Bracing the Blue Line

by Lindsay Paige

  I lean back onto the couch. “Sounds to me like you already know the game. Just not in the same terms as I do.” Then I sit back up, resting my elbows just above my knees on my thighs, and nod towards the computer. “Show me some more.”

  Lucy begins to scroll through the images, commenting on the emotions she believes the players are having based on their current action. Slowly, I start seeing more and more pictures of me. She glances at me with a blush before explaining the same things to me, but about me. She’s pretty spot on too. When she starts to skip some, I realize that she takes a serious amount of photos of me. Lucy starts to speak before I can question her.

  “I take multiple shots at a time to have a batch of photos for one particular moment so I can pick the best shot. With yours, I can’t decide on the best. There are things I like about all of them. That’s why there are so many of you. You’re very photogenic, Grant.” Her blush darkens when she sneaks a peek at me before looking back to the screen. “You are my favorite person to photograph. I hope that doesn’t sound creepy or anything.”

  A little bit. This is for her schooling, though. It’s not like she’s following me around and keeping secret photos of me. Her comment about me being her favorite stands out the most. I’m not quite sure why though. Before I can answer, Lucy gasps and grabs my knee.

  “They’re fighting! Are they allowed to do that? Why are they fighting anyway?” Her eyes are glued to the TV now.

  I eye her hand and then look up to her as she glances at me. “It’s an intense game with lots of hits and emotions run wild. Not to mention how physical some players are.” I missed what happened to cause this fight, thanks to Lucy. She seems captured by the punches being thrown by the players. Suddenly, as my knee gets warm underneath her hand, I blurt out, “Would you like to go to a game?”

  Lucy quickly turns to look at me, the players heading to their respective boxes. “What?” she questions, bringing her hand back to her lap.

  “Do you want to go see a game in person?” I repeat.

  “With you?” Her voice is a mixture of surprise and skepticism, which makes me laugh.

  “Yeah, who else?”

  Lucy’s lips form a perfect O. “Right, duh. That would make the most sense, huh? You caught me by surprise, sorry.” She takes a deep breath. “That sounds like fun, though. I would love to go.” Her phone dings and she apologizes as she reads a text. “It’s Patrick checking in,” she says with a roll of her eyes.

  “Checking in?” I ask, wanting to ask about their relationship with such a perfect opportunity.

  “Yeah. He worries, and apparently, you aren’t well-known on campus other than the fact you play hockey, so he doesn’t know much about you. That’s why he’s checking in, sorry.” She blushes a little. “You probably didn’t want to know that.”

  “Actually,” I begin. This is my chance to satisfy my curiosity. “I would like to hear about your brothers.”

  “Why?” Lucy seems genuinely confused.

  “I’m an only child,” I explain. “What was it like growing up with three siblings?”

  “Oh, well, it was great.” That adoring smile is back on her face. “They are seriously the definition of protective older brothers, but they are the best. We are really close, too. Um, let’s see.” Lucy seems to think about how she wants to describe them to me. She subtly nods her head, scoots back from the edge of the couch, and turns towards me a little while tucking her legs underneath her.

  “Patrick is like my best friend. I’m closer to him than Jon or Corey. He always puts my best interests in mind and he’s practically on stand-by if I ever need him. I could call him right now and he’d be in here in ten minutes, no matter what he's doing. I’m not as close to Jon or Corey, but they would both drop anything if I called them and needed them.

  “Jonathan much rather I call Patrick because he just doesn’t know how to be helpful, sometimes. He always answers his phone by the third ring when I call, though. I think he would rather play bodyguard or something. Corey is the worst, overprotective-wise. He wants what he thinks is best, which isn’t always what is best.

  “Oddly enough, when it comes to something concerning me, Patrick has the final word between the three of them. It doesn’t matter that he’s the youngest. They all know that he knows me best, so they’ll listen to him. Does any of that make sense?”

  I shrug. “You make it sound like they are protective because there is something serious you need protecting from and not normal brother stuff. Have they always been that way? Is your dad that way with you too? You don’t mind how they are?” I spout off all the questions I’ve been dying to ask.

