“Yeah, I do. I don’t think it was as bad as you’re acting. I’m planning to go check out what I’ve got to work with. You want to come?”
“To the high school?” Avery wrinkled her forehead.
“No dummy, to the pizza shop…of course the high school. Where else would I be talking about?”
“Ummm, I don’t know if that’s such a good idea,” Avery sighed.
“No, showing up tomorrow totally unprepared is a bad idea. What’s going on with you?”
“Nothing,” she shook her head and turned her back to me. “You go ahead. I think I’m going to go back to sleep. I’ll catch you later.”
“Alright…you sure you’re ok?”
“Yeah…go do your thing Leah. I’ll see you later. We’ll hang out tonight.”
I turned to grab my keys off the counter and heard her mumble something as she made her way down the hall. I couldn’t quite make it out, but it sounded like a warning.
ooooooooo
The entire ride to the high school took me all of ten minutes. I didn’t realize how close to town Avery really lived. It seemed further last night than it actually was. I pulled up in the front parking lot, and moved my car into a spot labeled faculty. It felt weird parking here. I’d never been anything other than a student at Pittsford High. Now I was considered a teacher, sort of, I think.
I shook my head… Too much analyzing this early. I began to walk in the direction of the gym, that’s usually where the coaching staff have their offices. I wasn’t really paying attention to the fact that there was a blue pickup truck in the corner of the lot. It wasn’t uncommon for teachers to work on the weekends, but I had no idea who it belonged to.
When I reached the door, I heaved it open. The smell of sweat and wood wafted over me. Being back here…it was like I never left. I took a few steps forward into the gym as I let my eyes wander. The same sights and smells that were here five years ago, were still here now. I looked to the right, where the scoreboard was housed. Right beside it, in the same spot that it was five years ago, were the school track records. Leah Carmichael was emblazoned across the top of three columns. I held the school’s record in the 400 meters, 200 meters, and the 800 meters. The dates were different, but the times were still lower than anyone in the district. No one had even come close to challenging me. Pride swelled in my chest as tears formed in my eyes over a dream never realized. I shook the memories from my head as I wiped at my cheeks. Time to move on I thought as I began to head in the direction of the locker rooms.
As I began to weave my way through the mass of hallways in search of what would be my office, I heard a faint voice. It sounded slightly angered, and was getting louder the further I walked down the hall. The louder it got, the faster I walked. It seemed so familiar, and yet not at the same time.
“You need to get your ass in gear son if you want to be a captain this year,” the voice bellowed. “I can’t let you lead, if you don’t set a good example.”
“Yes Coach. I’ll work on it,” another voice answered timidly.
“Speak up Son. A leader knows what he wants and goes after it.”
“I won’t let you down,” the voiced shouted as a shadow appeared in the hallway a few feet ahead of where I was standing.
I stopped in my tracks and watched from a distance as a boy who looked to be about sixteen stepped out of an office down the hall. He turned and waved at me before sticking his head back in the door he’d just come out of. “Hey Coach? There’s someone out here. They might need help,” he called to whomever was inside.
“Thanks Ben,” came a deeper masculine voice, the same one from before, but softer this time.
I nodded my thanks, hoping that whomever was in that office could point me in the right direction and not bite my head off at the same time. When the shadowed figured stepped through the door, my entire world tilted on its side. The last person I ever wanted to see in Pittsford stood there gawking at me. It was none other than Nick Sutter.
“Leah? Is that you?” he blinked a few times and rubbed his fingers over his eyes pinching the bridge of his nose. The years had been kind to him. His body toned and muscular. Nick always was hot, but now having the body of a man…he was gorgeous. A pair of dark jeans hung loose on his hips accentuating his narrow waist. A white t-shirt adorned his upper half clinging to his chest and arms. Pittsford High Athletic Department was stamped across the chest in a dark green. His sandy hair was standing up in every direction as if he’d ran his hands through it repeatedly. Piercing eyes narrowed at me as his upper lip twisted into a smirk.
