The Winning Side

by C. M. Doporto

  Raven motioned for me to stay back, but I refused. I had made a promise to keep him out of trouble and I would do just that.

  Shawn had his arms laced through Josh’s, holding him back as he cussed and yelled, “Get the fuck off my property!”

  “Josh, stop!” Shelby jumped in front of him, trying to get him to calm down, but he was too riled up to listen. “Please, sweetie. Not tonight.”

  “What are you going to do about it? Huh?” A guy a head taller than Luke, and about the same build, took a step closer. He lifted his chin, continuing to goad Luke. “Huh? Whatcha gonna do?” The guy was acting like a total prick — he was begging for them to start something with him.

  “Look, man,” Luke held up his hands, “we don’t want any trouble.”

  Delaney started toward the guy, but I grabbed her arm, holding her back. “Don’t. Just stay put.”

  “Just get your shit and leave.” Raven pointed to the mound of fireworks. “Like my friend said, this is private property. You need to pop that elsewhere.”

  The guy that was standing over the fireworks started gathering them and I sighed in relief. Before I could relax, a fairly large guy , about the size of Cage, jammed his index finger into the middle of Raven’s chest. “Fuck that. You can’t make us leave.” He looked over his shoulder. “Gabe, leave our shit there. We’re not going anywhere.” I was sure Raven could hold his own since it looked like fatty did more drinking than working out.

  “You need to take your finger off of me before I break it,” Raven warned.

  The guy smirked and then retrieved his finger. I watched Raven for a second, making sure he wasn’t about to jab the guy in the face when Gabe dropped the stuff in his hands.

  No. No. Just go. Just leave.

  “Yeah, we’re not going anywhere. So take your punk asses and go back inside.” Gabe crossed his arms over his body, taking a defensive stand. Didn’t they realize they were the punk asses? My heart pounded in my ears and my throat thickened with a sickening feeling worse than any hangover.

  Kyle darted toward Gabe. “You need to go. Now.”

  Gabe threw his head back and cackled. “You jocks think you’re tough shit with your fancy houses and fancy cars. But you ain’t shit without daddy’s money.”

  “Fuck you.” Josh twisted and turned, vying to get free from Shawn’s grip.

  “Screw you, man.” Kyle shook his head. “You don’t know shit.”

  “I know enough.” Gabe met Kyle’s gaze in a challenging stare off. Even though the guy was shorter than Kyle, he didn’t back down. His hands curled into tight fists and the muscles in his arms twitched, as if ready to spring into action.

  “You need to get the fuck out of my face,” Kyle said, pushing the guy.

  Gabe responded with a quick blow to Kyle’s face. Kyle’s head snapped to the side and he stumbled back, trying to catch his footing. Shawn released Josh and they rushed forward. Shelby screamed but Josh didn’t pay her any attention.

  “No! Stop!” I yelled, reaching for Raven. The last thing he needed was to get in a fight. In one quick movement, Raven pushed me out of the way and I fell to my butt. Sand sprayed across my face and into my mouth as Delaney and Shelby sprung forward. I spat and coughed as I scrambled to my feet. Raven was in an arm to arm battle with the guy. Both of them head to head and nearly knee deep in the sand.

  Delaney dove in, fists raised, and punched the guy provoking Luke. I scrambled after, grabbing her arm and trying to pull her away, but took a step back as Luke and her pounded on the guy. I turned to see Shelby, straddled on the back of one of the guys, her arms around his head as Josh punched in the stomach.

  Kyle and Shawn had Gabe pinned to the ground as they pounded on his face.

  This was bad.

  Very bad.

  Everyone was fighting except for me. Fists were flying, feet were kicking, people were screaming and cussing — this was one big FUBAR, as my brother would say, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I looked around for something to use to break them apart, like a piece of wood or stick, but there was nothing. What the hell did I know about fighting? Before I could think of anything, a siren sounded and everyone stopped. It was the cops. Raven was totally screwed.