  Lucy frowns and her eyes sadden immediately. This look doesn’t fit her. I hate that I’ve somehow upset her again. “It’s all I’ve ever known, and I don’t mind it at all. Actually, I wouldn’t change anything about my brothers, even if they can be a pain sometimes. Let’s watch the rest of the game.”

  She turns back towards the TV as the third period starts. The longer she stays silent, the more Patrick’s words repeat in my head. If she’s quiet, it’s not a good thing. I nudge my elbow against hers.

  “You okay, Lucy?”

  She smiles at me and those bright blue eyes look more happy than sad now. “Yeah, I’m fine. When are you thinking about going to a game?”

  “We can look up some upcoming ones and pick right now, if you want.” Lucy nods, so I bring my laptop to my lap and pull up the website to order tickets. “It’ll have to be during the week, most likely.” I bring up the schedule and silently narrow it down based on my own schedule. “Okay,” I start as Lucy leans towards me to look at the screen, “what about this Wednesday or next Thursday?”

  “This Wednesday works for me.” Her nose wrinkles and her eyes squint as she looks at me. “Is this a date?”

  “Based on the look on your face, I hope not. God, Lucy, way to make me feel pathetic. I didn’t know a date with me sounded so terrible.” I frown. I hadn’t thought of it as a date, but it doesn’t feel good to know that she wouldn’t want it to be. Talk about hitting my ego.

  Lucy gasps. “I didn’t mean it like that,” she apologizes quickly.

  “Oh, you so did.” I laugh at her response. “Don’t worry, Lucy. I want to take you as my new friend. Unless,” I drag the word out to tease her, “do you secretly want this to be a date? I mean, you do take an awful lot of pictures of me.”

  That seems to loosen the tension for her as she giggles softly. “I don’t even know how to recover from that.”

  The front door opens, causing us both to turn and see Neil and Bo walk in. They stop when they see Lucy.

  “Guys, this is Lucy Kennedy. Lucy, that’s Neil and Bo, though I'm sure you knew that already.”

  She waves her hand in hello. They walk into the living room, and Neil sits down next to Lucy. A little too close, probably. He gives her a big grin.

  “You are the photographer girl, little sister to the Kennedy brothers, right?” he asks.

  Lucy nods and smiles. “Do you know them?”

  “No, I don’t,” he answers. “If I had known that you looked like-”

  “Neil, I’ll kick your ass. Don’t start that shit with her,” I interrupt suddenly. They both look at me surprised.

  “Yeah, her brothers are fucking crazy. You should have seen them confront Grant the other day,” Bo says, shaking his head at the memory.

  “Hello,” Lucy waves her hand in a circle, “I’m right here. And my brothers aren’t crazy.” Her lips fall into a frown. “What did they say to you?” she asks me. “You said they didn’t force or intimidate you.”

  “They didn’t. They were half pissed, half concerned, and they tried to be intimidating, but they weren’t. Maybe you should tell them that I am not stupid, though.”

  Lucy looks confused, but Bo laughs. “Yeah, they talked to him slowly at first like he had taken too many hits.”

  “I’m sorry,” she mumbles. “They can be crazy, I guess.” />
  “Don’t worry about it.”

  A horn honks from outside, and she groans. “That’s probably Patrick.” She takes her memory card from my computer and puts it back in her camera. “Thanks for today,” she says, looking back up at me. “I’ll see you Wednesday, then?”

  “Yeah, I’ll text you.”

  Satisfied, she stands and is out the door in seconds. Both Bo and Neil are watching me, waiting for me to explain further. I don’t make any move to do so. Lucy is none of their damn business. They seem to be the opposite of her, and that makes me want to keep her safely away from them for some reason. I start looking for good seats, but Neil can’t handle the suspense.

  “Well?”

  “Well, what?” I answer without taking my eyes away from the screen.

  “What was she doing here? What’s Wednesday?”

