Opposing Sides

by C. M. Doporto

  “All right. All right,” she barked.

  She retrieved the heavy ball and scurried to the lane. Taking several steps back, she positioned herself, clutching the ball to her chest as she eyed her prize.

  A lone standing pin.

  Delaney swung her arm back, took a few steps forward, and went airborne. The twelve pounder flew from her hand as her feet slipped against the slick floor. Her body crashed to the floor as she landed on her butt.

  Jordan leaped forward. “Laney!”

  “Oh shit!” Luke’s voice echoed in the background.

  “Oh my God!” I screamed, sliding across the floor on my knees. “Are you okay?”

  Luke and Forbes helped her sit up. “Did you hurt yourself?” Luke checked her head, arms, and then her legs.

  She rubbed her backside. “I busted my ass, that’s all.”

  “What the heck happened?” Collin hovered behind me. “Delaney slipped and fell.”

  “Better slow down on the drinks, missy.” Forbes teased as he patted her back.

  Collin humphed and then walked off.

  With one hand behind her back and the other around her hand, Luke helped Delaney stand.

  “Oh man!” Delaney cried as she pulled her phone from her back pocket. “My screen shattered.”

  “Damn, that’s the second phone you’ve had this year,” Luke complained.

  “Well if you wouldn’t have been rushing me, then this wouldn’t have happened!” Delaney yelled.

  Luke took a step back. “Don’t blame it on me. You’re the one that had too much to drink.”

  With her hands on her hips, Delaney eyed Luke. “I’m not—”

  “I think you dropped your ball.” Riley Stokes, one of the guys on the baseball team walked up to Luke and shoved it into his chest.

  Luke grunted, but kept a straight face. “Whatever.” They stared at each other for a few seconds before Luke placed the ball on the return ramp. He fisted his hands but kept them at his sides. Luke usually didn’t get in to fights with guys, but for some reason, he and Riley didn’t get along.

  Riley smirked, then turned around and started to walk off. He stopped and looked at Delaney. “Next time, you might want to help your boyfriend find his ball.” He covered his mouth, trying to hide his snickering.

  “Screw you, Riley.” Delaney snapped.

  Riley’s eyes swept over her and then a grin spread across his face. “We already did, remember?”

  “Asshole!” Luke leaped over the ball return ramp and grabbed a fistful of Riley’s shirt, spinning him around. Luke swung, landing a punch in the center of Riley’s face. Riley bowed, surprised from the attack, but came back at Luke, throwing a left hook. Luke blocked Riley’s arm and then swung again, this time hitting him in the stomach.

  “Stop!” Delaney yelled.

  Collin and Forbes rushed to pull Luke off of Riley. “Come on guys!” Forbes yelled, trying to stop Luke from throwing punches.

  “Coach is going to be mad.” Collin reminded Luke and Riley as he tried to separate the two.

  Another baseball player, Winston, latched on to Riley’s arms. “I’ll whip both your asses if you don’t stop!”

  The six-foot-three player picked up Riley like a rag doll. Riley flung his legs and landed a kick on the edge of Luke’s chin, whipping his head to the side. Luke stumbled back, nearly crashing into Delaney as he grasped his face. Delaney crouched down next to him. “Luke, are you okay?”

  “I’m all right.” Luke shoved away from Delaney.

  “Get off me, Winston, I’m warning you!” Riley yelled as his feet thrashed about, kicking anything that got in his way. Collin ducked, but staggered back as Riley’s foot missed him by mere inches. I rushed to his side, making sure he was okay.

  “Everyone, out of here now!” Two security guys dressed in black from the front door yelled at us.

  “We need to go, now.” Forbes rushed past us with Jordan in tow.

  Luke took Delaney by the hand as they both kicked off the bowling shoes and grabbed their own shoes. He motioned for us to follow him out the door.

  Collin and I quickly changed our shoes, leaving our bowling shoes along with everyone else’s. “Here’s your purse and coat.” Collin handed me my stuff and then shuffled us down the stairs. I looked behind us to see Winston and Riley arguing with the guards. The front door flew open and we bolted out on to the sidewalk. That night had officially gone to shit.

