Don't Hate the Player...Hate the Game

by Katie Ashley

  Finally, I shook my head. “But he shouldn’t have felt that way,” I protested.

  “Why do you think so?”

  When I didn’t respond, Maddie sighed. “He was looking forward to graduation you know.”

  “Yeah, he thought college was going to be a blast.”

  “No, that’s not it at all. He was going to “come out” so speak.”

  My breath caught in my chest. “Wait, are you trying to say Jake was….gay?”

  Maddie laughed. “No, Jake wasn’t gay. I mean, he was going to truly turn over a new leaf. He had been looking forward to leaving town so he could do that. He’d even talked to his football coach about working with the volunteer organizations on campus.”

  Okay, it was one thing contemplating Jake might be gay, but it was a totally mind blowing to think he was looking forward to turning his back on partying to be a do gooder.

  “I’m sorry, but I just can’t imagine Jake doing much volunteer work,” I said.

  Maddie smiled sadly. “Well, he was.”

  “Whatever,” I mumbled. I thought talking to Maddie would give me answers, but I was starting to feel more and more confused.

  She must have sensed my confusion because she said, “You know, it was like Jake was honorable to a fault. He did everything he could to please others—even if it was misguided.”

  Seriously? Jake did things to please others? Since the moment we’d met, he’d been one of the most selfish assholes on the planet. It was me, me, me, all the time. I shook my head incredulously. “But Maddie…”

  She looked over at me. “I know what you’re going to say.”

  I raised my eyebrows. “You do?”

  “To you and to everybody else, he was a jerk 90% of the time.”

  Well, I wasn’t expecting that. But it was certainly closer to the truth. “Pretty much.”

  “But to me and my family, he was a perfect gentleman 90% of the time.”

  Okay, and once again, that was totally out of character for Jake. “I just don’t get it,” I replied. I glanced back up at the vault. I still don’t get never understand why he felt like he had to be two people to me.”

  “Well, think about it for a minute.”

  I sat deathly still, trying to collect my thoughts. “What I meant to say is, I was his best friend, and I don’t understand why if he could be that way with you and your parents, then why in the he-,” I caught myself as Maddie arched an eyebrow at me. “the heck, he couldn’t be real with me.”

  “Maybe he was real with you, and you just didn’t realize it.”

  “Huh?”

  “In all the years that you guys were friends, you’re telling me you never saw a different side to him?”

  I closed my eyes in thought. My mind whirled in a mosaic of colorful memories. I thought about the camping trip when Jake saved my life. I thought about the Father/Son camping trip in Scouts that Jake refused to go on just because I didn’t have a dad to go with me. And then I thought about the six weeks when my grandfather was sick and how he stayed by my side like a brother. How could I not see before how self-less he truly was? I mean, sure he had his epic douchebag moments, but even before he was ‘changing’ into a so-called better person, he did kindhearted things. Deep down, I guess he was a truly giving person, but I’d just been too blind to always see it.

  A knot formed in my throat. I swallowed several times before murmuring, “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

  Maddie smiled. “He talked about you a lot.”

  I snapped my head to stare at her. Oh, holy hell. “He did?”

  She smiled. “Yeah, all the time.”

  I didn’t respond for a few minutes as I contemplated all the wild nonsense he could have said. “What did he...say—you know about me?”

  “That you were a good guy and a good friend—too good of a friend than he sometimes deserved. Oh, and he told me the duct tape story!”

  I rolled my eyes. “Of course he did.”

  Maddie laughed. “Don’t worry, I told him what a jerk he was to do that to you.”

  I laughed. Miss Choir Priss was full of surprises. “You did?”

  “Uh, huh, and you know what he said?”

  I shook my head.

  “He said, ‘Well, I didn’t know how else to get him to be my friend’.”

  A strange burn radiated through my chest. It continued up my throat to where I choked. “Yeah, he had some issues, but he was a good friend,” I finally said.

  We sat in silence for a few minutes. Maddie cleared her throat. “Um, I guess I better call my dad. He dropped me off on his way home,” she said.

  “I can give you a ride,” I suggested.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah, I don’t mind.”

  I held my hand out and helped her up off the grass.

  “Thanks,” she replied, with a smile.

