At the Buzzer: A High School Bully Romance (The Ballers of Rockport High Book 3)

by E. M. Moore

  “I’m fine.”

  “It’s a simple question, Tessa.”

  “Yes, Ryan.” I sigh. “He did that to me, but it was really nothing because River is just a fucking punk kid trying to be like his brother.”

  His jaw ticks, and his body relaxes. “Don’t worry, we’ll make him pay.”

  I level my gaze at him.

  “I won’t touch him…physically,” he says. “But he has suicides in his future. A lot of them.”

  “Now that sounds like a good idea.”

  Ryan snakes his hand around my shoulders, and we walk to our shared lunch table. Hayes has a tray full of food in front of my empty seat already. “How did the x-ray go?”

  The whole table is looking at me now, waiting for my response. “Fine. They’re being sent to the L.A. doctor, so we should know something by tonight or tomorrow.”

  Dawn gives me a half grin. “I have a good feeling this time. I think you’re getting your cast off soon.”

  I sit, placing the now worn cast on the table next to the tray Hayes got for me, but it feels as if my skin is burning underneath the plaster, so I drop it to my lap instead. “I hope so.” The sooner I can get into therapy, get this healed, and start shooting again, the better off I’ll be. I still have to make the team this year. I don’t have to go through Trials because that’s for new sign-ups, but I have to try out. I still have to prove myself to them in order to get this year’s Warrior jersey.

  Ryan and the rest of my Ballers exchange a look. Lunch isn’t even half over, but they all—barring Alec—stand as one unit. “We’ll see you later, Tessa,” Sloan says. When I look up at him, really look at him, his face is sallow and there are bags under his eyes again.

  My jaw clamps shut. Something’s going down in the Ivy house, and it’s affecting him. “Sloan…” I call out, but they’re already heading toward Lake’s table. He’s sitting on the end with Rhonda draping herself all over him. River is across from him with his Freshman girlfriend, and Lux is there, too.

  When Lake sees them coming, he stands. There’s a brief exchange of words. Very brief. Then, all the guys plus Lux and River walk out.

  Dawn whistles. I don’t blame her. It feels like the tension in the room rose about a hundred clicks. “Trial thing?”

  David laughs. “No rest for them, I guess.”

  The same thing happened last year, too. I make sure to look at River. Ryan is about to make good on his promise of suicides. When he does, River will be a freaking sweaty mess for the rest of the day. I’m sure his girlfriend won’t want to come near him afterward.

  Right before last period, I check my cell phone that I keep in my locker and notice I have a text from my dad. I go to look at it, but I hear my name being called down the hall. When I look up, my dad’s there, walking toward me. “Tessa, we got to go.”

  “What?” I step out from around my locker door.

  “The doctor called,” he said. There’s a wide smile on his face. “You can get your cast off. I got us flights in two hours. Come on. Where’s Ryan?”

  I blink at him. “Wait, what? My cast?”

  My dad beams down at me. “That’s right, Pumpkin. He okayed getting it off. I got you an appointment for tomorrow morning, so we have to leave tonight. Come on. Grab your stuff.”

  I grip my locker door to steady myself, a smile parting my lips. I close my eyes for a second. This is great news. The best news. There’s still a week left of Trials and then tryouts are after that. This might be enough time to work on things, strengthen my muscles, get back into playing shape. Of course, it all just depends on how my wrist is when I get this freaking thing off.

  Dad closes his hand around my shoulder. “I’m going to the office to have them call Ryan. I forgot you kids can’t have your cells in class.” He goes to walk away, but then he turns. “Your mom can’t come this time, Pumpkin, but Leslie and Ryan are coming with us. Don’t worry, it’ll be just you and me at the appointment if that’s what you want.”

  My throat closes. Ryan’s coming with us to L.A.? I…think I can get behind this.

  I pull my cell phone out and send my Ballers plus Dawn a group message that I’m getting my cast off. The responses are almost immediate. We’re switching classes right now, so we’re allowed to have our cell phones out.

  Sloan’s the first to come running around the corner. He runs right up to me, grips my hips, and hikes me in the air. “That’s great, Daddy’s Girl!”

