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“You being late wouldn’t have anything to do with Stone, would it?” Stone’s her brother and the question’s a shot in the dark, but I don’t want to
“Why are you late?” she replies as a nonanswer, and my head snaps up Guess sometimes blind shots do hit their mark Violet was late because of Stone
“What happened?” I push
“I’ about it”
“Vi—”
She cuts me off “I told you how to help o and you told me no”
By running away? No again to that insane solution
“Tell me why you’re late,” she says “If you don’t, then you need to stop talking, because the last thing either of us needs right now beyondI need, okay?”
I back up to the lockers across froainst the metal Yeah, I don’t want to talk about why I’m late either I shove a hand intoViolet I’uy as causing proble problems for her, won’t help me and Violet stay civil She’s mad at the club, which makes her mad at me
Violet’s watching ure out a word problem for math Unfortunately, she knows me as well as I know her
“Being late is going to cost you, isn’t it?” she asks “You can’t play tonight if she marks you absent, can you?”
I meet her blue eyes, and ly ame if I could rewind back to a time where I could talk to Violet with ease and that’s not the type of trade I’d normally make
Football is n of Terror are my family—the blood kind and the bonds of brotherhood kind I don’t knoho I am without the Terror, but to be honest, I don’t knoho I am without football either
Lately, I’ve been torn between the two, just like that poem, and everyone in my life has chosen a side Violet used to be the person I could talk to, but then she walked
Six o, Violet asked rief, driven by so she wouldn’t tell me about When I told her no, that we needed to stay home, to be near our faht and announced I was choosing the club over her and that ere done
Being a running back, I’ve taken more than my fair share of hits over the years, but I’ve never been as blindsided as I was that night Never experienced the type of pain her leaving me created
The door to the classroom opens and a sense of relief washes over rade thanks to that zero on the quiz, but at least I’ll be able to play tonight
Ms Whitlock steps out and sizesyou in if you have a note, otherwise you can head to the office and hope they give you one”
Screw et a note and return in tiht as I’lides past me and hands in her note “This is Chevy’s”
My head whips in her direction “It’s what?”
“Yours” Violet ht for me to take it I’m the one who didn’t have a note, and I’ht”
She begins walking backward, and my short-circuited brain sparks back to life I can’t let her do this “Violet—”
“Have a good gaht,” she says, then disappears down the stairs