  “No problem.”

  When I opened the Jeep door for her, I wanted to slap myself. I didn’t have a freakin’ clue what had gotten into me. I had never done that for a girl in my life. I shrugged the thought away.

  Maddie told me how to get her to house. She lived in a nice subdivision only a few streets over from where I lived.

  After I eased the Jeep behind her dad’s car, I turned to look at her.

  She smiled. “Thanks for the ride.”

  “No, problem. I was glad to do it.”

  She hesitated for a moment and then asked, “Would you like to come in for a while?”

  I don’t know what I was more surprised about. The fact she asked me in, or the fact I agreed. Seriously, I was ready to cue the music from The Twilight Zone. As Maddie walked ahead of me, I eyed her suspiciously, contemplating what kinda weird hold she had over guys. A part of me was tempted to run back to the Jeep and bail. I mean, Jake’s miraculous conversion happened sometime after getting involved with Pastor Dan’s rehabilitation program. Maybe he had some weird brainwashing wing, and she helped him by luring in unsuspecting teens.

  Yeah, I was losing it!

  When she breezed through the front door, Maddie called, “Hey guys, I’m home!”

  Pastor Dan poked his head out of the kitchen. “Wasn’t I supposed to pick you up? Don’t tell me you hitched or something?” he asked with a smile.

  Maddie laughed. “No Daddy, Noah gave me a ride home.”

  “Hey, Mr. Parker,” I said.

  “Hi there, Noah. Thanks for being so kind.”

  “I was glad to, sir.” Sir? Okay, something had seriously gotten in to me. I rarely if ever referred to anybody as sir. I swallowed nervously as the brainwashing cult idea flashed in my mind.

  “We’ve ordered a pizza for game night, Maddie. Noah, would you like to stay?” Mrs. Parker asked.

  I glanced over at Maddie. She nodded and smiled. “Okay, that sounds great. Just let me text my mom to let her know where I am,” I replied.

  Pastor Dan smiled. “Good, we’ll be more than happy to have you.” He looked over at Maddie. “Will you go get Josh and tell him the pizza is on its way?”

  “Sure,” she said.

  For some reason, I followed Maddie up the stairs. Maybe it was because I was afraid to be alone with Pastor Dan. Like I was afraid he’d really whip out the religious hoodoo on me if we were alone.

  When we got to the top of the landing, Maddie stopped. She turned back to me and bit her lip. “Um, Noah. There’s something I should tell you about my brother before you meet him.”

  Before she could say anything else, a kid who look about eight or nine, came bounding out of a room at the end of the hall. “Hey Maddie!” he cried.

  I froze in the hallway. The kid had chalky white skin, and he was bald. He couldn’t have been more than seven, so I knew he didn’t have male pattern baldness at an early age. He was sick.

  Well, I guess he wasn’t too sick because he came hurtling down the hall to us. He peered up at me. “Hi, I’m Josh!” he exclaimed, thrusting out a pale hand.

  “Hey the
re, I’m Noah,” I replied. I took his hand gingerly into mine, afraid one hardened shake might rip it completely off.

  “Nice to meet ya,” he said. He didn’t release my hand. Instead, he started dragging me down the hall towards his room. “I wanna show you somethin’,” he said.

  “Josh,” Maddie’s voice warned.

  He whirled me into his room. I did a double take. “Jes-” I began before I quickly looked down at Josh. “I mean, geez,” I replied.

  My dad’s face was plastered all over Josh’s room. His rookie poster hung over the bed, and then his MVP poster was over the closet door. It was intense. “Wow, you sure do like Joe Preston.”

  Josh rolled his eyes and grinned. “Duh, he’s like the most awesome baseball player ever!”

  “Yeah, I guess.”

  He stared at me. “Don’t you like him?”

  “Uh….” I didn’t know what to say. “No, Josh, I don’t like him. He’s a major asshat who knocked up my mother and ran off. I’ve had little contact with the prick.” Nope, that wouldn’t work. Josh would probably pass out.

  Maddie joined us in the doorway. I glanced from her to Josh who was waiting for my response. “You see, Joe Preston is my…” I choked on the words a little, “my dad.”

  Josh’s hollow eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. “Nun-uh,” he protested.