  Hayes is next. He’s there when Sloan puts me on my feet. He grips my shoulders when I turn toward him. His lips are curling at the corners into a devilish grin. “Send us updates, okay?”

  “Of course,” I tell him. My stomach erupts in butterflies. It feels like things are finally coming together. It’s either I have the Ballers, or I have basketball. Now, maybe I can have both at the same time.

  I see Alec walking up behind Hayes with a huge smile on his face. He comes over and gives me a warm hug. “Best news I heard all day,” he says in my ear, sending a shiver through me.

  The overhead speaker crackles before the receptionist calls Ryan Linc to the office. The guys’ brows pull together, but I tell them my dad’s in there and that Ryan and Leslie are going with us to L.A.

  Sloan rubs his chin, then taps his pointer finger there while he thinks. “Okay, we got this. We’ll take over Trial stuff. It’s good Ryan will be there with you.”

  “Don’t worry about anything here,” Alec says, squeezing my arm.

  My mouth drops. “Shit, you have a game tonight,” I say.

  He shakes his head at me. “Come on. This is important. These losers can come cheer me on. I’ll text you afterward to tell you how much we win by.”

  My grin spreads. Oh so confident. He deserves it though.

  After a moment, Dad and Ryan walk up behind them. Ryan looks at the group, and the guys nod, telling him they know he’s going with us and they got everything covered. It’s like I speak boy now. But that’s not completely right, I just speak Baller.

  I’m not sure why my dad’s bringing Ryan and Leslie. It’s not as if he and I can’t go by ourselves, but for whatever reason, he must want them there.

  I think I’m okay with that…only because Ryan’s coming. If it was just Leslie instead of my mom, I’d be saying something about now.

  “I’ll text you guys,” Ryan calls out as we walk toward the exit.

  When we get beyond the glass doors, Ryan’s fingers graze my arm. “You happy?”

  “You have no idea.”

  I jump into the passenger seat with Dad even though I briefly think about getting in the back with Ryan, but that would be too weird.

  When we’re on our way up the mountain, Dad glances at Ryan through the rearview mirror. “Your mom’s throwing stuff in a bag for us to take. Tess, your mom’s going to have yours ready. We’ll drop you off on the way through, grab Leslie, and then pick you up on the way back.”

  “Sounds good,” I tell him. Excitement grows until I can barely keep it contained.

  When he slows to a stop outside my house, I jump out of the SUV and run inside. My mom’s there waiting for me in the doorway. She throws her arms around me. “Aww, baby. I’m so, so happy for you.” She squeezes me tight. “This is great news. The doctor loved what he saw in the x-rays.” Her face is flush. Her eyes are a little watery. She pulls the bag she packed for me around. “You’re only going to be gone for one night, so I just threw in two changes of clothes, your toothbrush, deodorant, you know, the essentials. Oh, also your cell phone charger so you can text me everything.”

  I look through the bag quickly to make sure everything I need is in there. When I’m satisfied it’s set, I stand. “How come you’re not coming, Mom?”

  She shrugs and looks to the floor. “Your dad’s the best at this stuff, Tess. I’m just there, usually. I’m going to let him do his thing this time. I’ll be here for you when you get back.”

  I bite my lip. “Did something happen?”

  She s
hakes her head adamantly. “No. Everything’s fine. I promise. He asked me to come, but I know you can handle it. You don’t need me there. Unless you want me there? I’ll buy a ticket.”

  There’s really no sense in that, I guess. Maybe she wants the house to herself for a day. Probably to spend with her new boyfriend. Or maybe she’s telling the truth. “No, it’s okay, Mom. I’m fine as long as you’re okay.”

  She smiles wide, and I have no doubt that she’s being honest. She hugs me to her again. “I can’t wait to see you without that damn cast on.”

  “That makes two of us.”

  A car pulls into the driveway. Damn. Dad wasn’t kidding when he said we had to be on our way. I kiss Mom on the cheek, promising to text her when we land. Then, I walk out to the SUV and get in the car behind Leslie. Ryan is on the seat next to me. His hand reaches over and squeezes mine while my dad does a three-point turn in the driveway to drive right back out onto the road.