“Huh?” I managed to squeak out as I twisted my fingers together.
“It is you,” he groaned as he leaned against the door jam and crossed his arms over his chest in an annoyed fashion. “What are you doing here? I thought this town, me, this job…I thought you were too good for us.”
His vindictive comment came out as a snarl and hit me in a way that felt like a slap in the face, “I work here now.”
“You…here,” he pointed with his finger in the air and rolled his eyes. “I find that hard to believe. How’d you end up back here? Not good enough to cut it?”
The sting of his words brought tears to my eyes. I knew he was pissed at the way things ended between us, but this was just cruel.
“This was a bad idea,” I mumbled as I turned and began to walk back to the gym.
“Wait,” he called after me effectively stopping me in my tracks. “Wait…I shouldn’t have said that…I’m sorry,” he mumbled.
When I heard the footsteps get closer, I felt the sizzle of the air. Nick always had a way to make me feel alive. No man since him had ever affected me the way he did.
He stopped right behind me and lightly touched my shoulder, “I didn’t mean it.”
I whirled around on him causing him to stumble back slightly, “What do you mean, you didn’t mean it? That was just…” I shook my head. “You meant it. You wouldn’t have said it if you didn’t mean it. Why would you do something like that Nick? I know you hate me. I know I’m never going to get anything but hatred from you, but you were never cruel.”
Nick shook his head as pain flashed in his eyes, “Nothing.” “Your office is the last door on the left that is if you’re taking Coach Wilson’s job.”
“Thanks,” I sighed as I shouldered my way around him and walked as quickly as possible to the door he had indicated.
After slipping inside, I leaned against the closed door and let the tears come. Nick Sutter was not somebody I wanted to be around. We’d held each other’s hearts for three years, and then I’d crushed his. I’d taken what I had, and blown it into a million tiny pieces, obliterating any chance of ever feeling whole again. I thought coming back here, to this town, wouldn’t be this hard. Boy was I wrong. This job, these people, my family, friends, and now Nick. They were all going to slowly break me. They were going to tear me into jagged pieces and scatter me down Main Street. I thought I could see Nick. I thought when I finally ran into him that things would be ok. We say hi awkwardly, and then move on. I should have realized that could never happen. How do you run into the one man who still has your heart, and it not affect you in some way? The answer is simple…you can’t.
ooooooooo
Nick
“Have a seat,” I pointed to the chair in front of my desk as Ben stood shifting from side-to-side in my doorway. “What’s going on with you this year?”
“I don’t know Coach,” he mumbled as he moved to sit in the chair I indicated.
“Do you want to be Captain?” I lifted my hands in a questioning gesture.
“Yes Sir, I do. I just… Chelsea wants to go to Northwestern and I don’t know if I’m good enough for them.”
“A girl…that’s what this is about?” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “You’re screwing around during Spring Training because of a girl?” I stood and loomed over my desk in his direction. I knew this was wrong. I couldn’t come down on a kid like this, bu
t watching him throw his potential out the window over some high school romance was killing me. This kid didn’t realize how good he really was. As I stood there watching fear and confusion wash over his face, it brought it all back to me.
“So you’re not even going to ask me what I think.” I gripped the back of my neck as I watched her pace in front of me.
“It’s not really your decision Nick. It’s mine,” Leah glanced up at me as anger and frustration began to filter into her voice. “They want an answer by Monday…and I’m going to tell them yes.”
“So that’s it? You’re leaving? What about me? Don’t I mean anything to you?”
“I love you Nick, but this has been my dream since I was little. I can’t let this opportunity pass me by.”
“You sound like your dad, Leah…this isn’t you talking.”
“I’m sorry,” she mumbled as she leaned up on her tip toes and brushed her lips across mine. “I have to go…I love you.”
