“He’s not a bad guy,” Joy says, and I snap my head up at her.
“He was driving the car when my sister was killed,” I remind her. “My twin, the other half of my soul, was ripped from me because he wanted ice cream.”
“The person to blame for her death is the person who shot them,” Joy tells me, and I know she’s right, but I don’t want to be logical right now. I want to hate Rico.
“But they’d have been at the bowling alley, safe from that man, if he hadn’t wanted that damn ice cream,” I tell them and Xander rubs my back in small, soft circles. His touch is comforting, which surprises me.
“Maybe, but you can’t blame Al for that. He was just a kid too,” she reminds me. “A kid who was in the hospital for a while after it happened if what I’ve heard about it is true.”
“Eight days,” I say and look at my hands, which are gripped in my lap. “And he nearly lost his ability to bowl. The guy who shot Gav also shot Rico. He nearly died, too.”
“Gray, maybe it’s time you forgive him,” Xander says and I snap my gaze to his. His deep blue eyes hold a sadness I’m not expecting, and I stop myself from snapping at him like I want to.
“Three days after Gav's memorial, my dad came to my mom and I, and told us he was selling the bowling alley. It’d been part of our family for four generations, and Gav and I were supposed to take it over after college. He said it held too many memories, and he just couldn’t go inside anymore. Mom was basically catatonic until that point. She snapped out of it and lit into him. She said if he sold it, she was taking me and moving back to Newberry, which is where she was from. He told her to do what she felt she needed to, and so would he. That was the end of their marriage, and my life truly was in ruins.”
“Damn,” Xander breathes out as his hand continues to rub my back. “You went through a hell most people would never understand, then a second one. It’s no surprise you hate Al.”
“I don’t hate him,” I tell them, and confusion crosses his face. “I blame him, but I don’t hate him.”
“Pretty sure he thinks you hate him,” Joy tells me, and I sigh.
“Maybe that’s for the best,” I say and sigh again. “My mom will have a stroke when she finds out I’m bowling with Rico again.”
“Graycen,” Ryder says as he walks out the door. “Coach is getting the lanes reset for warm-ups. You ready to come back in?”
“Yeah,” I answer and wipe the tears from my eyes. I refuse to let them fall right now. Not where everyone can see them.
“We’ll be in in a minute,” Xander says and the other two nod before walking back inside. Once they’re gone, he reaches up and wipes a tear from my cheek. “You sure you’re ready to go back in?”
“Yes,” I answer with more confidence than I fell. “I’ve been looking forward to this since I signed with LPU back in January. I’m ready to leave the shit with Rico in the past and focus on the present.”
“That sounds like a solid plan,” he says and smiles at me. “But maybe you can look toward the future just a little, too.”
“Yeah, maybe,” I respond and smile at him. “Let’s go back inside. I’m ready to be part of this team, and if that means accepting Rico, then so be it.”
“That’s the spirit,” he responds and rises to his feet. “Come on.”
I follow him back into the bowling alley and see that Coach has divided everyone across four lanes. He has Rico and I separated, and I am thankful for that.
“Sweet,” Xander says and grins at me. “Coach has us together.”
“Probably cause we’re both lefties,” I respond as I try to focus on him and not Rico. I had a crush on him when I was younger, but I never told anyone about it because Gav liked him so much.
“Yes,” Coach said and smiled at us. “Now, remind me why I sighed you again. Let’s bowl, everyone.”
For the next three hours, we practiced different line-ups, and shots. I loosened up by the second game and showed all of them just exactly why Coach recruited me.
“Damn good practice,” Coach says and grins at all of us. “Same time tomorrow, everyone.”
“We’ll be here,” Joy tells him and looks around at us all. “Anyone want to go out for pizza?”
“Definitely,” Xander answers then looks at me. “Do you want to go?”
I glance over at Rico and see him staring at me. The intensity in his gaze is a little unnerving, so I turn back to Xander and force a smile on my face. “Sure, but I need to tell you that I’m a vegetarian.”
