by Mj Fields
���Tessa, I just told you that I had sex with the three girls who beat you black and blue with a hockey stick yesterday, and you���re laughing. You���re not like anyone else I have ever been with. You are amazing. I enjoy spending time with you, and I feel like for the first time I can be honest with someone, not just can be but want to be. I swear that���s why I fell in love with you.��� He closed his eyes and held his breath.
���Why Lucas Links, I think you should look at me when you���re talking to me.��� She grabbed his face and turned it to hers. ���If you want to take it back, you can. Maybe you love me like a sister or a friend. It���s okay.���
���I wish I could,��� he said. ���But I can���t, Tessa. I don���t think I will ever be able to. You are so different than most girls I���ve met. You���re special, you���re perfect, and I love you, Tessa Ross,��� he said looking into her eyes.
She leaned forward and kissed him gently on the lips, then rested her forehead against his. ���Lucas Links, as much as I���m scared out of my mind, I think I���m in love with you, too. Now because I want some lip action.���
They kissed deeply yet softly. His tongue pushed into her mouth and she accepted it. She pulled away and gently kissed his face, then moved back to his lips. He opened his mouth and her tongue entered it. She kissed his cheek, then his ear, then gently came back to his lips.
���Thank you, Tessa,��� he whispered in her ear.
���For what?���
���For loving me anyways.���
CHAPTER TEN
The next two weeks were perfect. Every morning Lucas met Tessa at her locker and walked her to first period class. They ate lunch together, and when he was at practice she sat on the bench, watching her field hockey team become stronger. One Saturday they took the kids to the zoo and out to lunch, then they had dinner at his house. His mother seemed to be doing well; he said he hadn���t seen her drink in almost a month. She even attended football games and sat with Tessa. They watched him and cheered him on together. On Sundays, she went back to church and the four girls started a junior���s choir. Kendall loved the stage and Jake was getting used to the idea of it. After church Lucas would join them for dinner. He always helped her clean up, and it normally ended in a water fight. After dinner, her dad and Alex were teaching him to shoot. He was an awesome shot, and he would more than likely be hunting with them in November. They would occasionally go out to dinner with Jade and Tommy. They laughed all the time and kissed often.
- Hey baby, homecoming is Saturday and I don���t have a date, been so busy forgot to ask anyone, you free? LYA...Lucas.
- I don���t know so many suitors let me see what I can do���hmmm, OF COURSE���LYA Tessa.
- Thank God because I left a present in your closet, hope you like it���LYA Lucas
She ran upstairs and opened her closet, where a beautiful floor length light blue gown hung from the door. Kendall was asleep in bed, so Tessa had a silent happy dance party.
- I have fallen in love with this beautiful gift���Thank you! I LOVE YOU ANYWAYS���Tessa
- Thank you Tessa for making me happy, my life has been perfect since you have been in it���LYA Lucas
* * *
Tessa had butterflies in her belly on Tuesday. Her game was home and it was against the three B���s. She knew she was ready.
He walked her to class in the morning. ���You nervous, Tessa?��� he asked.
���I am,��� she admitted.
���Then don���t play,��� he said, completely serious.
���What���s the worst that can happen?��� she asked, smiling.
���Tessa,��� he said holding her face in his hand, ���I can���t see them hurt you again and know that it has something to do with shit in my past.���
���You better be there to support me Lucas, I���m not afraid of them. I���m only afraid of you not being there,��� Tessa said.
���See you at lunch.��� He kissed her deeply and groaned. ���I love you, Tessa.���
Later, she was pushing her food around her lunch plate when he sat down next to her. He took her fork and loaded it with as much pasta as he could.
���Open,��� she did, laughing as he loaded her mouth with food. ���Now bite it.��� Her eyes got wide and he laughed. She chewed and swallowed; he loaded the fork again and put it in her mouth.
Sadi walked by. ���Good God, what now? Are her hands broken, too?���
Tessa stood up, and pushed her chair backwards. ���Walk with me, Sadi. If you don���t I���ll drag you ass out of here.���
���Tessa, let it go,��� Lucas said.
���I���m not afraid of you, bitch. Let���s walk.��� Sadi stormed out of the cafeteria. They headed for the locker room.
���What the fuck is your problem with me?��� Tessa yelled.
���Isn���t it obvious, you whore?��� Sadi yelled back.
Tessa sat on the bench. ���I guess it is, but tell me something; is this making it any better for you? Does this help you get through your day?���
���Don���t try to shrink me, Tessa. The minute you stop fucking him, he���ll be crawling back to me. He always does!��� she yelled.
���Sadi, I haven���t slept with him.���
���Whatever. Now you���re a lying whore,��� she said, this time in a calmer voice.
