PLAYING FOR KEEPS

by MacLeod, J. E.

  I almost shook with the effort of not going after him. My ribs ached a little, as if sensing my thoughts and reminding me they weren’t up to it.

  “Can’t even think of a comeback, Chase? That’s so totally lame, dude. The little knock you took on the ice obviously jiggled around more than your ribs. Too chicken to keep playing with the big boys, as far as I can see. Might as well just hand in your uniform now. Season is getting close to playoffs; scouts’ll be sniffing around soon. Can’t measure up to the old man, so you decided to take a dive?”

  I tore away from Jane and pinned Mac on the ground. He was underneath my knee before he even knew what hit him.

  “Zachary! Leave him alone. Leave him alone! He’s not worth it.” I heard Jane shouting at me, but I focused only on the face on the ground in front of me.

  I leaned my head forward and spoke right into his ear. “You are dead if you ever mess with her again, Mac! Ever. And we’ll see who makes the cut, won’t we? I don’t have to lower myself to getting goons to take out my competition. Not that I consider you much of a threat. You’re weak, you’re stupid, and you have no idea what it takes to be a leader.”

  I stood up as Cole and Eddie started grabbing at my arms. I shook them off. “Take it easy, guys. Friendly little chat between friends, nothing more.”

  Mac jumped up, but his buddies held him back. “She’s a slut, man. Goth girl gives good head. You know what I mean?”

  My blood boiled under my skin. I imagined it bubbling with rage, just like the Incredible Hulk.

  “Forget it, Zack. Let’s just go inside, please.” Jane pulled on my arm and didn’t even look at Mac.

  I allowed her to pull me away, itching to go after Mac, but letting my head win out for once. Jane wouldn’t be happy if I fought with Mac on our date.

  I called out: “Listen Cole, Eddie. We’re only here to check out the party for a while. Why don’t you guys take your time buying beer, cool him down, and we’ll all act like civilized human beings inside. We’ll be out of your way shortly, and then you guys can carry on doing whatever it is you do at parties,” I said to them.

  I continued walking at Jane’s side, ignoring Mac’s cursing. I took her hand and we walked towards Candy’s house.

  “He better stay away from you.” I mumbled under my breath. I thought of Jane’s voice coming from the bathroom months ago, and how scared she’d sounded. The thought of Mac’s hands on her made me crazy; I put my arm around her. “Why’s he so pissed at you anyway, Jane?”

  She tried to pull away from me. But I held on.

  “Zachary, let me go. Trust me, you’re just making him madder.”

  I kept walking until I’d put some distance between us and the three boys in the street.

  “They’re assholes, Jane. Forget about it.”

  She stopped. “I already have. You forget about it, too. He’s saying things to piss you off. Forget about it and just be careful, okay? You have no idea what Mac is capable of.”

  I shook my head. “No. I know exactly what he’s capable of. What he doesn’t know is what I’m capable of.”

  She reached up and pushed a stray strand of hair out of my eyes. “You’re almost scaring me.”

  I smiled. “I’m on your side. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

  “No! I mean it. He’s not worth it. Forget about him. You can kick his ass once you get back on the ice, and he knows it. You’re totally freaking him out. He’s not good at losing, and he’s just a stupid little boy trying to impress his daddy. And his dad, well, he’s not a nice man. And he’s not handling having someone on the ice who’s better than Mac very well. Mac is just trying to rattle you, to throw you off. He only wants to shake you so he can be the best. Just forget about him.”

  “Not going to happen.”

  She studied my face for a moment. She forced a smile. “No. I guess not.” She looked away. She met my eyes again. ”Come on. Let’s go find Josh so we can get the hell out of here.”

  “Deal.” I wanted nothing more than to get her out of that house, away from Mac, and alone with me again.

  We walked up the front walk to Candy’s house. Like most of the people in Haletown, her parents were obviously doing okay for themselves. The huge house had a three-car garage and expensive landscaping. Even I could tell a lot of money had been spent on it. But now, empty bottles of beer littered the front lawn and elaborate looking flowerbeds. Someone wasn’t going to be happy with Candy once this party was over.

