You’re doing this for your future, man.
“Bro, are you in there? Did you hear me?”
I inhaled the wooden scent that seemed to be imbedded in the walls, halls, and everywhere in the school. Actually, the school smelled like the inside of a church. “Yeah. We can’t tell Marcus. But news flash—Sloane probably did already.”
“Have you seen Marcus today? Because I didn’t see him at lunch. He wasn’t sitting with Jasper like normal.”
I ran a hand through my hair. “Did you ask Jasper?”
“I didn’t get a chance. Coach called an emergency meeting of the football team that cut my lunch short. Honestly, I didn’t think much about it. I figured Marcus was running late, and Jasper was sweet-talking a girl anyway.”
I chuckled. Jasper was making the rounds with girls for sure. I’d seen him a couple of times talking to two different girls that week. “Let’s not worry about Marcus. He seems happy here, and if he’s talking to Sloane on the phone, then let him.” I was done worrying about him. I had my own goals and dreams to achieve—basketball, winning games, getting seen by a scout, prepping for upcoming scrimmage games, and doing well in my classes.
Ethan pushed off the bed and stood to his full height. “I need to ask Jasper something about football. I’ll talk to Marcus, although soccer usually runs late.”
That sounded perfect. I wanted to hear Quinn’s voice anyway.
When Ethan reached the door, I asked, “Why are you so worried about him all of a sudden?” That job had been mine for the last year. “As I said, he seems happy.”
Marcus had told me just the other day that he felt like he could finally breathe for the first time since Dad’s death. In some ways, I agreed with him. There was something about the academy that was refreshing. I couldn’t pinpoint what. I loved how Coach Green had taken me under his wing and made me feel like I’d been playing for Greenridge since my freshman year. He also reminded me of my dad. Whenever he was frustrated because I’d messed up a play, he would address me by my full name. My dad had done the same when I’d been in trouble.
Ethan twisted the doorknob. “Mom needs our help.”
I stiffened. He sounded as though Mom were sick, and the only thing I could think about was her sister, who had died last year of breast cancer. Mom had told me not long after my aunt’s death that breast cancer was inherent in her family.
“Did something happen?” Please say no. You better say no. If Mom was sick, I was packing my bags right then and hitching a ride to Ashford.
“I haven’t told you this, but before we left to come up here, I heard her crying every night.” He heaved a sigh. “It just breaks my heart to see her sad and frustrated. As the older brothers, we need to step up.”
“Weren’t you the one who told me many times last year to take a chill pill?” I prodded him with my eyes. “Yeah. You were.”
“Dude, I’m one year wiser. Besides, I hate how Marcus treats Mom with no respect. If Dad were here, he wo—”
“He’s not.” My tone was hard and raw and downright steeped in fury. I hardly got angry with Ethan, but his big-brother attitude all of a sudden was twisting a knife in my chest, making me feel like I didn’t care anymore, and I did. Then again, I should be thankful he was stepping up. Maybe it was time for someone else to kick Marcus’s ass.
A muscle jumped in his jaw. “Exactly. It’s up to you and me. So deal with it.” He stormed out, closing the door behind him with a loud bang that shook the walls.
I flung myself back on my bed, staring at the poster of the basketball court I had tacked to the ceiling. The picture was a reminder of what I was striving for—the scholarship, the full ride to a Division I school, making my mom proud, and even my dad, who I was sure was watching down over the family. Most of all, I wanted to play ball for the NBA more than anything.
“Stay focused,” Coach Dean had said before I left.
But I didn’t know how I could when I took one step forward and two steps back, or at least that was how it seemed.
I lifted my phone and tapped on Quinn’s name. I needed to hear her sweet voice.
“Maiken.” She sounded upbeat, excited, and relieved.
I quietly sighed, my body warming in all the right places. “Hey, babe.”
“I miss you terribly. You’re not going to believe what I have to tell you.”
“First, I love you.”
She sucked in a sharp breath. “What happened? Is something wrong?”
