me.” He reached for my hand again but I put it up.
“No, I’ve got my own car. Where are we going? We can meet there.”
“Patriot Taphouse.”
“We’ll go with you,” Bodhi said, following behind me.
I didn’t bother answering. I knew they’d do whatever they wanted. Five on one. I was screwed.
Ignoring the guys, I turned, walking backwards as I asked Louise, “Want to shower at my place? We can park there and walk. I’ve got clothes you can borrow.”
It was another pathetic attempt to assert my independence in the midst of getting ordered around.
Louise, however, appeared oblivious to my situation. I didn’t blame her. She might have been the most driven girl I knew, but she was a straight female and these were five abnormally attractive guys. All of them surrounded us, and it was a heady rush, even though my cousins didn’t exactly do it for me. Really, it was only Cruz whose presence made me lose my head.
If any of them had an ounce of that effect on Louise, I understood why she was in a fog. Hopefully it wouldn’t suck her in and make her go a little crazy. I had a feeling it might be too late for me.
Chapter Eighteen
“You know, if you weren’t being such a princess, we could have gone to the Spot, picked up takeout, and lifted, showered, and eaten there,” Bodhi said.
“You and Cruz could even go upstairs and make out again on one of the beds,” Emmett added.
“Oh hey, I know!” I exclaimed, like the idea had just hit me. “You guys could have done all that without me.” Minus the make-out part, but I wasn’t going to touch that.
Bodhi and Emmett wandered around the house like bodyguards while Louise and I showered and changed into clean clothes. I still wasn’t sure if the guys were all up in my business because they suddenly decided they wanted me as a friend, or if they believed they were protecting me from danger.
Cruz, Spike and Moody had found us a rooftop patio table. The place was packed for a Monday night. “What’s the deal?” I wondered. “Why’s it so busy? Wait, Patriot Taphouse is usually closed on Mondays.”
“It’s an end-of-summer party,” Spike said. “Your ex, Blake Carmen, is hosting it.”
I clenched my fists and looked around our table, trying to convey to the guys that I was pissed. This felt like an ambush of sorts. Another play I didn’t understand and wasn’t sure I wanted to. Twisting in my chair, I took in the rest of the people here. Most of them had graduated from Defiance Falls High three months ago. Some were older, and a handful were in our class. There were others I recognized from Blake’s club hockey team who went to Mayflower Academy.
“What if the Malones come?” I asked, twisting back around.
Cruz was in the chair beside me and he put his arm over my chair as he leaned closer. “We’ll probably end up fighting them. But we’re ready.”
I glanced at Louise, who was studying her menu.
“Why’d we come here?” Maybe I shouldn’t have invited Louise. But then I cringed for another reason. I was asking questions again. As much as I wished I could be apathetic, that was impossible with these guys.
Cruz inched even closer, until his lips brushed my earlobe. “We were going to ditch and head to the Spot. But since you invited your friend, we changed up our plans.”
“We didn’t have to come here. We could’ve gone to my house or another place.”
“No. It’s better we came. We don’t want to go on the defensive. Look like we’re hiding.”
I huffed out my annoyance at his vague strat
egic talk. “Yeah, okay, Cruz. Whatever.”
Our waitress came and we ordered shakes and burgers. A few people stopped by over the next hour, but it was mostly just the seven of us talking through dinner. Louise got to chat away about her philosophies on college admission, and Moody and Emmett at least paid her some attention.
Eventually, the music got louder, the plates were cleared, and enough people who could order alcohol – already twenty-one or with fake IDs – got pitchers. Blake’s uncle managed the restaurant and it seemed the staff was turning a blind eye. No one at our table took advantage though.
My back was to the rest of the room, and when everyone got up to mingle, I found the rooftop was even more packed than it had been when we’d arrived. We’d been the last table to get up, and all the others were pushed to the side. People were smashed together, the crowd loud and boisterous. It was celebratory, I supposed, a send-off for those headed to college, leaving town, going on to the next stage of life. There had already been graduation parties, but this was more nostalgic. I didn’t feel it personally, but I sensed the mood in the throngs of people.