  “Isn’t this so exciting?” Leslie asks. She turns around in her seat and flashes me a pearly white grin.

  I haven’t thought about her previous job much. I don’t think bad of her at all. If I do think about it, it’s to muse how I can totally see why she would be the perfect high-priced escort. She’s pretty. She’s fashionable. She’s exactly the kind of lady some big wig would want on his arm to wow his guests or business partners with.

  My phone buzzes, pulling me out of my thoughts. I notice Ryan pulls his phone out too, so it must be a text on our group thread. Anyone else want to kick Ryan in the balls for taking Tessa away from us? It’s from Sloan. My phone buzzes again as I’m reading it. Oh shit. I sent that to the group thread. Oops.

  I laugh. Ryan taps away on his phone with a smirk. Keep talking, dickhead.

  I catch Ryan’s eye and smile. It feels like there’s a gap the size of the city between us for how far apart we are on the seat. We do talk though. He asks me about the upcoming physical therapy I’ll have to go through and tells me he’ll do anything he can to help.

  I can see my dad smiling in the rearview mirror. “Good,” I tell him. “Because I want to start right away.”

  “We’ll do whatever the doctor says,” my dad answers, lifting an eyebrow at me.

  “Well, yeah, of course,” I say. Then, I look at Ryan and shake my head, giving him an exaggerated no.

  Dad laughs. “Oh great. If those two are going to be on the same side, it’s going to be two versus two, Leslie. We just lost the upper hand.”

  My cheeks heat. If he only knew we’re way past being on just the same side.

  24

  We land in L.A., and before they even open the airplane door, I send a text to my mom letting her know we’ve made it safe. Then, I go to the group thread my Ballers and I have and tell them that Ryan and I just landed in L.A. Ryan’s sleeping next to me. I poke him in the side, and he blinks awake. He stretches, his shirt pulling up so I can ogle the hard planes of his abs. I look away right after because the last thing I need is for Dad or Leslie to see me checking him out.

  Dad rents us a car, and within an hour, we’re at the same hotel we stayed at when we went to see the doctor before. Dad gets us a two-bedroom suite for the night, the only room they had available large enough to fit us all. He and Leslie briefly talked about getting two rooms, one for them and one for us, but they quickly vetoed that idea when the lady brought up the suite.

  When we get into the room, Dad and Leslie claim the main room, and then tell us to fight over the bedroom. Instead of fighting, Ryan goes right over to the couch, which pulls out into a queen-sized sleeper, and sets his bag down next to it.

  “You don’t have to do that,” I tell him, following him that way. Dad and Leslie are already in their room, but I keep my voice down anyway.

  He eyes me. “If you think I’m going to make you sleep on a pull-out bed, you’re insane. You are still in a cast, you know, and even if you weren’t, you wouldn’t be sleeping on this.”

  I drop my bag and sit next to him on the couch. Sometimes when Ryan acts nice, it still floors me. The Ryan from before probably would’ve claimed both beds and told me to sleep on the damn floor, cast or not. I nibble on my lip then turn toward him. “Is it me or did Sloan look tired to you today?”

  He freezes for a second and then relaxes. I think that reaction is an automatic tic for him. He’s not used to others knowing their secrets, so he clams up until he realizes it’s me who’s asking and I’m safe to share things with. Ryan runs a hand through his hair. “He looks freaking exhausted. He hasn’t said much, but I’m guessing the dinner on Saturday didn’t go well. It probably went terrible. His parents are pieces of shit who could care less about Sloan except for what he’ll do for their family name. They don’t ever make it to regular games, but I bet you’ll see them at Championships if we make it.”

  “When we make it,” I correct.

  Leslie giggles in the other room. I peek back at their door and rub the back of my neck. I know my dad’s done some fucked up shit, but I’ve never lost sleep over what he’s done, not like Sloan. “I feel bad for him.”

  “Yeah, well, don’t ever say that to his face,” Ryan says. Then, he smirks. “Though, he might let you slide. I’ve never seen him act around a girl the way he does when he’s with you. The same goes for all of them.”

  I bite the inside of my cheek. I don’t know if he wants me to respond to that, or even what I would say if I did respond.