“Family stuff. Nothing like pigs in school.” I discarded my brooding tone. She didn’t need to hear about Marcus. Hell, she had to be tired of dealing with him and hearing me complain about my brother.
She giggled. “You saw the video. Everyone has seen that video. I’m sure when I go to church on Sunday, the whole congregation will be talking about it. I can hear them now. ‘Kids. Who thinks of these silly pranks?’”
I didn’t care what the churchgoers thought. I cared about my girl. “Tell me you love me.”
“To the stars and back. I miss you so, so much. I want to see you.”
Butterflies swarmed in my stomach. I wished I could reach through the phone and touch her. “I have a scrimmage game next month. Can you come up? I’m sure you could spend the night in Emma’s room.”
“Oh my God! Really? I would love to.” Silence stretched over the line for a beat. “But I don’t know if my dad will let me. I’ll talk to my mom.”
My fingers were crossed that her dad would say yes. “At least for the game.” If I knew Mr. Thompson, he wouldn’t let Quinn spend the night, knowing she was with me.
“My dad might agree to a day trip, and I’ll ask Celia.”
“Cool. So who unleashed the pigs?”
“No clue. Daddy is furious.”
I propped up my pillow. “Did Sloane do it?” I couldn’t see Sloane bringing pigs into school. She was a lot of things, but not somebody I could see doing pranks.
“You know she’s not moving. Her stepbrother is going to Kensington. He’s creepy too.”
“Creepy?” I didn’t like the sound of that.
“One of those guys who thinks his shit doesn’t stink. The kicker is the principal wants me to tutor him. I haven’t decided yet. With my brothers at college, Daddy has no one to help him.”
“I wish I was there.”
“I know. I miss our quick trysts in the supply closet.” Sadness tinged her voice.
My heart broke. “I do too.”
She sniffled, which was another blow to my heart.
I closed my eyes, envisioning her next to me. “I love you. But we’ll be together soon. Holidays are coming up, and hopefully we’ll see each other next month.”
“The month will feel like years.”
The week or so I’d spent away from her already felt like eons.
“Quinn,” her mom called. “Dinner is ready.”
“I have to go.” She sounded like the world was ending. “I love you. Call me tomorrow.”
Just as the line went dead, Ethan burst into the room.
My heart plummeted at the wild look he was sporting. “What did Marcus do?”
Jasper barreled in behind Ethan, guilt swimming in his brown eyes. “Sorry.”
“Marcus isn’t on campus,” Ethan said. “He’s in Ashford.”
Several swear words blared in my head. “Does Mom know? Don’t answer that. If she knew, she would’ve called me, or one of us at least. How did he get there?” Mom had a car, but none of us did.
Jasper dropped onto Ethan’s bed, flicking his unkempt blond hair from his eyes. “Marcus heard Sloane wasn’t moving. He convinced a guy on the soccer team to give him a ride. They left after lunch since practice was cancelled.”
“Why didn’t you come tell us?” I asked Jasper.
“Really? What could you or Ethan do? Marcus is Marcus, bro. I can’t stop him, and I’m not going to try.”
Ethan began to pace. “I tried to call him, but he’s not answering.”
/> I swiped a hand over my head. “Curfew is four hours away. If he’s not back by ten tonight, then it’s his ass.”
Regardless, it was weird to see Ethan in freak-out mode. He’d always been the cool, calm, and collected brother. I was happy to know he would step into my shoes as big bro when I graduated.
Voices hummed in the cafeteria as kids ate and chatted.
Colorful leaves fell from branches, scattering to the ground directly outside the window near the table where Celia and I were sitting. The October weather was cold and brisk, and any remnants of summer and warm temps were gone.
Celia stabbed her fork into her wilted lettuce. “Aren’t you going to eat?”
The overcooked pasta on my plate wasn’t tempting my taste buds. “I’m not hungry.” Since Maiken had moved up to the Berkshires, my appetite hadn’t been normal.
I was also tired. I’d been struggling to keep my eyes open during classes for the last several weeks. Concentrating and listening to the lectures each day was brutal. I was even failing miserably studying at night.