  Σ

  Chapter 13

  The weekend flashed by and I found myself getting ready to go to the World Series game. Somehow I had managed to get through the meetings with the photographers, church and lunch sans the Mimosas. Even though I had needed one badly. Seeing pictures of couples displaying their blissfulness had pointed out one thing: Collin and I didn’t have that level of happiness. When I looked at us, I didn’t see a spark or glow coming from our faces, especially not mine. There was something missing in our picture.

  Love.

  It made me more confident in my decision to not marry him. Delaney was right. Our relationship existed on a friendship level, and we were only marrying out of expectancy. I wished Collin would see that, so it would be a mutual break. I could only hope that once I mentioned it, he would agree. One thing was certain; I was telling him after the game.

  The door to our suite opened and I heard Delaney humming. I’d managed to ignore her for the past several days, but I knew I couldn’t keep doing that. I really needed to talk to her about my decision.

  “Lexi?” Delaney knocked on the door as I slipped on my boots.

  “Yeah, come in.”

  She partially opened the door and stood in the doorway, hesitant to enter.

  “Are you going to the game?”

  I really didn’t want to go, but since our parents were coming to watch the game, I knew that would be a bad move on my part. They’d wonder why I wasn’t going, and I didn’t feel like explaining myself to them.

  “What do you think?” I held out my arms, showing her my purple sweater, which supported Collin’s team.

  With a slight smile, she opened the door further, showing me her white ruffled shirt. “I’m going too.”

  “Supporting Luke?” I asked, already knowing the answer.

  She wrapped her arms around her body and stared at the floor. I had never seen Delaney hang her head in shame. Maybe the guilt had finally gotten to her.

  “It’s okay, Delaney. You can quit pretending now.” I approached her and moved the hair dangling in front of her face over her shoulder. “I know you and Luke have been seeing each other.”

  She looked at me with eyes that begged for forgiveness, and there was no way I could hold on to the deceit. “Are you mad?”

  “No.” I shook my head. “Just disappointed that you didn’t tell me.”

  “I’m sorry.” She let out a big sigh. “I wanted to, but Luke thought it was best if we just kept it between us.”

  “Why? I don’t understand.”

  “It’s complicated.” Her eyes traveled to the floor and then back up at me. “We’re not together — together…”

  I sat down. In a weird, girlie way, I kind of understood why she didn’t tell me. She probably didn’t want me to get upset since it was my brother she was messing around with and not just another one of her ‘pick of the day’ guys. It had taken a lot of nerve for me to tell her about Raven, and she didn’t even know him.

  It’s definitely harder when you know the person.

  “So you’re more like friends with benefits?”

  “Yeah,” she shrugged. “I guess you can say that.”

  “All I ask is that you treat Luke right and not hurt him. But I know you’re not the type that sticks with one guy.”

  “I like Luke, I really do.” She collapsed on the bed, next to me. “I’m just not ready to settle down, not yet.” She stared at me as though waiting for me to say something.

  “Don’t look to me for advice.” I shot her a quick glance. “I
can’t even get the nerve to tell Collin I don’t want to marry him.”

  She stayed silent for a moment and then said, “So you feel one-hundred percent sure that’s what you want?”

  My throat tightened and my eyes watered. I pressed my lips together and nodded. Despite wanting that, it didn’t make it any easier. Delaney wrapped her arm around me, and I closed my eyes. Tears streamed down my cheeks and I wiped them away. “I can’t get through to him. No matter what I do or say, he won’t change. It’s like he’s wearing a shield that protects his emotions and a vice that surrounds his heart. Apparently I don’t have the power to penetrate that combination lock.”

  “Some guys just don’t get it.” She shook her head.

  “Sad, but true.” I glanced at her through wet lashes. “I know now that our relationship exists on a friendship level. I can’t marry him knowing that we aren’t madly in love with one another.”

  “And you’re not doing this in hopes of being with Raven?”

  “Seriously?” I pushed away from her. “You really think I’m leaving Collin to be with Raven?”