As I had watched her walk away from me for the last time, anger boiled inside. I thought about what I’d given up. I had been asked to come to UNC on a football scholarship. I’d been sought after just as much as she had, but I stayed. I let my love for her determine where my future lied. I’d stuck around in a dead end job as a construction worker just so we could be together, and she had dropped me like a bad habit as soon as the scouts came after her.
I slammed my fist down on my desk bringing Ben and my thoughts back to the present.
“You need to get your ass in gear if you want to be Captain. I can’t let you lead, if you don’t set a good example,” I was practically in his face at this point, but Ben seemed to take it pretty well. He knew I respected him as a player and I was just trying to get the best out of him.
“Yes Coach. I’ll work on it,” he answered timidly.
“Speak up Son. A leader knows what he wants and goes after it.”
Ben stood and made his way toward my door. Just as he stepped out into the hall, he leaned back in.
“Hey Coach, there’s someone out here…might need some help.”
“Thanks Ben,” I stood and made my way over to the door not really watching where I was going.
Ben was long gone by the time I rounded the doorway and stepped into the hall. As I glanced up, the figure came into view and hit me like a Mac truck right to the gut. Leah Carmichael stood awkwardly in the hall with her arms crossed over her chest. She was the last person I ever thought I’d see again, especially at my place of employment. I mean seriously, this girl had a mission to get away from this town. Why in the world she would be back now was beyond me.
“Leah? Is that you?” I called as I watched her fidget.
I knew it was her. I could never forget that body. I had memorized every curve and dip of her. I wanted her to acknowledge me. She was the one to leave me behind. I was not going to make this easy. She stood there in a pair of black yoga pants and a red Nike hoodie. Her chocolate hair had been pulled up in a messy ponytail on the top of her head.
“It is you,” I nodded as I leaned against my office door and watched her eyes flicker as they scanned over my form. I still affected her that was obvious. “I thought you were too good for all of this?”
Her mouth dropped open and then snapped closed at my remark. Pain marred her expression as she twisted her fingers together. As much as I wanted to rush over and wrap my arms around her, I couldn’t. She’d left me without a second thought. She walked away from everything we’d wanted together to be selfish. The pain and anger I’d felt all those years ago crept up and took hold of my voice as I stalked in her direction and let the words fly out of my mouth.
I watched her cringe and step back as she tried to turn and escape me. Anger turned to pain as I watched her back. Her back had been the last image I’d had of her. Her walking away from me as she had told me she was moving to Atlanta to pursue her dream. Remorse filled me as the good in me trumped the anger, and I jogged after her.
“Wait…” I spun her around to see tears glistening in her eyes. “I didn’t mean it.”
She nodded and wiped at her face, “You meant it. You wouldn’t have said it if you didn’t mean it.”
I shook my head and huffed out a breath, “Your office is at the end of the hall on the left…that is if you’re taking Coach Wilson’s job.”
She nodded and brushed by me hurrying to the door I had indicated. I watched her throw to door open and rush inside slamming it behind her. Muffled cries came from inside, and I fought the urge to run to her. Shaking my head I stepped back into my office and closed the door. Never did I expect her to come back. Never did I think that I’d be forced to work side-by-side with the one person who could destroy me. Leah Carmichael had shattered me five years ago when she stepped out of my life without even a thought of looking back. Now here she was working not ten feet from me, soon to be on a daily basis. How in god’s name was I going to survive this? How was I going to keep myself together when just the smell of her body wash sent me into a tailspin? I wasn’t that was the answer. No way was I going to be able to stay away…
Chapter 3
Leah
After spending way too much time in my new office, I decided to bite the bullet and make my escape. I had no idea how long Nick would hang around, and honestly I figured he would make himself scarce now that he knew I was going to be around. Things had not ended well for us. To say that the wounds were still healing was an understatement.