  “No, it’s true.” I swept my hand over my chest. “Scout’s Honor.”

  “Wow…” he shook his head slowly. Then when the realization finally sunk in, he started bouncing around. “Wow, I can’t believe this! You’re Joe Preston’s son. That is so cool!” He then ran across the room to his desk and grabbed up an autograph book. “Can I have your autograph?”

  “Josh,” Maddie scolded.

  “What?” he questioned.

  “Maybe Noah doesn’t want to sign your autograph book.”

  “No, it’s fine,” I said.

  The doorbell rang. “Pizza’s here!” Josh cried and then ran out of the bedroom.

  Maddie smiled at me. “I’m sorry about that.”

  “No, he’s fine.”

  “Can I ask you something?”

  “Sure.”

  “If Joe Preston is your father, why do you go by Sullivan?”

  Oh Jesus. She just had to ask that question. I didn’t know what I was going to tell her since she had no realm of understanding. I mean, her parents were the ideal couple. But, she wanted an answer, so I drew in a deep breath. “Because I don’t really have a relationship with my father. He was twenty-one when he got my mom pregnant, and he really hasn’t had much to do with us. Don’t get me wrong, he’s not a total deadbeat. He does pay a little child support.”

  “Oh, I see.” Her face flushed the color of the red spread covering Josh’s bed. It made me feel like an ass. “Then I’m really sorry for what Josh did—and for all this,” she said, gesturing around the room.

  “It’s okay. You don’t have to apologize.” I cleared my throat. “Um, can I ask you something?”

  “He has leukemia,” she replied anticipating my question.

  I grimaced. “I’m sorry.”

  “Thank you.” Maddie stared at the door. “It’s been really rough on him. He’s had two rounds of incredibly aggressive treatment. The doctors say his prognosis is pretty good.”

  Pretty good? I didn’t want to say that I didn’t like odds that were pretty good. You might as well say you had a shot in hell.

  “Did Jake…?”

  “Yes, Jake met him, and he was really good to Josh. He even skipped basketball practice to sit with Josh during one of his treatments.”

  I tried not to let the surprise show on my face. I did remember Jake bitching about having to run suicides until he puked because he’d cut out on a practice. Of course, he never told me why he skipped out.

  “Was he at the funeral the other day?” I asked.

  “Yeah. Mom and Dad weren’t sure about him going, but he finally wore them down.”

  We were interrupted by Josh’s voice. “Guys, come on!”

  I followed Maddie down the stairs. Mrs. Parker was setting the dining room table while Pastor Dan was putting ice in glasses. Maddie ushered me to the table, and before I could sit next to her, Josh shook his head. “No, I want Noah to sit here,” he insisted. Maybe there was some kinda religious hoodoo hanging over the house. Normally, I would’ve recoiled at the very idea of Josh. But instead, I smiled at Maddie and moved to sit next to Josh.

  The Parker’s were the real deal. After we bowed our heads over paper plates, Pastor Dan gave thanks. I started to feel like I was in an episode of that old show 7th Heaven. Then we started making a dent in the two large pizzas they’d ordered from Dominos.

  For a sick kid, Josh sure could put the food away. I mean, he seriously could’ve put Blaine and some of the other football players to shame with the way he devoured his pizza. For dessert, Mrs. Parker had homemade chocolate pound cake. I thought I’d died and gone to Heaven.

  After dinner, Mrs. Parker and Maddie quickly cleared the table for game night. No shit, they seriously had a game night once a week where they played board games together. You know, all that jazz that it’s not about playing the game but spending quality time together and all. This particular night was Monopoly.

  Maddie glanced over at me, anxiously gauging my reaction to game night. I smiled. “I’m a killer Monopoly player. I used to always win when I played with my grandparents and my mom.”

  “Oh really?” Pastor Dan questioned, with a grin.

  Josh leaned over to me. “Watch out for Dad—he cheats!”

  Pastor Dan laughed. “Now son, don’t you be telling lies to our guest.”

  “Daddy, you know Josh is telling the truth,” Maddie exclaimed, a grin etched across her face.

  “It’s sad that two children would accuse their father of such a thing,” Pastor Dan replied, and then he gave me a wink.