  We stepped inside the house. The front hallway was crammed with people. The air inside was smoky and hot. Music blasted from an expensive stereo system with built-in speakers all through the house. Kids sipped bottles of beer and wine coolers, lounging anywhere there was an empty space.

  We squeezed through the crowd of people. I recognized kids from school, but there were also a lot I didn’t know. It looked like every kid in town and beyond it had showed up for this party.

  As we maneuvered around bodies, I spotted Mona sitting on the stairs. Judging by her slack features and glassy eyes, she already was completely wasted. I looked back as Jane and I got separated in the throng of people. I nodded my head towards the staircase and she nodded back, trying to squeeze her way through them and back to me.

  I walked over to Mona and bent down to talk to her. I put my hand on her shoulder.

  “Hey, Mona. What’s up?”

  She lifted her head and tried to focus with her droopy wandering eyes.

  “Zacky,” She slurred. “God, you’re so cute.” She giggled a little and then hiccupped. Her head bobbled unsteadily.

  She tried to stand and I steadied her. She wrapped an arm around my neck. “You want a blow job?” she asked.

  I shook my head and gave her a wry smile.

  “Mona. Don’t talk to me like that, okay? You need a friend, and I can be one, you know.” It seemed to me like the girl truly was in need of one.

  She leaned against me. “Bullshit. You’re just like the rest of them. You just want to screw me and that’s it. I don’t have any friends. Especially male ones.” She sounded drunk but sad. Or maybe she was defeated. Angry.

  “Is everything okay?” Jane reached my side and looked at Mona with pity in her eyes.

  “She’s drunk,” I told her.

  Jane nodded. It was pretty obvious, I guess.

  Mona sighed dramatically. “Not drunk. Tired.” Her eyes focused on Jane. “Oh. It’s you.” She sighed heavily again. “You stole Zack from me. And you’re so not his type.”

  I shook my head at Jane to tell her not to respond. Mona was almost totally out of it.

  Jane nodded, understanding.

  “Do you want us to take you upstairs, to Candy’s room? So you can lie down for a while?” Jane asked.

  Mona nodded again. Jane took Mona by the arm.

  “Come on, Mona. I still remember where her room is. You’re probably sleeping over at Candy’s tonight, right?”

  Mona made some gurgling noises. I went to her other side, supporting her as we made our way up the stairs. We scooted past couples making out and heard a few laughs and whistles in Mona’s direction. Candy’s room was off the main part of the house, tucked in a back hallway off a room that looked like it was used as an office. Luckily no kids had migrated to this part of the house--yet.

  “It’s over there,” Jane said, pointing to a closed door.

  Between the two of us, we managed to get Mona into the bedroom. I would have laughed when I opened the door if we weren’t escorting such a drunk, messed-up girl. Candy’s room was exactly as I would have imagined it. Pink. Frilly. Posters of movie stars on her walls. Ribbons she’d won. Lots of pictures of herself at various stages in her life.

  We eased Mona onto Candy’s pink bed and she got under the comforter, her eyes closed and mumbling.

  “You think she’ll be all right?” I asked Jane.

  “She might throw up all over Candy’s pink sheets, but other than that, she probably just needs to sleep
it off.”

  I nodded.

  We left, closing the door behind us.

  “How do you know where Candy’s room is, anyway?” I asked.

  “Zachary, I’ve lived in this town since I was a kid. I’ve been to her house before. I hung out with her a couple times when we were younger. With Mona.”

  That floored me. I wanted to ask more, but she tugged my arm and hurried us back down the hallway towards the stairs.

  “Now we have to find Drunk Number Two,” Jane said.

  This time, she pulled me through the crowd, leading me down a crowded hallway, past a luxurious dining room and into the kitchen.

  “What the hell?” Jane asked. I looked over to see what she was looking at.

  Candy leaned against the counter, her arms wrapped around a husky guy, her tongue practically down his throat. But he wasn’t Josh.

  “Candy! Candy!” Jane rushed towards them. “Where’s Josh?”