“Hey guys!” Blake had to shout over the noise as he dodged a swaying body to reach us. “Wasn’t sure I’d see you but glad you could make it.” He looked nervous.
Spike and Bodhi, who were closest to him, gave fist bumps and the others nodded his way. Cruz shifted so his body was all around mine. Talk about subtle.
“Uh, so I don’t want any trouble. But you know the Malones are here. Downstairs.” Blake lifted his ball cap to run a shaky hand through his hair. “Are you going to stay up here? I can try to keep them down there.”
I felt Cruz’s laughter before I heard it. “Blake, come on, you know that won’t work.”
Blake seemed to be studiously avoiding looking at me as his eyes scanned the group. Louise surprised me when she spoke up. “I can talk to Branden if he’s here. He might go outside with me. Would that help?”
I was baffled. Louise knew Branden Malone?
“That’s not necessary, Louise,” Cruz said. “But thank you.”
“Well, in that case,” she said with a nod, “I should get home to work on those essays. See you tomorrow.” Louise waved, and without waiting for a reply, she disappeared into the crowd, making her way to the stairs.
Bodhi moved to follow her and then paused, turning to Cruz. “We doing this now, or you want to hang for a while?”
Spike and Emmett turned so they were blocking out Blake.
Cruz asked, “You ready?”
Spike pounded a fist into his palm and flashed a grin. “Hell yeah.”
The others nodded.
I prepared to be given a direction, and that’s exactly what I got. Cruz put both hands on my hips and turned me to face him. “Hazel, you go ahead. Just walk right past the Malones and head home. Got it?”
My nostrils flared with frustration at the order but I nodded. This wasn’t my battle. It was another reason why I needed to get back to the way things used to be. If there was a war going on, I didn’t want to watch from the sidelines while people I loved fought it out. I also didn’t want to go against a brick wall trying to force my way in where I wasn’t wanted. I’d rather just remove myself completely. So the order to go home? That one was easy to follow. Or so I thought.
When I got to the bottom of the stairs, I found the first floor wasn’t quite as packed as the rooftop. Sean Malone was standing by the bar. He wasn’t alone; his older brother Neil and older cousin Keegan were there too. This shouldn’t have come as a big surprise. Blake was going to Harvard, and Keegan and Neil were the captains of the Harvard hockey team. There were three other guys with them from the Academy, two I recognized as soccer players, the other a hockey player on Blake’s club team. Were my five guys planning to fight these six huge dudes?
Make that seven. Branden was on the other side of the bar, and he had his hand on Louise’s arm. Not only that, but it looked like he was shouting at her. As I picked up my pace, Sean and the others spotted me. They moved to block my path but I shoulder-checked Neil, the oldest of this generation of Malones, and got through. I loved a good shoulder check. There was a time and place for everything.
Now, though, was probably not the time to grill Louise about her deal with Branden. Yeah, I was burning with curiosity, but that was my general state of being for the past week.
I grabbed Louise’s free hand. “Come on, let’s go.”
She tore her gaze from Branden and turned to me, looking disoriented. I’d never seen Louise disoriented. It threw me for a second before I tugged her hand.
Louise started to pull away from Branden but then her eyes darted over my shoulder and her disorientation turned to alarm. I looked behind me and found Sean and Neil closing in on me until they were positioned around us. Louise and I were now caged in by three Malones. Awesome.
“Hazel Ross, I haven’t seen you in a while,” Neil said. “Who’s your friend here? Introduce me.”
“We were just leaving,” Louise retorted, sounding all prim. She grabbed my hand and tried to maneuver around them.
We didn’t get far. Neil’s frame blocked us. “I heard my brother invited you to hang out the other night and you turned him down.” He made a tsking noise. “It’s not too late to change your mind.”
I fought an eye roll. “Change my mind about what, exactly?” I bit out.