  She recoiled against the wall and then wrapped her arms around her legs. “I don’t know. I mean you’ve told me the way you feel about him and I’ve seen it with my own eyes.”

  Delaney was right. I was attracted to Raven, and I really did enjoy being around him. He had brought out a part of me that I didn’t even know existed. When I was with him, I had a fire that burned bright inside of me. Making me feel alive to the point he moved me like no one else could. But I had to keep that fire contained, so that I knew I was making the right decision to not marry Collin. Even though a part of me wanted to run back to him and let him light that fire once again in me.

  “Look, I might like him, but I promise you I’m not doing this so I can be with him.”

  “Okay. I believe you.”

  I relaxed and leaned against the wall, next to her. “I even canceled my session with him yesterday. And I’m not sure I’ll continue tutoring him.” Not to mention, I had refused to respond to his text messages on Friday night when he said he was downstairs waiting to take me to the party. That was the hardest thing I had ever done. Knowing that all I had to do was go six floors down and let him show me the time of my life.

  She leaned her head against mine. “Then you’re doing the right thing and shouldn’t feel guilty. It’ll be hard now, but in the end you’ll be glad you did this.”

  “I hope you’re right.”

  “Me, too.” Silence filled the space between us and then she said, “When are you going to tell him?”

  “Tonight, after the game.” I checked my phone. Every minute seemed to pass in thirty second increments, bringing me closer to what I had to do. “I can’t keep going on like this. I’m miserable.”

  “I know. I’m here for you,” she squeezed my hand, “no matter what.”

  Relief settled the nausea in my stomach and the fear entwined in my mind. “Thanks, Delaney. I appreciate that.”

  A few minutes later my phone rang. I glanced at the screen before answering it. “Crap, it’s my mom.”

  “Hello?”

  “Hey, Lexi, we’re down the street. Do you need a ride to the stadium?”

  “Yeah, sure. Can you give Delaney a ride, too?”

  “Of course. See you in a minute.”

  I hung up the phone. “My parents are picking us up in a few minutes.”

  “Okay, good.” Delany got up and then pulled me to my feet. “C’mon. You can do this.”

  I took a deep breath and let it out. “If you say so.”

  We put on our jackets and headed downstairs to my parents’ car.

  “Hi, girls. How’s your week so far?” Mom turned around, giving us a quick glance.

  Horrible. I shrugged, not responding.

  “Busy,” Delaney replied and clicked her seat belt.

  “Good to see you both.” Dad smiled through the rearview mirror, and I managed to smile back.

  “I have good news, Lexi.” Mom’s voice lilted and I cringed.

  “What’s that?”

  “I was able to schedule an appointment with the photographer the Gilford’s recommended for next Saturday.”

  “Great.” Mom had asked one of the couples that joined us for lunch on Sunday about their daughter’s photographer. She had recently married, and mom had quickly become engrossed with the details of their wedding. I had played along, once again, acting like I cared when I really didn’t.

  Mom turned around. “What’s wrong?”

  I quickly averted my eyes and stared out the window. “Nothing.”

  “Are you sure? You sound a little down.”

  “I’m fine.” Riding in the car with them was more trouble than it was worth. Walking in the cool temperatures would have been better than the interrogation.

  “Well, I wasn’t going to tell you this, but what the heck.” My head snapped in her direction.

  Oh please don’t tell me anything else about the wedding!

  “Me and your dad went to the bridal shop and guess what?”

  My stomach did a somersault, and I had to hold the vomit threatening to purge from me.

  She continued, even though I didn’t respond. “We bought you that wedding dress!” She clapped her hands and I wanted to jump out of the car into incoming traffic.

  “The one she didn’t like?” Delaney blurted.

  Could my life get any worse?

  “What?” Mom sounded surprised by Delaney’s response. “That dress is perfect.”

  “The dress is really pretty, Lexi.” Dad spoke up. “Is there a reason you didn’t like it?” I was shocked that mom allowed him to have input about the wedding and what she wanted me to wear.

  “If you like being covered up to your neck in lace.” I huffed.