“I’ll let that slide,” he says with a grin as he taps the end of my nose. “No one’s perfect.”
I feign hurt and he chuckles.
“Come on,” Ryder says and puts Xander in a playful headlock. “Stop flirting with Gray so we can go eat.”
Heat floods my cheeks as I look around at everyone. I’ve been more open with these people than I have with anyone in four years. Even my teammates in high school didn’t know the whole story about what happened with Gav.
“Come on, Gray,” Xander says and grabs my hand. “Did you drive?”
“Yeah,” I answer and look around again. Rico is nowhere to be seen, and I sigh. I’m glad he’s gone, but also wish he wasn’t.
“Good, cause I didn’t,” Xander responds and grins again. “Do you have room for another person and his gear?”
The hope in his eyes makes me smile and I can’t help but nod in response. I know he’s a little older than me, but he reminds me of a little boy with that sheepish expression on his face.
“Sure, but I have car rules,” I tell him as I grab my gear.
“What kind of rules?” He asks, eyeing me.
“I choose the music,” I tell him, and he grins.
“That it?” He asks, and I shrug.
“No, but the rest aren’t important seeing as we’re just going for pizza.”
He looks at me for a second then looks back at his bowling bag. Once he zips it closed, he rises and grins at me. “I’ll learn the others soon enough, I guess. Seeing as I don’t have a car, I bum rides from everyone all the time.”
“I didn’t have a car until a couple months ago,” I admit as we walk toward the exit. “My dad bought it for me for graduation. He said I needed a way back and forth to school, and there was no way mom could get me one.”
“Do you see him often?” He asks, and I shake my head.
“No,” I answer as I hit the button on my key fob to open the back of my Toyota. “He remarried two years ago. She has two sons, and they have a one year old son together. He’s very involved with his new family.”
“That sucks,” he responds as we load our gear into the back of my SUV. “Nice ride though.”
“I’m certain he bought it for me because he feels guilty,” I respond and shrug as I close the back and walk to the driver’s side. Once inside, I look over at Xander and sigh. “The first year after the divorce, he was around a lot. He came to matches, and was at my tournaments, and even went to Junior Gold with me. Then he met Maria, and he forgot about me.”
“I’m sure he didn’t forget about you,” he says and lays his hand on my arm as I clench the steering wheel.
“Until graduation, I had only seen him six times in three years,” I tell him. “Since graduation, I have seen him twice that many times. It’s like he’s trying to make up for lost time.”
“Maybe he realizes he has a grown daughter and he missed seeing her grow up,” he says, and I look at him.
“You sound like you completely understand,” I say, and he nods.
“I do,” he responds and sighs. “I’ll talk as you drive. If we’re not there in a few minutes, Joy will come looking for us.”
I nod and start the car. He tells me the name of the pizza place we’re going to, and I look it up on my GPS. Once I’m out of the parking lot, he starts talking.
“Joy and I have the same dad, but different moms. Her mom died just after she was born, and Dad met my mother less than a year later. I was
an accident, a mistake she never wanted. She was going to abort me, but Dad made a deal with her. He paid her to have me, then she took off just after I was born. I never met her, and never missed having her in my life. Dad is a great person and played both the mom and dad roles very well. When I signed with LPU, my picture was all over the local papers, and she saw it. She showed up at the house a few days later and demanded to meet me. Dad was pissed and told her she had no right showing up there. I walked downstairs when he went to shut the door in her face, and her eyes landed on me.” I glance at him and see his face is filled with emotions I can’t name.
“She pushed past him and ran to me. She told me who she was, and at first I wanted nothing to do with her. She’d abandoned me, after all, and I didn’t need her in my life. A few weeks later, I was getting ready for graduation, and there she was again. She asked if we could talk, and I agreed to meet her for coffee. We talked, and she told me about herself, and about the situation she’d been in when she found out she was pregnant with me. I told her about myself and told her how great dad was. Before she left, she asked if she could see me again, and I agreed. Over the past year, we’ve met several times, and I’m trying to build some sort of relationship with her. Not that it’ll ever be what it would have been had she been there throughout my life, but I’m trying.”