Tessa sat and looked at her. ���No Sadi, I���m not.���
���So is that your game; you���re stringing him along so he pants after you like a little puppy?���
���I love him and he loves me. It���s not like that,��� Tessa said.
���He loves you? What makes you think that, you delusional bitch?��� Sadi asked.
���Do you really want to know the answer to that question?���
���Among others,��� she said.
���Then ask away.���
���Why do you think he loves you?��� she yelled.
���Because he tells me he does.���
���Have you met his mother?��� she asked.
���You���ve seen me at games with her, Sadi,��� Tessa answered softly.
���Has he told you about us?���
���That���s not my business.���
Sadi sat on the bench facing her. ���Do you know about the girls who beat your ass at the hockey game?���
���I do,��� she said.
���Did he tell you he told me he loved me?��� Sadi asked.
���Yes.���
���Does he still?��� she said, tearing up.
���I know he cared after you jumped me in the parking lot, or he wouldn���t have gotten you out of there,��� Tessa said softly.
���Does that bother you?���
���No. You share a past,��� she said softly.
���We do,��� she said. ���I was pregnant. I had an abortion, I aborted our baby.��� She started crying.
Tessa put her arm around Sadi and pulled her into her shoulder.
���Don���t you want to know why?��� Sadi cried.
���It���s not any of my business. That���s between the two of you and God.���
���He slept with the girls who attacked you, and I wanted his game to be over. I couldn���t handle it. I was scared, and I didn���t want to have his baby and be connected to him forever. He hates me because of it, and I hate me, too,��� she sa
id sobbing.
���I can���t imagine what it must have been like to have to make that decision. I���m so sorry.���
���I hate you,��� she said, ���and I don���t know why.���
���I understand and I don���t know how,��� Tessa said. ���But I do know that it���s hurting you to be so angry. You���re stunning and young, and although I have yet to see it, I bet you���re lovable.���
Sadi laughed and sat up. ���How do you do it? How do you not give in to him?���
Tessa shook her head. ���He told me he loves me and I love him. I want it to be right and have no regrets if it ends.���
���Can I still hate you?���
���If you need to I guess, but could you please stop trying to beat me up? That���s getting annoying!��� Tessa smiled.
The bell rang, and Tessa stood. ���Got to get to class.���
���Good luck tonight,��� Sadi yelled to her as she walked out the door.
They walked into the hall and smiled at each other. Jade, Becca, Phoebe, Tommy, and Lucas stood there waiting.
Sadi looked at Lucas. ���I forgive you,��� she said and walked away.
Tessa turned away. He grabbed her hand and pulled her toward him. ���Are you ok?���
���Yes,��� Tessa replied.
���Are you pissed at me?��� he asked.
���A little. You left out the part about fucking the three blondes before she aborted the baby?��� Tessa whispered.
���You told her you knew?��� Lucas asked.
���No, she asked me if you told me what happened with the two of you. I told her it was none of my business and she cried and told me what she���d done. Then she told me why.���
���You hate me now?��� he asked.
���I told you and now her that I was not involved with you then. That was your past. As long as it stays there, we���re fine. I���ll let it go,��� she said. ���But Lucas, you have to tell her you forgive her and make yourself forgive her. She made a horrible decision on her own that was brought on by the pain you caused her. No, it wasn���t right, but who are you to judge her?���
���So I���m a piece of shit because of what she did?��� he asked.
���No Lucas, but you hurt her. Regardless of what she did, you need to take some ownership and forgive her ��� starting with saying you���re sorry that your head was wherever the dark place it went to when this all went down,��� Tessa said.
���Why do you think you get to tell me what to do?��� His face tightened. She looked at him confused. ���Who do you think are you?���
Tessa looked at him and shook her head. ���The person who loves you anyways.���
She went to the bathroom and threw up.
���You okay, Tessa?��� Jade asked as she pulled her hair back.
���No, Jade, I���m not,��� she said and threw up again.
- Tessa just went in the bathroom and threw up after fighting with your asshole friend���J
- By asshole friend can I safely assume you���re talking about Lucas?...T
- let him know he sucks and if anything happens because her head is up her ass at the game I am going to beat him with a hockey stick���J
- anything for you pretty girl���T
* * *
The bell rang and Tessa walked to the locker room to get changed. Phoebe, Becca, and Jade were in there waiting. They made her eat some crackers and drink some juice.
���Head in the Game, Ross,��� Becca said.
���Attention ladies, this is your captain, Phoebe, speaking; it is going to be a rough flight but we are in for a smooth landing. The penalty box is to your right,��� she pointed like an airline attendant would, ���and to your left,��� She pointed again. ���In case of emergency, please feel free to utilize them both, but make it count.���
Everyone laughed.
They passed the boys on the way to their field. Lucas didn���t even turn around.