  Σ

  Chapter 15

  The next morning, Josh told everyone to go home. The party was over. No one talked as they packed their stuff. The mood was sullen and all the magic made was gone. Spring Break had definitely gone to shit. Everyone, including me, received a ticket for disorderly conduct. What made matters worse was that all the guys had received tickets for public intoxication — including Raven.

  What the hell were we going to do? The part that sucked the most was that Raven’s blood alcohol level was .09, just .01 over the legal limit of intoxication. Why the hell did I let him drink? It was my damn fault for not stopping him. It was also my fault for arguing with the cops and telling them to give him a breathalyzer test.

  Never again.

  The more I thought about the situation, the angrier I got. It was also Shawn’s fault for offering it to him. But most of all, it was Raven’s fault for drinking two beers when he knew he shouldn’t have been drinking period. I also had to be realistic about the situation. We weren’t planning on leaving or going anywhere, so I honestly didn’t think it was going to be a problem. He clearly wasn’t drunk, but because of the fight, he was going to pay for his mistakes — again.

  The first thing Raven did when he got up was call his attorney. But Mr. Marshall was on a flight, returning from Tahiti. Every hour, he checked his phone, making sure he hadn’t missed a call. Worry etched deep around Raven’s eyes. He was slowly drifting away, being pulled by the demons he fought so hard to destroy and remove from his life. And it scared the hell out of me.

  “Hey, man, we’re out of here.” Luke shook hands with Josh. “Thanks for letting us stay here.”

  “Yeah, anytime. Are we still on for next week?”

  They chatted for a while about working out, Luke’s crazy baseball schedule, and how my parents wanted him to go to a scout camp.

  “Text me as soon as you know something.” Delaney hugged me.

  Giving her a tight squeeze, I said, “Okay. I just don’t have a good feeling about this.”

  “I know, but hopefully Josh’s uncle can figure something out.” She looked at me with a hopeful smile.

  “Thanks, Shelby. It was fun while it lasted,” Delaney whispered.

  “Of course.” Shelby wrapped her arms around her and gave her kiss on the cheek. “We’ll do it again. Say, after graduation?”

  “That’s a great idea.” Delaney’s eyes widened.

  “Sis,” Luke called, “be careful.”

  “You, too.” I eyed him. “No drinking and driving.”

  “Shit, I’m done drinking for a while.” He turned to Raven. “Good luck, man. Keep me posted.”

  “Yeah, thanks.” Raven shook his hand. “See you at the gym.”

  Luke told Shawn and Kyle bye before grabbing their bags and heading out the door.

  “Have you heard from my uncle yet?” Josh asked as Raven returned to the living room with our bags.

  “No. Not yet.” Raven let out a long, drawn out sigh, resting his hands on his waist.

  “Don’t worry.” Josh patted Raven on the back. “I’m sure he’ll figure something out.”

  I started to walk out of the room, but stopped when I saw Raven’s body flinch and the muscles in his arms tense.

  “Easy for you to say. You’re not the one that has their football career on the line.” Raven’s face hardened and his nostrils flared.

  “What?” Josh’s jaw jutted out and the expression on his face told me exactly what he wanted to say. “Don’t get all pissed off at me.”

  “If your dumb ass neighbors wouldn’t have called the cops, we wouldn’t be in this situation!” Raven yelled at Josh.

  “What the fuck did you want me to do?” Josh raised his arms and puffed out his chest.
This didn’t look good. “They were popping off fireworks right over the house. One could have landed on the roof and caught fire.”

  “Sweetie. Calm down.” Shelby rushed into the room and pleaded with Josh, but he shoved her hand off his arm.

  Raven didn’t say anything, just plopped on the couch and buried his face in the palms of his hands. I sat next to him, rubbing his back to ease the worry that plagued us both. Fighting and arguing wasn’t going to solve anything. It only made matters worse.

  “Shit. You’re the one that started it!” Josh pointed to Kyle. “If you wouldn’t have pushed that asshole, the fight wouldn’t have started.”