  Candy unwrapped herself from the big guy and gave Jane a bored, bitchy look.

  “I have no idea. Last time I saw him he was puking all over my mother’s rose bushes.”

  “Where is he now?”

  Candy didn’t answer, she’d already returned to her make out session.

  “Shit.” Jane said as she hurried out of the kitchen and down another hallway.

  “This is a freaking huge house,” I mumbled as I followed her.

  She moved quickly, reaching a door at the back of the house, then yanking it open. I followed her to the back yard.

  It was gigantic. Kids hung out all over a huge wrap-around deck, and there was still an expansive amount of property beyond it, almost like a fancy park. It featured huge rocks and more landscaping. Someone paid a pretty penny for a spread like that.

  “Josh,” Jane called into the air.

  A few kids looked over at us. “You looking for your brother?” asked a preppy looking girl in a tight dress.

  Jane nodded.

  The girl pointed out into the vast yard. “He was out back there a while ago, puking his guts out.”

  Jane rushed off the deck into the garden. I followed, a little less enthusiastically. Seeing Josh puking his guts out wasn’t one of the sights I’d hoped for on my date with Jane.

  “Josh!” she shouted.

  “He’s over here,” called a female voice.

  I ran behind Jane to the source of the voice, recognizing it immediately.

  I worked at not smiling when I saw them. Hailey sat on a stone bench in front of a pond, her curly red hair framing her face. Beside her, in the fetal position lay Josh, with his head in her lap. She was holding his hand.

  “He’s been really sick,” she whispered. “He passed out a while ago, so I thought I’d let him, you know, stay asleep for a while. I’ve been wondering how I was going to get him out of here, and how to sober him up a bit before he has to go home.”

  Jane and I moved closer to them. Josh was lying on his side, his mouth open, and almost snoring as he breathed in and out. I turned my head at the very foul smell of him.

  I looked down at Hailey. She shrugged. “He scared me, you know? He was so sick. I was going to call someone, but then he just started, I don’t know, almost like crying a little, and then he crawled into my lap like this.” Her eyes darted around the yard.

  “He stinks,” I said.

  Jane gave me a dirty look before reaching down to shake her brother’s shoulder.

  Hailey ignored me. “I was really worried about him,” she told Jane. “I’ve never seen anyone so drunk before.”

  “Josh. . . Josh! Wake up!” Jane shook him again.

  He groaned, and then his head rolled off of Hailey’s lap and smacked into the stone bench.

  “Owww,” he moaned. He didn’t open his eyes.

  Hailey raised his head, placing it again on her lap and off the hard stone.

  “What happened?” Jane asked her.

  Hailey shook her curls. I could almost feel her anger burning. ok

  “It was that bitch, Candy.”

  “I knew she was involved.” Jane stiffened beside me.

  “Some guy showed up from out of town, looking for Candy.” Jane and I nodded. We’d both seen her with him in the kitchen.

  “Candy was flirting with him and Josh was getting pissed off. So she started taunting him, making him do more and more shooters to ‘please’ her. I think it was tequila.”

  I winced on Josh’s behalf. As if sensing our conversation, he picked up his head again, then hurled all over the ground in front of him.

  Jane and I took a quick step back and out of the way.

  “Nasty,” I said.

  “Nice choice of girlfriends,” Hailey added, picking up her feet and checking them for vomit. Josh dropped his head back into her lap.

  Jane stepped forward again. “Josh. . .Josh! You’re going to have to wake up.” She shook him again. “Ugh! He smells so gross.”

  But Josh didn’t move.

  I shook my head. I must really like this girl a lot to do what I was about to do.

  “I’ll help him up.” I volunteered.

  The look on Jane’s face was thanks enough.

  I bent over him. “Okay, Parker, I’m going to help you up now.” I slid my hands under Josh’s arms.

  “I sure as hell hope he used deodorant.”

  Hailey gave me a disgusted look.

  I blew out some air. “You’re right, he smells bad enough as it is. Deodorant wouldn’t help.”

  I tried to avoid stepping in the gross-looking vomit but it was unavoidable. I shook my head and bent down to haul him up, then yelled in pain. Everything went black for a moment.