Neil smiled and shared a look with Sean. “You were right. She’s a little feisty. Probably too feisty to be as clueless as she pretends to be.” He stepped closer to me and started to reach out like he was going to touch my cheek. I ducked and tried to move between the brothers, but Neil closed the opening with one step.
If I didn’t know our guys were about to come down the stairs any minute, I wouldn’t be quite so panicked. I’d try to play it cool and extract ourselves slowly. Knowing these guys might be responsible for the shooting at the Moodys’ house, the break-in at my own home, I was far from naïve. They were dangerous, and we were prey. We would only make it worse for the guys if we were caught in the middle.
Suddenly, the air in the restaurant shifted and I knew it was too late. The blockade in front of us went from playfully threatening to focused intensity. Their eyes moved from roaming our bodies to the stairs behind us.
The guys were here.
“Let them through, Neil,” Cruz demanded.
“I don’t think so, Donovan.” With his refusal, I felt an unfamiliar hand ease itself around my waist. I removed my hand from Louise to shove Neil off, but he didn’t budge.
A second later, Cruz was in his face. His voice was deliberate, slow, and menacing. “Get your hands off of Hazel.” Whoa. That was… hot. What was wrong with me? I was so pumped full of adrenaline, each energy shift hit with potency.
I saw Neil tilt one side of his mouth to the side and my body tensed. He had me too tight to move and he pulled me all the way to his chest. I put my hands up to push, and then tried ducking out of his hold. I was stuck and felt totally helpless. Then there was a loud cracking noise and a grunt, and I was free. I looked up to see Neil stumbling back, blood spraying from his nose.
After that, all mayhem broke out.
Chapter Nineteen
As the fists flew, I knew this wasn’t my fight. I was an athlete, a soccer player, not a fighter. These guys knew what they were doing. They weren’t only athletes; they seemed to be trained for situations like this. In the midst of swinging limbs, I recognized moves I’d only seen on television or in Dad’s MMA gym. I had to get out of the middle of it, with Louise too.
I saw Louise by the door already having made it through. I tried to gesture for her to get going without me, but then an elbow slammed into my face and my head snapped back. The room spun for a moment before I regained my footing. Three bodies came around me, caging me in and blocking my view. I was disoriented for a moment before recognizing the backs of their heads. It was Bodhi, Cruz, and Spike. They’d made a circle around me, protecting me. I was grat
eful but pissed off too. All this time I could’ve been training alongside them, readying for situations like this had I known they were a possibility.
I’d thought the fights the guys got in over the years were boy matters I couldn’t quite relate to. Just like guys couldn’t understand how or why girls asserted their power and dominance in subtle ways, girls couldn’t understand why guys did it with fists. Now I saw it was bigger than that. This wasn’t about Neil Malone having his hands on me. No, I’d been a pawn. The guys wanted to fight each other. It was going to happen one way or another. Cruz had wanted me gone when it went down, but I’d been there, and the Malones had used me.
There were sirens in the distance, and I could tell the guys heard them too. The grunts became harsher, the punches more intentional. As the sirens got louder, the movements and momentum slowed and I felt a hand on my back moving me toward the front door. The guys broke up and I saw that everyone was scattering. The Malones went out the back exit by the restrooms and kitchen, while our crew was gathering on the sidewalk.
Louise was out there waiting for me, and her eyes widened when she caught sight of me.
“We’ll meet at the house,” Cruz said. “I’ll be right behind you girls. Go ahead.”
The three blocks to my house were foggy. My blood still pumped with adrenaline; my heart hammered in my chest. Cops passed with sirens buzzing in my ears, and I vaguely registered Louise blocking me, turning us to look in the window of the bakery.
It wasn’t until we were in front of my house that I snapped to attention.
“What’s Kai Tillson doing here?” Louise asked.
He was sitting on my front steps and he stood when he saw us and then started jogging our way. This was the last thing I needed right now.
“Shit, Hazel, what happened? I knew something wasn’t right after Saturday night. I shouldn’t have waited to come check on you. Who did this? Are you okay?”