  “He’s teaching her about hockey,” Bo answers. The mention of that makes me realize that we didn’t even watch the end of the game. “I’m assuming that’s why she was here anyway.”

  “Yeah, that was why,” I confirm.

  “And Wednesday?” Neil pushes.

  “When did you get so damn curious?” He stares at me and waits for me to answer. “I’m taking her to a game. As her friend,” I clarify as I purchase our tickets.

  UNFORTUNATELY, I DON'T run into Paula anymore, and I'm above texting her just to have sex. She was right. That doesn't need to become a habit. After the horrible loss, I spend most of the weekend at the gym exercising since I'm not getting laid. The entire week has been shit with dirty dreams I don't want to have, the loss, and completely forgetting about an assignment. It's made me cranky. I'm still in a pissy mood when Dave FaceTimes me Sunday evening as I'm leaving the gym. It doesn't help at all that he looks so cheery.

  “Make it quick,” I greet.

  “What the hell is wrong with you? This is like the third day in a row you've been like this.”

  “What the hell is wrong with you? Why are you so fucking happy?” I ask with as much irritation I can muster.

  Dave glares at me, knowing as good as I do that I'm being ridiculous. “I was going to ask for a favor, but I think I'll wait until you're in a better mood.”

  A favor? I raise an eyebrow at him. “What kind of favor?”

  Somehow, I manage to withhold a groan as he answers, “I called Maddie for my monthly checkup, as per my parents. She mentioned something about needing to study more for one of her classes, one I'm pretty sure you took and aced.”

  “What do you want, Dave?” I grit.

  “Calm down. It's not like I'm asking you to give her a kidney. I'm asking you to help her study and make a better grade than what she's doing right now.”

  “Why does it have to be me? She can go get a tutor or form a study group. That's what you should have told her to do.” Not make me be around the girl invading my dreams. If they weren't so damn good, I would call them nightmares.

  “Because then you can keep an eye out for her. God knows what college guys could talk her into.” He shakes his head like she's this innocent child.

  “Get a grip, Dave. She's not five.”

  He glares at me. “Are you going to help her or not?”

  “Yeah. You owe me big time.”

  Dave grins at his victory. “Thanks.”

  “Whatever. I gotta go.” I end the call and finally groan. Fuck. Seeing Maddie is the last thing I want to do. I'm torn between wishing she chose a different university and hating myself for how I destroyed any second chance I had with her. Since I'm on campus, I might as well go ahead and see her now. The walk doesn't take long, and it isn't until I'm opening the door to the building that I consider the fact that she might not currently be in her dorm. Only one way to find out. I knock and wait. No answer, so I knock one more time before I give up.

  “Winston? What are you doing here?” Maddie glances down the hall, like someone is going to notice I'm standing outside her room and actually care.

  “Dave said you needed help with a class and I'm going to help. We need to figure some things out first though.”

  “Thanks, but no thanks.” Maddie starts to shut the door, but my hand flies out to stop her.

  “What?” She's turning me down?

  Maddie sighs, but makes no further move to open the door back open. “I don't want your help, Winston.”

  Leaning against the doorframe, I fold my arms over my chest. “Why didn't you just come ask me for help yourself? I told you that-”

  “Yeah, right.” Maddie laughs harshly. “Like I would come ask you for anything.” I don't realize my mouth parted until she reaches out and pushes my jaw back up. “Go home, Winston.”

  I'm surprised and a little hurt, but more disappointed in myself that I caused this reaction from her. I lose my defensive stance and plead with her. “C'mon, Maddie. At least let me come in, so we can talk.”

  She watches me for a moment as she decides. “There's nothing to talk about, but if you want to waste your breath, feel free.” She turns around, going back into her room, and I follow her. The other bed belonging to her roommate is empty and made. We take a seat on her bed, Maddie up by her pillows and me at the foot with our legs folded as we sit across from one another.

  “Can't we be friends, Maddie?” I ask. “Let's focus on that.”