���Go get them, Tessa!��� Alex yelled.
Tessa sat on the bench and coach V wrapped her ankle. She slid on her new shin guards, laced up her cleats, and watched as the three B���s walked toward the field.
���Tessa, you���re going to defend today,��� Coach V said.
���Not a chance.��� Tessa focused on her opponents.
���I am the coach, Ross. You just got back, and you need to listen,��� he lectured her.
���You���re also human and competitive. Would you want to be sitting in the back against a bunch of bitches that messed you up?���
He shook his head. ���Fine, but the minute they start messing with you, you���re going back, got it?���
���I prefer to sit in the box over the bench. I���ll be fine.���
He put her in the front line against B1. ���Back so soon? Guess we didn���t do that great of a job then huh?���
���I���m not into the three on one thing, actually never been asked, guess I���m good enough all by myself, so right now it���s me and you so give me all you got girl.��� Tessa smirked.
���You little bitch,��� B1 snapped.
���You want to start name calling, I can think of a few for you, too,��� Tessa laughed.
The ball was passed to Tessa, she grabbed it and in the blink of an eye, she had made a goal, B1 didn���t even know it was coming.
Tessa walked over and smiled at her opponent.
She heard a voice from the stands.
���Great shot Tessa,��� she glanced and saw Lucas���s Mom in the bleachers.
���So you ready to play yet?��� Tessa asked.
���I came ready,��� she stewed.
���Hey you ever met Lucas���s Mom?��� she asked, ���I mean, been to the house when she was there?���
���Of course I���ve been there when she was home!��� she snapped.
���Oh��� so I wonder which one of us she���s here to see?��� Tessa asked and B1 looked into the bleachers. She ran for the ball and past B1 before she even noticed she was gone.
���You falling asleep on me B1?��� she asked and Madison dropped her stick and lunged at her. She was on top and that quickly changed. Tessa was laughing when she hopped up, ���Is that all you���ve got?��� the umpire red carded her immediately.
Phoebe looked at her, ���Don���t you go stealing all the fun, I want to play too,��� Tessa laughed and B2 stood in front of her, which made her laugh even harder, pissing B2 off.
���Hey nice seeing you again,��� Tessa said doing a few jumps and twirled around. ���All better, thanks for asking.���
B2 said nothing, oh boy Tessa thought. ���Are you going to play nice today?���
B2 smiled, ���Not on your life.���
���That���s what I thought and that���s why the cops came today,��� Tessa said nodding to the bleachers; the whistle blew as B2 turned away and she darted out and grabbed the ball and headed toward the goal. She passed to Becca.
She went back to face B2. ���Nice try Ross, no cops!���
���Not yet, try me,��� Tessa hissed, ���Did you see Lucas���s mom?���
���What���s she doing here?��� she asked.
���She���s here to watch me play, because her son loves me.��� She wondered if he still felt that way.
���He told you that?���
�� she asked shocked.
���Every day.���
B2 swung the stick and Tessa ducked, she was Red carded as well.
Tessa took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Two down, one to go she thought. She looked over and the football practice had ended. A group of them were walking over, she saw her brother and Tommy, but not Lucas. She looked past them and saw Lucas and Sadi talking, his head hung low. ���And you thought you could change him?��� she looked and it was B3.
���That girl has been the only one he has turned me down for and look, things have not changed,��� she said without an ounce of nasty in her voice.
���So are you here to play or are you going to try to kick my ass again too?��� Tessa asked with a defeated tone to her voice.
���Looks like your ass just got kicked, let���s play.���
The whistle blew and they both went for the ball, Carly got it first. Tessa snagged it back and headed down the field, and Carly got it back and passed it down the field, Phoebe stopped it and passed to Becca and Carly grabbed it again back. Tessa ran back toward them and couldn���t get it back. Carly shot at the goal and Jade caught it.
Jade hit it out and Carly took it back and made a goal.
Back at the line Tessa smiled, ���Good shot,��� and she glanced over toward Lucas, Sadi was hugging him and he stood arms to his side.
Carly looked and saw too, ���You going to let it happen again?��� she asked and raised her eyebrow and smiled.
���Not a chance,��� she said as the whistle blew. She took the ball and ran down for a goal. She hi fived her team mates and went back.
���Good shot Tessa Ross.���
The whistle blew. It was half time.
���Hey you going to be okay?���
���Yeah, I will be, and how about you?��� Tessa asked.
���As long as I stay sober there is nothing there, just got caught up in a dirty game that���s all,��� she said smiling looking at the ground.
���Did you know him when he was sober?���
���A little, I���m sure he���s ok. We are all fucked up and have shitty family lives, you know the broken family kids that fall in the cracks, we are ���emotionally disturbed��� as my shrink says,��� Carly smiled.