  Delaney motioned for me to stay calm. I had to bite my tongue before I announced that the wedding was off. I took a deep breath and prayed for strength.

  “Mom showed me the other dress—,”

  “The strapless one?” Dad’s comment quickly caught my attention.

  “Yes.” His voice thickened and I slumped in my chair. “That wasn’t appropriate and you know it.”

  Please kill me now, because I can’t take one more minute of this shit!

  I don’t know why I let it bother me since I wasn’t planning on getting married, but it did. Maybe it was because reality had hit. After tonight, I wouldn’t be Collin’s fiancée and he’d never see me wearing that wedding dress, even though it was ugly as hell. Or maybe it was another reminder of how my parents controlled my life. My head, not to mention my heart, was a convoluted mess of emotions.

  The car stopped, and I opened the door, gasping for air. I couldn’t breathe and the weight of the stress was consuming my body. I darted across the grass parking lot and headed toward the stadium; even though that was the last place I wanted to go.

  “Lexi, what is the problem?” Dad yelled, following me.

  With a sigh, I stopped. “Nothing. Just forget about it.” I tracked in a circle, holding on to my head as I prayed for God to make me an emotionless person like Collin. It would have been so much easier to not feel the hurt and lack of love that I needed.

  “Why are you so upset? What’s going on?” Mom’s hounding raked over my skin.

  Delaney stood behind them, instructing me to stay quiet. She was right. I had to tell Collin before I told my parents. It wouldn’t be fair to him.

  “I’ve had a rough week and the wedding is stressing me out.” I crossed my arms and shuffled my feet. “Can we please not talk about it anymore tonight?”

  “Okay. Just calm down.” Dad slipped his arm around me, and I leaned into him, feeling some of the stress melt away. “We won’t say another word.” He turned and gave Mom his typical pleading eyes stare. I doubted she’d do as he said, since she always got her way.

  With Dad’s arm firmly wrapped around me, we walked to the stadium. It took all my effort to keep the
waterworks from releasing. I really wanted to confide in him and tell him what was going on in my life, but I knew he would side with my mom. He’d tell me I was being irrational, and the stress was getting to me and that I’d regret my decision. I knew what I had to do: tell Collin it was over.

  ***

  After the game we headed to the usual pizza place the baseball team went to. The smell of dough wafted through the air, and normally my stomach would have welcomed several slices of their house special stacked with Applewood smoked bacon, but food was the last thing I wanted. Delaney, Jordan and I sat in an oversized booth while my parents gathered with Collin’s family.

  “Way to go!” Several people chanted and whistled as a few baseball players wearing purple entered the restaurant. Cheers continued to follow as more of the team filed in. I kept a watchful eye, waiting for Collin to enter.

  Riley and Winston walked in, and Delaney shifted in her seat. “Great. Why did they have to come?” They immediately spotted us and headed in our direction.

  “Just ignore them.” I rolled my eyes at Riley when his stare turned annoyingly smug. They passed our booth and sat at a table with some other players near the back.

  “Don’t worry.” Jordan patted Delaney on the hand. “Surely they aren’t stupid enough to try something with everyone here.”

  Delaney whimpered. “It’s not them that I’m worried about.”

  “My parents are here.” I reminded her. “I’m sure Luke will be on his best behavior, or should be.”

  “I hope so.” Delaney sighed when she saw Luke walk through the door.

  “Woot! Woot! Go Collin! Go Collin!” The purple team cheered when Collin stepped into the restaurant. Forbes trailed behind them, shouting along the way, “MVP. MVP.” He pointed to Collin and I couldn’t help but smile.

  Collin had pitched a near perfect game, sweeping the white team 12-1. He never ceased to amaze me with his precision and gift for playing baseball. Every year he seemed to get better and better. Even though I hated that he put baseball in front of me, I was a little sad knowing that I would no longer be there to cheer him along. Despite my decision not to marry him, I hoped we could remain friends. I’d watched him play since we were thirteen years old, and we’d practically grown up together. He really was a great guy, just not the right one for me.