  “Oh, Zack. Your ribs!” Jane cried.

  “Come on,” said Hailey.

  The girls came up on either side of me and tried to lift him. But Josh was dead weight and very heavy. Then, all three of them crumpled to the ground.

  I helped Jane and Hailey to get up, but we left Josh lying on the grass.

  “Shit. I’ll go get someone to help us.” I felt like such a wimp, not able to even lift Josh myself, let alone carry him out.

  I took off running towards the deck. Searched around, I tried to spot some strong-looking guys to help us move Josh to Jane’s car.

  “Dude, can you give me a hand?” I called to the biggest kid on the deck. I recognized him from school but I didn’t know his name.

  He glanced at me, questioningly.

  “What’s up?” he said.

  “We need to carry Josh Parker out of here. He passed out.”

  “Forget it, dude. I saw him puking. That’s nasty. Go get one of your hockey bros to do your dirty work instead.”

  I sighed. I understood his sentiments in more ways than one.

  I sped up the steps and went inside the house. Running down the hallway, I looked for someone else who could help us.

  Out of the corner of one eye, I spotted Mac and his sidekicks. They were on the stairs, laughing and teasing a couple of girls. Mac glanced up and spotted me. Then his face went blank. I could see the hate in his expression. I shook my head and turned the other way, and walked into the kitchen. I looked around the crowded room. Candy and her boy-toy were gone. Then I spotted a couple of teammates with some girls.

  “Smith, Coop. Can you guys give me a hand? Parker passed out in the garden and I need help carrying him out of here.” I pointed at my ribs. “I can’t do it myself.”

  Danny Smith glanced over and nodded, putting his beer down and kissing his girl on the cheek. He walked towards me, with Cooper following.

  “What’s Parker done now?”

  “Tequila shooters,” I answered.

  They laughed and shook their heads, following me outside.

  When we got to Josh, they both grunted in disgust.

  “Man, that is so seriously rancid.”

  “I know. Come on, let’s get him up and out of here,” I replied with my own grimace.

  “There’s a gate over there,”
Hailey said, pointing to the side of the house. “We can take him out that way to Jane’s car instead of dragging him back through the house.”

  I helped the guys to maneuver Parker up as best I could. They dropped him and picked him up a couple times when he made coughing sounds like he was going to barf all over again.

  “He’s so out of it.” Jane sounded truly afraid.

  The guys helped get him out of the yard, but it took at least ten minutes to take him the full block to Jane’s car. He was heavy. They propped him up against the car for a rest, before trying to get him inside.

  Jane and Hailey waited, not saying much. They both were quiet and worried about Josh.

  I looked at Smith and Coop. “You’ll help me get Josh inside the car?” I asked.

  “You totally owe us,” Smith said.

  I nodded. I went to Jane and leaned down to speak into her ear so only she could hear what I was saying.

  “I’m going to just run upstairs and check on Mona before we take off. I want to make sure she’s going to be okay.”

  Jane stared at me with big eyes. “Zachary. You’re sweet to worry about Mona.”

  “No I’m not.” I told her. “Anyhow, she’s an okay girl, Jane. She’s really sad, and just trying to figure out how to fit into this messed-up world of ours.” I looked around at all of us. We were all trying to do the same thing in our own way.

  Jane nodded. “Okay. Hurry back. I need to get Josh into the house before my parents get home.”

  “Hailey? You’ll stay with Jane?” I asked.

  Hailey nodded. “Where’re you going?”

  “Just to check on a friend.”

  I took off for the front door, maneuvering my way through the partiers and bolting up the stairs two at a time.

  I ran down the hallway to the room where we’d left Mona, slowing down as I approached the door. I turned the knob, pushing the door open to see where we’d left Mona.

  Then I erupted with a bellow of rage.

  Mac was on top of Mona. He was half naked and he was having sex with her. They both turned to look towards the door. Mona’s eyes were fuzzy; she was out of it, confused.

  “Zack?” she said, looking up at Mac on top of her. “What’s going on?”