  “Me? Hell, you’re the one that started yelling at them instead of talking to them like a civilized person.” Kyle’s green eyes darkened. His face reddened and it wasn’t from the sunburn he earned on the sunny shores of South Padre Island.

  “Get the fuck out of my house!” Josh yelled and Kyle shouldered past him. With the way Kyle balled his hands into fists, the muscles pulsating in his arms, I knew it was taking everything in him not to punch Josh.

  I quickly stood up. “Guys. Guys. Look, everyone is to blame. We all screwed up. It is what it is. What we need to do now is figure out what the hell we’re going to do.”

  “No shit, Sherlock,” Shawn barked.

  “Hey, is that necessary?” Raven eyed Shawn.

  “Sorry, Lexi. I’m just pissed about the whole thing.”

  “I know. So am I, but now isn’t the time for us to turn on each other. We need to stick together.” Raven needed the support from his friends. He was the one with the most at risk. “Let’s go, Shawn. I’m ready to get outta here.” Kyle threw his backpack over his shoulder.

  “Kyle,” Josh called, “I’m sorry, dude. I’m just pissed over how everything went down.”

  “Whatever.” Kyle wouldn’t even look at him, just opened the front door and walked out of the house.

  “Josh, Shelby. I appreciate the hospitality.” Shawn waved. “Take it easy, man. I’ll be in touch,” Shawn told Raven and they did their manly handshake.

  Josh walked Shawn out the door, whispering something to him about Kyle. From what I could tell, Josh was telling Shawn to talk to Kyle and make sure he wasn’t mad at him.

  Raven’s phone rang and he quickly dug it out of his pocket. “It’s Mr. Marshall,” he said, darting to the bedroom and shutting the door.

  I waited about thirty minutes before I knocked on the door. “Raven, can I come in?”

  “Yeah.”

  Slowly, I opened the door. Raven was sitting on the edge of the bed, his body slummed and his head hanging toward the ground. I shut the door behind me and knelt in front of him. “Raven, what did he say?”

  After a few seconds, Raven’s eyes met mine. Redness circled the hazel depths, causing them to look more brown than green. Tears streaked his face and he looked like all life had been sucked out of him. A familiar pain struck the center of my chest and my throat tightened. I hated to see him so upset, but I had to stay strong. I knew he was battling the demons eager to convince him of how weak he was and that he was nothing but a loser.

  “He said I needed to tell Coach. Be honest.”

  “I think…” I took a hard swallow, trying to find my non-squeaky voice. “I think that’s a good idea. It’s better to be upfront about what happened.”

  “If I do that, I might as well quit.” The demons were taking over and they were winning.

  “Why would you do that?” I reached for his hands, but he pulled them away. “You have no idea what Coach is going to say.”

  Raven stood to his feet. “Yeah, I do. He’s going to tell me I’m done.”

  “No, he’s not.”

  He skirted past me and looked out the window, not saying another word. I knew there wasn’t anything I could say that would change what was going through his mind, but I at least had to try. I loved Raven too much to see him give up. He deserved to live his dream and I was going to do everything I could to make sure he did. But not only that, we deserved each other, and I wasn’t going to let this rip us apart.

  I got up and walked over to him, wrapping my arms around his waist. With my cheek resting on his back, I held him tightly. The sound of his heart thudded in a low murmur. His body was tight, and I could tell he was holding it all in — the pain, the stress, the anger. All of it ready to combust upon pressure.

  “Babe, I don’t know what’s going to happen, or what Coach is going to do, but we have to believe that Mr. Marshall is going to be able to make a case for you. But regardless of what happens, I want you to know that I love you. I love you more than anything. And if Coach kicks you off the team, it won’t change how I feel about you, or the fact that I still want to marry you.”

  “Come here, baby.” Raven moved me in front of him. He held me close, exhaling a deep breath and relaxing into me. His chin rested on top of my head and his chest moved in slow, languid movements. Only the sound of our beating hearts could be heard in the quietness. We stayed like that for a few minutes, allowing the worries to drift away.