“I understand,” I say and take one hand off the wheel to lay on top of his for a second.
“I’m glad you joined our team,” he says as he flips his hand and intertwines our fingers.
“What’s happening here?” I ask after I pull into the pizza place parking lot and shut off the engine.
“I like you, Graycen,” he says, and I look at him. “Yes, we just met, and yes, we can take things at whatever pace you want to, but I like you a lot.”
“For now, let’s go inside and get pizza,” I say, and pull my hand from his. “Then, we’ll let what happens, happen.”
“That sounds like a plan,” he says and grins at me.
As he gets out of the car, I close my eyes for a second and take a deep breath. Xander is a sweet guy, but my head is too full of the past to let anything happen with him right now.
Exhaling, I slide out of the car, and grab my wallet from the console. Today has been an adventure already, and I know it isn’t over yet.
Chapter Four
Rico
I sit at a table in the corner of the pizza place and watch as Xander and Gray walk in. They’re the last ones to arrive, and it makes me wonder what took them so long to get here.
“Glad y’all finally decided to join us,” Ryder says with a grin, and I narrow my eyes at him. “We were beginning to wonder if y’all decided to skip pizza and do something else.”
“Stop teasing them, Ryder,” Nadia admonishes. “Don’t wanna scare Gray off before she really gets to know us.”
“I don’t scare easily,” Gray says, and I smile a little. She’s never scared easily but seeing her ease with my friends and teammates makes me wonder what kind of person she is now. Four years ago, she was the quieter and more reserved twin. Unless she was bowling, she was most comfortable being in the shadows. Now, she seems to enjoy the attention she’s getting. Especially from Xander.
Not being able to stay in the shadows any longer, I rise from my hiding place and walk to the table where they’ve all converged. “Mind if I join you guys?”
All eyes turn to Gray, and it gives me pause that they’re letting her make the choice for them all. They’re my friends, damnit, and I don’t like what’s happening.
“Never mind,” I say and turn to leave. “I can see who’s side you’re all on.”
“Rico, wait,” Gray’s soft voice cuts through the hurt and anger I can feel rising inside me. “You belong here more than I do. I’ll go, and you stay.”
“No,” I say and shake my head. “They all made their choice.”
“What choice?” Wren asks and looks at me. “We’re all a team.”
“Wren’s right,” Ryder says and claps his hand down on my shoulder. “We’re a team, a family. Come on, sit and enjoy some pizza with us.”
“Rico,” Gray says, just as softly as before. “They’re right. I’m sorry that my being here is messing things up for you. Don’t feel like you need to check with me before joining your friends.”
“Gray,” I say and look at her for a second before I sigh. “Thank you.”
“Al, bro, I’m sorry,” Jaylen says, and I shake my head at him.
“It’s all good, guys,” I tell them and look at Graycen. “I’d choose her over me, too. I mean, look at her then look at me. She’s a helluva lot prettier.”
Micah chuckles, and the tension is broken for the moment. I know this isn’t the last time it’ll happen, but for now, it feels like we can all be friends.
“Let’s order,” Brennon says, and I grin at him. He’s a year younger than me, but he’s probably my closest friend on the team.
“Yes, please,” Xander says and looks at Gray. “So, as a vegetarian, what do you like on your pizza?”
“Mushrooms, green peppers, and black olives,” I answer without thinking about it. It’s what she’s eaten on pizza since she was nine, and I will never forget it.
“What he said,” she tells him and looks at me. “How do you remember that?”
“I made your pizza for two years,” I remind her and shrug. “After making it a few dozen times, you don’t forget it.”
“I forgot you worked the pizza counter for a while,” she comments, but I can tell she’s lying. With her memory, there’s no way she forgot that.
“You two really have a history,” Joy comments and both of us look at her. “How long have you known each other?”
“Thirteen years,” Gray answers and I nod. “Rico was seven the first time his grandma brought him into the bowling alley. Gav and I were five at the time, and practically lived at the alley. We were raised to the sound of balls hitting pins, and I loved every minute of it.”