  He looks over at me. “I guess that’s why I don’t mind sharing you with them.” He reaches out cautiously and tugs on my ponytail that’s lying over my shoulder. “I know I get jealous, and if I had to pick them or me for you, it would be me every damn time, but those guys deserve to feel the same way I feel around you. And I know they do. If they didn’t, I wouldn’t let them continue this.”

  My throat clogs for a second. It’s like there’s a basketball there that I can’t get dislodged. The area at the back of my neck tingles. I guess I hadn’t thought about what the others’ thoughts were about me being with all of them. I want to tell him how nice what he just said was, but I can’t get my tongue to work in my mouth. It’s useless.

  Ryan’s gray eyes focus on me. “I always knew you were something special, Tessa. Maybe that’s why I wanted you and didn’t want you at the same time. I know you don’t want us to keep talking about what we put you through, and trust me, I wish I could forget it too. Actually, I wish I could go back and change things, and make it so I never did and said those things to you. But sometimes what happened works its way into my brain when you look at me, and I can’t even believe that you’re standing right next to us after everything. That’s how I know it’s meant to be all of us instead of me stealing you away forever…though the thought has crossed my mind.”

  My lip quirks up. I understand exactly what he means. I always thought we were connected somehow. Something that I can’t place into words, and if I did, it would sound overly poetic and like a bunch of bullshit unless you were in my shoes feeling the feelings I feel. The only thing I’ve never been able to figure out though: Lake. “Can I ask you a question?”

  His hand drops to my leg to squeeze my thigh. “Anything.”

  “What happened to Lake’s mom?”

  Ryan looks away sharply. His jaw ticks before he says, “She died when he was a kid. An aneurysm while she slept. His aunt used to help their father out a lot, but now that he and River are older, it’s just his dad usually.”

  “Does his dad know about Lake’s pill problem?”

  Ryan shakes his head. “Lake is an excellent liar. He can play it cool like no one else. He can be high as a kite and you wouldn’t even know it. The self-control he has on some things is mind-blowing.” He blinks, then looks up at me from behind lowered lashes. “You probably would’ve liked him.”

  I squirm on the stiff hotel sofa cushion. I just don’t like the way those words feel on my skin. Like sandpaper…or roaches crawling over me.

  “I know you proba
bly won’t ever feel this way now, but Lake—deep down—is one of the best people I know. I used to see more of the best in him, and I can’t even say that it’s just the pills that changed who he is. It started out gradually, so I didn’t notice it at first. Hell, I didn’t even notice it until you came around. I didn’t notice the fact that he was so angry all the time. I didn’t notice the little things he did to people that were so hurtful. I didn’t notice his manipulation of the people around him. I still saw the kid on the court with me when we were nine. The one who helped me back up when one of the older kids pushed me down.” Ryan shakes his head like he can’t believe so much has changed.

  I grit my teeth at the picture he’s just painted for me. I can’t imagine Lake helping anyone up, physically or figuratively. The only person he cares about is himself, the Ballers, and his brother. “Why do you think he threatened to say something about your mom then? That was low.”

  Ryan sighs. “We talked about that. We’re not getting chummy or anything, so don’t think that, but it boils down to him getting scared he’s lost everything because he doesn’t like you.”

  So, it’s my fault he was going to tell everyone about Ryan’s mom? Of course it was. “Have you asked him what it is about me that he can’t stand? Does he just hate women or something?”

  “He denies that it’s anything more than you coming to RHS to take his spot.”

  There’s just something about that excuse that isn’t sitting well with me anymore. “Do you believe him?”

  He shakes his head. “Not a bit. Liar, remember? It’s gotten worse since the drugs. Lake’s always had a tough exterior since his mom died. It was hard for new people to break it down. We were all inside it once, but the walls he has up now are getting thicker and thicker.”

  I look down at my cast. Staring at it grounds me. I might be too much of a bleeding heart sometimes. Maybe I like to see the good in everyone whether they have any or not. Another girl in my position would be spitting fire at Ryan right now for what he did to her. She wouldn’t be talking to her dad, and she certainly wouldn’t be giving Lake O’Brien any thought whatsoever. Why do I even care about his mother or why he hates me?