  Looking at him, I told him, “We have to have faith, Raven. We have to believe that everything is going to be okay.” I stroked the side of his head, running my fingers through his thick, light brown hair, wishing I could turn the hands of time. But I couldn’t.

  “Pray that it will, baby, because Mr. Marshall didn’t sound very hopeful about the situation.”

  My fingers stopped and I retrieved my hand. “What did he say?”

  “That he’d do whatever he could, but since everyone got a ticket, it really didn’t help my cause. He’s going to work to get the ticket dismissed, but he said I should have never volunteered to submit to a breathalyzer test.”

  “I’m sorry that I told the cop to give it you. I knew you weren’t drunk, so I thought it would work for you, not against you. I had no idea.” I shook my head and glanced at the floor. I was such an idiot.

  “It’s not your fault.” Lifting my chin with his finger, he said, “You had no idea.”

  “Tough way to learn.” I pressed my lips together and continued shaking my head.

  “I know. I know, baby.” With our arms wrapped around each other, we stared out the window, watching the waves roll in one at a time and crash against the shore. On the surface, the ocean seemed so peaceful, so calm. It wasn’t until you got in the water that you realized the power behind the water. If you weren’t careful, it would pull you under without warning. It felt like that was Raven’s life right now. Things had been peaceful and calm, everything going in the right direction, until we let our guard down. Raven was being sucked under again and I had no idea if he would be able make it out this time.

  ***

  Once we got back to Fort Worth, Raven called Coach. By the way Raven reacted and stormed out of the apartment, I knew it wasn’t good. I wanted to tell Josh to go after him, but since they weren’t talking much, I knew Raven needed to work things out on his own. He came back a few hours later, drenched in sweat and breathing heavily, as though he’d been running. After he showered and calmed down, he told me that Coach was pissed and that he would have to go through another hearing, just like last time.

  I was dreading it, but I had figured it was coming. Even though I knew that he didn’t want to hear it, I encouraged him to tell his mom. She had the right to know. He promised me he’d tell her later. It didn’t take long for the rumor mill to start, everyone posting comments on every social media site about Raven. I truly hated all the drama and people talking behind our backs, but I dealt with it. Raven had warned me, so I knew what I was getting myself into. But I wasn’t willing to walk away from him. I loved him too much.

  By the end of the week, the hearing was scheduled for the following Tuesday. I hadn’t heard from Trish like I normally did every week. She made it a point to check with me to see if Raven had gone to counseling and how he was doing. I was sure he had told her about the breathalyzer test, and I hoped she wasn’t pis
sed at me. Aside from the test, I knew she wasn’t happy about what happened, especially after I had promised to look after Raven. I was just as irresponsible as he was and it pissed me off.

  “Time to go, dude.” Josh stuck his head in Raven’s room. Once Mr. Marshall said that he’d need all of us there to testify on behalf of Raven, they finally resolved their differences. We were in this together.

  “Alright.” Raven stood in front of the mirror, adjusting his tie. It felt like déjà vu. Only three and half months ago, we were in the same spot. Nothing had changed. No, I take that back. A lot had changed. Raven was improving, working out the demons, learning how to let go of his hurtful past, and we were building a new life together. Until we let our guard down and made a stupid mistake. I just prayed he wouldn’t have to pay for it.

  “Here’s your jacket.” I held up his coat and helped him slip it on. Raven pulled on the collar and rolled his shoulders. Damn, my man was hot. “You look really good in a suit.”

  “Lexi, now is not the time,” he remarked, his face serious.

  “Sorry, just trying to lighten the load.” I waited for him to say something, but he didn’t. He grabbed his phone, shoved it inside of his jacket, and walked out of the room. I knew he was stressed, so I held back the ugly words dying to come out of my mouth.

  Shelby and I followed the guys out of the apartment and headed toward the car. Parked in front of the apartment complex was Raven’s mom, Trish. She rolled down the window when she saw us coming. “Get in. Now.”

  Shit.

  “I’ll see you there.” Raven told Josh as we got into his mom’s car. She didn’t greet us like she normally did, and by the way she peeled out of the parking lot, I knew she was pissed.