“Abuela said bowling would help me deal with everything,” I tell them and shrug. “It introduced me to the family I loved more than I did my own.”
I can’t believe I said that out loud, but it’s too late to take it back now. “Sorry,” I say and look at Gray again. “I’m sorry for everything.”
“Enough about the past,” Naida says as she flags down the waitress. “Let’s order so we can eat. I have a date tonight, and really don’t want to miss it.”
“A date with who?” Jaylen asks with a raised eyebrow. He has a thing for Nadia, but she has a rule about dating teammates.
“Fletcher Oakley,” she answers and Ryder snorts. “What’s wrong with Fletcher?”
“Nothing if you like guys who are all brawn and no brain,” Jaylen responds and shakes his head. “Dude was in my psych class freshman year, and I swear if it isn’t a football play, he doesn’t understand it.”
“Well, he understands enough to know how to get Nadia to go out with him,” Micah tells him, and I have to cough to hide a chuckle that escapes.
“Yeah,” Jaylen says and shakes his head as the waitress approaches the table.
“What can I get for you kids today?” She asks. She’s served us several times over the years, and she knows we tip well.
“Hey, Bea,” Micah greets her with a wink. “How was the summer without us?”
“Quiet,” she responds and grins at us. “Couple of new additions I see.”
“Every year, Bea,” Ryder says and looks at Gray and Westin. “Graycen Kelley and Westin Lee.”
“Nice to meet you kids,” she says with a smile. “What’ll it be today?”
I listen as everyone places their order. Xander orders for Graycen and that annoys me.
“And what about you, Al?” Bea asks, looking at me.
“I’m hurt you don’t remember,” I tease, and she shakes her head.
“Sausage, pepperoni, green pepper, and onion,” Gray tells her and looks at me. I can’t stop the grin that forms
on my face. I knew there was no way she didn’t remember.
“Exactly,” I say and look at Bea. “And a Coke.”
Bea nods then walks off, before anyone says anything.
“Seems Al isn’t the only one who remembers pizza toppings,” Wren comments, and Gray shrugs.
“We ate pizza together almost every Friday night for nine years,” she explains. “He’s ate that on his pizza since he was twelve.”
“I knew you remembered,” I mutter softly, and she looks at me.
“Some things stick in your brain even when you don’t want them to,” she responds then looks at the others. “So, does everyone live in the dorms?”
Her question shifts the topic from the past to the present, and I’m not sure how I feel about that.
“We live with our dad,” Xander responds and nods toward Joy. “Our house is only about a mile from here, so it would have been stupid to move to campus.”
“Micah, Jaylen, Brennon, and I have a house off campus,” Ryder tells her. “We moved in a couple of months ago.”
“I live on campus, but not in the dorms,” Nadia answers. “I live in the sorority house.”
“And the rest of us are, sadly, in the dorms,” Wren answers. “What dorm are you in?”
“Mary White,” I answer, and she grins.
“The freshman dorm,” Xander says and smiles. “Good to know where I can find you.”
“Don’t you dare, Xan,” Joy tells him. “Don’t get her in trouble.”
“I would never,” he responds and grins at his sister.
“Alexander Lloyd Sadler,” she says, using his full name and causing the others to chuckle.
“Lloyd?” Graycen asks and grins.
“Oh, shit,” Micah says and chuckles. “You just gave her ammo, Joy.”
“Damnit, sis,” Xander says and looks at Graycen. “It’s a family name. All the males for seven generations have Lloyd in their names. Dad’s middle name is Lloyd, too.”
“Lloyd is a respectable name,” she responds and chuckles.
He grunts and leans back in his chair, looking at her. “What’s your middle name?”
“That’s something I’ll never tell you, Alexander Lloyd,” she responds, and I chuckle. I know her middle name, but there’s no way in hell I’ll tell Xander, or anyone else for that matter.
Changing Lanes (Lake Park University Book 1) Page 2