As I stood and glanced around the small office, I grabbed the team roster, and poked my head out into the hall. When I glanced down to the right, and saw that Nick’s light had been turned off, I made my escape. Walking as quickly as possible, I weaved through the hallways, finally making it back to the parking lot, before jumping into my car, and speeding away from the nightmare that had been my afternoon.
ooooooooo
By the time I reached Avery’s house, I was fuming. There was no way that she didn’t know that Nick worked at the high school. No way! Once I had grabbed the stack of papers that I’d brought home, I stood, and slammed the car door shut, as I stormed into the house on a mission.
“You’ve got some nerve!” I shrieked as I stomped through the door.
“So he was there?” Avery mumbled dismissively.
“”How could you? How could you not tell me this?” tears pooled in my eyes. “Do you have any idea how hard that was? It was bad enough having to come back here. Have everyone see that that their “golden girl” couldn’t make it. Then to find out that Nick works at the same place that I’m going to have to be at on a daily basis?” pain along with anger flashed through me. “I thought you were my friend.”
Avery spun finally showing her own feelings, “How could I?” She pushed off the counter and moved to stand it front of me, “Leah…I love you like a sister. I would do anything for you, but I’m his friend too.” She wiped her hands over her face and drug her fingers through her hair, “You weren’t here to pick up the pieces after. When you left…it broke him.” She moved to sit on the couch, “I was the one picking him up from bars at two in the morning. I was the one who made sure he didn’t kill himself when he got so wasted that he began talking nonsense.” She glanced up at me as pain marred her face, “I’m not blaming you. I know you had an opportunity of a lifetime, but the rest of us were here going about our boring daily lives. You’ve got to see that Nick didn’t deserve the ending he got.”
As I watched her sink lower and lower into the couch cushions, I finally realized how bad it must have been for her. She was always a good friend, but she was friends with me as well as Nick. When Nick and I had first gotten together, I made sure that he knew Avery was part of the deal. It never occurred to me that she would still hang out with him after I left.
“I’m sorry,” I sighed as I turned to pull her into a hug. “I didn’t mean it…I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
“I do,” Avery grinned and wiped the tears away.
“What
’s that?” I laughed as I released her.
“You need to get laid,” she giggled.
I rolled my eyes as I shoved her away before we both erupted into giggles. It had been a long day, and laughing was just what I needed. Thoughts of Nick and what tomorrow would bring evaded me as thoughts of visiting my parents began to take over.
“I gotta go see my mom,” I huffed. “Dad asked me last night to come by today and I totally blew him off. You wanna come?”
“Can I get a rain check?” she cocked her head to the side.
I knew this was her way of telling me no. She knew that I needed to do this on my own.
“Sure,” I nodded as I stood and grabbed my keys. “I won’t be gone long. I’ll see you later?”
“Yeah…I’ll grab us a bottle of wine for tonight,” she smiled. “We’ll celebrate you not kicking my ass over the whole Nick thing.”
ooooooooo
When I pulled up in front of my childhood home, I couldn’t help the feeling that washed over me. It felt strange being back in this town, but even more so being back here. Things look exactly the way they did when I left. The same pink rose bushes lined the front steps. The same tire swing still hung from the giant oak in the front yard. The house looked a little more weathered and in need of some paint, but the same country charm still radiated off it.
A small smile tugged at the corners of my mouth as I ambled along the walkway making my way to the front door. Before I could turn the knob, the door flew open.
“Leah, you made it,” my dad stood there beaming.
“Yeah, sorry I didn’t come by sooner,” I mumbled as I stepped into his waiting embrace.
“Hey…it’s ok. You’re here now. Your mom is going to be so happy to see you,” he grabbed my hand and tugged me through the front door as he led me into the family room.
I stood in the middle of the room and began scanning the walls. Nothing had changed, it was as if time had frozen the memories waiting for me to return. Pictures of me from every age covered the book shelves and mantle. A small table sat in the corner with track photos and shadow boxes that held the medals I’d won. “Our Champion” was scripted in wooden letters and hung on the wall over it.
Shattered (Shattered #1) Page 2