  “Let's forget that anything ever happened between us basically?” she says, but there's no anger or annoyance in her voice. Only sadness. “I can't believe you would want to pretend we never happened, secret or not.”

  “I don't want to forget, Maddie. I couldn't if I wanted to. All I meant is I want us to be friends now. I can help you with your class and we can still hang out some if you want. Maybe then you won't get homesick again. You could meet more people that way too.”

  “I get it, Winston. That sounds great.” I don't think she really means it though.

  My phone beeps from my pocket and I pull it out. It's a text from Grant asking if I want to go with him and Lucy to a game Wednesday and that maybe I could ask Maddie to go too. He'll explain more later, but he thinks Lucy will have more fun with other people there.

  “Hey, Grant's inviting me to go see a game Wednesday with him and some chick. Want to go? I don't know why, but he wants people to go with them.” I look up from my phone to gauge her reaction.

  “Um, sure, I guess. I've never been to one before, so it should be fun. Do you know who the girl is?”

  “Lucy Kennedy,” I answer.

  Maddie's eyes almost pop out of her head. “As in the crazy good photographer and little sister of the unbelievably hot, football superstars Kennedy brothers? That Lucy?” She almost sounds excited.

  “Yeah, that Lucy,” I deadpan to counteract her enthusiasm.

  “Sweet. How about we study Tuesday and then game Wednesday? That sound good to you?”

  “That works for me.”

  She nods. “All right. I would love to stay and chat, but I was about to head to the gym before you got here, so...”

  “You want me to leave? So you can do what you want to do? Sort of like the other night when I wanted to go to bed.” I perk an eyebrow at her, making her laugh. Part of me wants to ask when she started all this exercising, but I don't.

  “Be the better person, Winston.”

  “Fine. Text me with a time for Tuesday and I'll let you know about Wednesday.” When I stand to leave, I have a small urge to kiss her forehead, but I don't do that, of course. Instead, I smile and throw out a “catch ya later.”

  Being friends with Maddie will be easy. It's a familiar place, and much better than the tempting, bad alternative. This week will prove that friendship is exactly where we need to be.

  GOD, I'M EXHAUSTED. More spent than I've ever been, that's for sure. After spending time with the Lanier's, all I want to do is crawl into my bed and collapse, so I can fall into a deep sleep. Unfortunately, I can't do that. I almost want to stay here and figure out what the hell is going on with Grant and Lucy, but that's not
happening either. Audra, who has done her best to communicate with me as little as possible this week, has finally invited me over to talk. She was clear that I better not “pull any shit” because she just finished her shift and wasn't in the mood to deal with my crap.

  Without a word and with my keys in hand, I leave the house, following my phone's GPS to Audra's place. I knock on the door when I finally get there and note that it isn't the nicest of areas around. Audra gives me a tight-lipped smile and lets me in. Based on the looks of things, she lives in a small, one bedroom apartment.

  “Hey, Neil. Can I get you something to drink or anything?”

  “No, thanks,” I answer.

  “I don't really know how we should do this,” she says as she takes a seat on the couch. Audra props her bare feet onto her wooden coffee table. She rests her hands over her belly and leans her head back with her eyes closed.

  “How often do you work?” I ask. Suddenly, my fatigue doesn't seem so bad in the face of how tired she looks. “How are you sleeping?”

  Audra peeks an eye open and tilts her head to look at me. Her mouth parts, but nothing comes out at first. “You genuinely care, don't you?”

  “Does that surprise you?” My brows wrinkle at the thought. I'm not sure if it's because I do genuinely care or the fact that it surprises her. I wasn't always this guy. The one who would try to get rid of a pregnant girl like she was nothing more than leftovers that needs to be thrown away. I used to be the guy who would immediately, without any doubt, be by her side at whatever cost. For just a moment, I wonder how I could have gotten so far away from that person. For just a moment, I want to be that guy again.

  “Well, yeah, it does. I work as often as I can and I'm sleeping fine. How are you sleeping?” She reaches out to mess with my black hair, patting it down as if it was out of place. “Sorry, that's been bugging me since you walked in.”