With Carter and Liam not around to pick up the slack, Daddy and I were exhausted. I’d been a bit worried about Daddy too. He still wasn’t in a good mood and hadn’t been since my party. It didn’t help that we hadn’t found the person responsible for taking the pigs on the first day of school, which was eating at Daddy. He was thinking of installing cameras around the farm.
Celia shoved spinach into her mouth. “You should post the job opening for the farm on the school bulletin board. I’ll also mention it in the school’s blog. Someone will bite.”
“I doubt that.” First, Daddy was picky, and second, kids didn’t want to clean out stalls and feed animals or get their hands dirty.
Coach Dean had had the basketball team working on the farm at the crack of dawn last year. Maiken hadn’t complained, but some of the boys had, in particular Chase Stevens.
“I’d rather not have anyone from school.” Sloane Price had applied last year, and that had proven to be a disaster, or rather she’d quit before she even started. “We need someone who is older and isn’t afraid of hard work, someone with muscles to do the heavy lifting.”
Celia ate her salad like she was starving. “Trevor Thames has muscles. Maybe you should see if he’s interested.”
I gasped at my BFF. “Are you insane? He’s Sloane Price’s stepbrother. He’s creepy, and he doesn’t strike me as someone who’s into hard work.”
She wiped her mouth with a napkin. “I’ve been watching the basketball team practice, and he works hard on the court.”
Trevor didn’t strike me as the basketball type. He looked more like a linebacker with his wide shoulders.
“I hear he’s looking for a job.”
I shook my head vigorously. “No way. I want nothing to do with him.” I’d only seen him in the halls here and there. Since he was a junior, I didn’t run into him that much. When I had seen him, he was sucking face with a tall brunette.
Celia reached for her drink. “You have to admit he is yummy.”
I scrunched my nose. “No way in hell.” I would never acknowledge that she was spot-on. His dark hair brought out his striking green eyes.
“You know Elise Davis is tutoring him,” Celia said.
“You’re just full of all kinds of information. If I didn’t know better, I’d think you want to date him.” I guessed Liam was a blip on her radar now that they’d broken up. Then again, that was the point. They both wanted to see other people. Well, as far as I knew, Liam wasn’t seeing anyone, at least he hadn’t mentioned he was when I talked to him last week.
“Pfft. I’m the school’s sports reporter. I need to know my players.”
Giggling, I rolled my eyes. “You mean you’re checking out every guy you can now that you’re single.”
She pushed out a shoulder, smirking. “Sue me.”
We both laughed harder.
Principal Sanders had been quite disappointed in me when I respectfully declined to tutor Trevor. I knew tutoring would look good on my college applications, but not at the expense of my own studies. At least that was the excuse I’d given her.
“What about Noah?” I asked Celia. “You seem to like him too.” Like Trevor, I hadn’t had any more interaction with Noah since the first day of school. Again, we didn’t see juniors that much in between classes. Plus, he seemed to have taken the hint that I was spoken for.
“So does every girl in this school. Basketball practice is like a Jonas Brothers concert. Girls are gathering in droves to watch Noah and Trevor.”
I’d heard Coach Dean talking to Daddy the other night about how Noah was a great addition to the team. He hadn’t said anything about Trevor, though.
“Hey.” I narrowed my eyes. “Did Sloane ever apologize to you?” Sloane might not like me, but she’d almost killed Celia.
“Let’s not discuss her ever.” My friend gulped down her soda. “It’s bad enough that when I get headaches, she comes to mind.”
“Is the frequency of the headaches subsiding?” I still blamed Sloane for my party turning into fight night.
“I’m not having as many anymore,” Celia said. “Back to the job on the farm. Think about posting a flyer. You need to get help, girl. Your valedictorian status is on the line.”
I straightened my spine. I’d passed all my tests so far, but my grades hadn’t been as stellar as they normally were. “I will. For now, can we talk about something else?”
She pulled lipstick out of her purse. “Are we still on for Saturday?”