  Maddie and Josh weren’t lying. We had barely gotten started when Pastor Dan tried to pull one over on us. “No offense, sir, but should a minister be doing that sort of thing?” I asked.

  I thought I might have offended him, but instead, he roared with laughter, and so did Mrs. Parker. “That’s a wonderful question, Noah,” Mrs. Parker said. “I’ve often thought the very same thing.”

  “All I have to say is sometimes you need a little something to repent for, and I know He forgives me!”

  We all laughed. Fortunately, I was able to outwit Pastor Dan’s schemes to end up the Donald Trump of the night.

  “Good job, Noah,” Maddie said.

  “Yeah, way to beat Daddy!” Josh chimed in. It was the first thing he’d said in a long time, and I’d noticed for the last few minutes he’d been propping his head up on his elbows. He yawned, and Mrs. Parker nodded.

  “All right, that’s enough for tonight. Josh is getting tired.”

  “I am not!” Josh protested.

  Pastor Dan shot him a look, and he piped down.

  “I’ll clean this up, Mom,” Maddie said.

  Mrs. Parker smiled. “Okay, I think I’ll let you. I’m going to take my coffee in the living room.”

  “I’ll join you,” Pastor Dan said.

  When Josh dallied at the table, Pastor Dan gave a short whistle and a jerk of his head. Josh hopped up and followed into the living room.

  I started helping Maddie pick up the game pieces when the thump, thump of a jacked up stereo interrupted us. Even with her dark hair shrouding her face, I could see Maddie had flushed scarlet. “What is that?” I asked.

  “My dad and his oldies,” she murmured.

  “Maddie, get in here!” Josh shouted.

  In the living room, Pastor Dan and Mrs. Parker were dancing together. Josh was doing crazy dance moves around the living room. I recognized the song. It was Smokey Joe’s Cafe, and it had been one of my grandfather’s favorite tunes from the 50’s. A slow burn radiated in my chest, but I did my best to ignore it. I wished that it was possible just once
to think of Granddaddy or of Jake without the same debilitating chest pain.

  Pastor Dan saw Maddie, and his eyes lit up. Without missing a step, he motioned to her from the living room.

  Maddie’s face glowed with mortification.

  “Come on and dance with me, Maddie,” he urged.

  “No Daddy!” Maddie hissed.

  “Madeline Elizabeth Parker, get your uptight tail over here this instant!”

  I couldn’t help laughing as Maddie stalked over to her father. He grabbed her into his arms and did a fast waltz around the living room. I had to admit, Pastor Dan had some serious moves. While he and Maddie cut a rug, Mrs. Parker did some old moves from the 60’s with Josh—the twist, the alligator, you name it—they were doing it. I think they even started doing the Sprinkler.

  Pastor Dan dipped Maddie, and then spun her over to me. “Your turn, Noah,” he urged.

  Maddie blushed as she tried to catch her breath. “You don’t have to.”

  Since no one from school was going to see me and possibly give me shit, I decided what the hell. I grinned. “No, it’s okay.”

  “Really?”

  “Sure.”

  She smiled with surprise when I pulled her to me. I quickstepped her across the room like Grammy had taught me. We had our own Dancing with the Stars moment in the Parker’s living room.

  “Nice footwork, Noah,” Pastor Dan complimented.

  “Thank you, sir.”

  I cleared my throat and stared into Maddie’s eyes. “So did Jake ever…”

  “Dance like this?” Maddie responded.

  “Uh-huh.”

  Maddie shook her head. “No, he didn’t.”

  Hmm, I guess there was one thing I’d done that Jake hadn’t. I didn’t know if that was a hollow victory or not. I mean, he might not have ever had the opportunity. But what I really wondered is if given the opportunity would he have shot down the chance.

  When the large grandfather clock struck ten, Mrs. Parker turned off the stereo. She gave Josh a look. “Okay, I think it’s way past somebody’s bedtime.”

  “Aw, Mom,” Josh whined.

  “Upstairs, now,” Mrs. Parker replied.

  I glanced at Maddie. “I guess I better be heading on, too.” I smiled at Pastor Dan and Mrs. Parker. “Thanks for having me for dinner and game night.”