I wasn’t letting anything ruin my chances of seeing Maiken. “For sure.” I pushed my tray away from me. “I can’t wait to lock lips with my boyfriend.” A delightful shiver blanketed me. It had been way too long since I’d seen him. “I can’t stay the night, though.” Daddy had shut the door on that pretty quickly.
The bell rang, which was our cue. I had a study period next, and I had to brush up on calculus before the test that afternoon.
Rising, I picked up my tray, as did Celia. After weaving through the incoming crowd and dumping our trash, Celia and I walked out. She went one way, and I went the other, in the direction of the library. On the way, I tapped out a text to Maiken.
Me: I can’t wait to see you this weekend.
I was lowering my phone when I rounded a corner and plowed into a brick wall, or rather a hard chest.
I jumped back, holding my nose, just as big hands grabbed my arms. “I’m sorry.” The boy’s baritone voice made me cringe. “Are you okay?”
My eyes watered, and I swore I would give Trevor Thames two black eyes if I ended up with two of my own. “Can you watch where you’re going?”
A wicked grin lit up his face, and those green eyes beamed with mischief. “You’re the one with your head down. The way I look at it, I saved you.”
My laugh bounced off the metal lockers. “How so?”
He slid to one side and pointed to the trash can. “You would’ve run into that.”
“Do I owe you my life?” My tone was snarky.
He dragged his fingers along his sharp jaw, appraising me like I was his next meal. Ew! “Sounds like a good trade.”
I tried to step around him, but he blocked me. I clutched the straps of my backpack as though they were my lifelines. “Excuse me. I have somewhere to be.”
“So do I,” he said. “With you.”
This guy was a piece of work. “Go find someone who’s interested.”
I’d managed not to talk to him since the first day of school. I guessed my streak of bad luck was back with a vengeance.
A deep laugh rumbled free from the pit of his stomach. “I was actually coming to find you.”
“I’m not interested.” I didn’t think he wanted my help with his schoolwork since he had Elise. She was a good tutor, or at least that was the rumor.
He feigned a pout and slapped a hand over his chest. “You really know how to hurt a guy.”
I pursed my lips, my nostril
s flaring like a bull ready to run at the matador. “Get out of my way.”
Trevor stuck out his bottom lip. “You’re not being polite.”
“Pulease. Can you be any more fake?”
The hall had minimal traffic. Kids always lingered in the cafeteria until the final bell rang.
“Did you find out who brought your pigs to school?” he asked. His expression was a blank slate.
Somehow I got the feeling he knew. “Was it you? Rumor is your sister was behind the prank.”
He cupped my elbow and guided me out of the way of the group of boys who were headed in our direction.
I shivered, but not in delight, as I shrugged out of his hold.
“Sloane is not my sister. My dad and her mom are kicking it in the bedroom.” He waggled his eyebrows, raking his gaze over me.
I seriously needed a shower. “You didn’t answer the question.”
One of the dark-haired boys in the group flicked his head at Trevor. “Hey, man.”
Trevor barely acknowledged him before he regarded me. “Did you ask her?”
“She wouldn’t tell me if she did.” It was a waste of time to ask Sloane anything. I thought by now the rumor mill would be rife with news of who unleashed my sweet pigs into the school. But no one was talking or whispering or anything. It was like the pig prank had never happened. “I gotta run. Nice chat.”
A tall brunette bounced down the hall, gunning for Trevor. Her high ponytail swung like Apple’s tail when she was excited to see me. “Trev, are we on for after school?” She was the girl I’d seen him making out with.
I hurried off, my legs moving as fast as they could.
“Hey, Claire. I’ll text you. I’ve got practice first.” Trevor hustled up to my side. “Would you reconsider tutoring me?”
I snorted out a laugh. “What happened to Elise?”
“She’s all over the place in her explanation of a function and a theorem. I’m having a hard time. I hear you’re the best.” His tone was serious, and he sounded desperate.
A pang of guilt zipped through me. Maybe I had him pegged all wrong. Maybe he was just a good guy with a fake bully exterior, or maybe he just wanted attention. “Who told you that?”
My Heart to Keep: A Maxwell Family Saga - Book Four Page 10