[Moreno Brothers 01.0] Forever Mine

by Elizabeth Reyes

  “Fuck him, Lynni. He’s an asshole.”

  Could she have been that off about Angel? It amazed her now that, somewhere in her warped mind, she’d actually thought Syd and Angel could be friends someday.

  “I’m just waiting for my mom to be out, so I can come home.” She sniffed. “It’s all I want.”

  “Don’t put your life on hold though, Lynn. It may be a while. Enjoy yourself. Go out. Seriously, have fun.”

  Sarah couldn’t even imagine having fun. She could barely concentrate on just getting through the day without having some kind of emotional breakdown.

  *

  Things took a turn on Monday during practice. As if her emotional turmoil wasn’t enough, she now had to deal with physical pain. During a routine warm-up run, Sarah stepped in a hole and went down hard. She felt her ankle crunch and knew it was bad. Sofia was immediately by her side, but Sarah barely managed to stand.

  Coach Rudy came over as soon as he was aware.

  “Don’t try to walk on it, Sarah. You’ll make it worse. We have to get ice on this fast.”

  Before Sarah knew what was happening, she was in his arms, and he was carrying her toward the gym. Sarah put her arms around his neck for support. Some of the kids snickered as they walked past them. She felt a little uncomfortable until she moved her foot the wrong way and the stabbing pain in her ankle made her forget everything. She squeezed her eyes shut and grimaced, willing the pain to go away.

  When the coach was satisfied they’d iced it enough, he carried her to his car and gave her a ride home. Sarah was a little surprised he’d called practice early on her account but was glad she was going home.

  Coach Rudy seemed really concerned about Sarah’s ankle. He gave her some paperwork he had in his office on the proper care of a sprained ankle and talked about the do’s and don’ts on the way home. Then the subject turned to what Sarah had dreaded.

  “So when will you know for sure how long you’ll be here? I mean . . . can we count on you for the whole season?”

  Sarah had always been very vague about her situation, but he never pried. She had a feeling he sensed it was a sore subject. Still, she felt bad that he was so enthused about her being on the team and she couldn’t give him a concrete answer. She didn’t want him to think she wasn’t taking the team seriously.

  “My mom’s in jail.” She stared out the window, afraid to see his expression. Aside from her family and Sydney, Angel was the only person she’d ever told.

  “Hmm, I see,” he said. “So you’re waiting to see when she’ll be out?”

  His demeanor surprised her. She thought maybe he’d be uncomfortable and change the subject or something, but she may as well have said her mom was at the mall. She turned to look at him.

  “Yeah, we won’t know anything for a few weeks, so I really can’t say.” She glanced down at her hands. “I do want to be on the team though.”

  She really did. Since her mom had made her promise to stay in California, it was one of the things she’d focused on to stay positive. Running was her passion, and she planned on using it as therapy.

  “Oh, I know you do. I can see it when you’re running.” He pulled into her driveway and turned the car off. “There’s a skill for everything. A lot of people think in track you just run, but it’s not just about running. It’s about knowing when to turn the wheels on and when to save them. You have it, Sarah. I saw it the first time I saw you relay.”

  He was smiling at her with genuine pride like a big brother. It made her feel good. Her coach back home had said the same thing. She smiled back at him. “Thanks.”

  “Hey.” He waited until she was looking at him again. His expression had changed. He was the concerned coach again. “I have a brother that’s been in and out of jail, Sarah. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. It took me a while to understand that what he’s done does not reflect on the person that I am.”

  Sarah thought about it. She’d never been ashamed of her mom, but the thought of anyone speaking badly about her enraged her. The less people knew, the less ammunition they had against her.

  Sarah nodded. “I know. But some people just wouldn’t get it. I don’t even get it.” She turned and made herself as comfortable as she could without moving her ankle. “All I know is she took money from her boss for years. She offered to pay it back. I didn’t even know you could go to jail for that kind of stuff. You would think, because she was a single mom, they could’ve just made her pay it back and given her probation or something.”

  Coach Rudy listened quietly without interrupting. He also turned his back against the car door and made himself a little more comfortable.

  Sarah told him how she’d planned all along to move back to Arizona and finish high school at her old school. Then she told him about seeing her mom in jail and why she was back in La Jolla after all.

  The coach never once appeared to be sympathizing or judging. But he did hang on her every word. He waited until she was completely done; then he took a deep breath and smiled again. “I didn’t think I could have any more respect for you than I already did. You’re very mature and strong for your age. A lot of girls your age would’ve taken something like this as the end of their life. But you’ve handled it with such grace. I would’ve never guessed you had all this going on.”

  Sarah’s lips went up in a half smile. “You know this is the first time I’ve talked about my mom since she’s been in jail without crying. It feels good.”

  “That’s ’cause it’s almost over. You’re almost there, Sarah. And you’re doing a great job. Just one thing, next time you go see your mom, tell someone. I’m sure you didn’t think it was a big deal, but if something had happened to you, it would’ve been a whole twenty-four hours before anyone would’ve even noticed.”

  Sarah made a mental note. She felt really good after her talk with the coach. She soaked her ankle in warm water while she talked to Sydney that evening. To her surprise, he wasn’t as moved as she was about her conversation with the coach.

  “Isn’t that the one Angel called a pervert?”

  Just hearing his name was enough to bring her spirits down, and she frowned. “Yes, but he also calls you my boyfriend. So, what’s your point?”

  “I’m just saying that’s kind of weird that he’d take you home, isn’t it?”

  “What was he supposed to do? I couldn’t walk.” Sarah tried moving her ankle a little and immediately regretted it.

  “Uh, hello, he could’ve had you call someone to pick you up.”

  “Why? When he could just do it himself and it was faster?” Sarah couldn’t believe Sydney was actually thinking like this.

  “Maybe because he had a team full of kids waiting to practice?”

  Sarah didn’t respond to that. She was getting annoyed.

  “Look, Lynni. I don’t know, but most of the times when there are rumors like that about teachers or coaches, there’s some truth to them. Maybe some stuff gets added in for a little more flavor, but if you dig deep, the rumors started from something valid.”

  There was no way. Coach Rudy had never been anything but nice and encouraging to her. The people that started those rumors were idiots as far as she was concerned. Syd made her promise she’d be careful, but she knew she had nothing to worry about. Coach Rudy was not a pervert.

  Chapter 26

  Seeing Sarah had been worse than Angel could’ve ever imagined. It was completely unexpected, and he was in no way ready for the blow. He had sat in class that first day for all of twenty minutes before he’d ducked out the back door.

  He almost went home but instead decided to go to the counselor’s office and switch his schedule around. He didn’t care what classes he got stuck with as long as he didn’t have to see her every day. It would kill him.

  Since then, he’d done everything he could to avoid her. Sofia told him the first night that all Sarah had told her was that there’d been a snag in her plans, but that it was only temporary. She was still going back to A
rizona. She just wasn’t sure when. Sofia wasn’t happy that Angel had no intention of reconnecting with Sarah, much less hang out with her.

  The whole week had been a nightmare. The more he tried to not think about her, the more nosey idiots asked him about her. It seemed the whole damn school was talking about it.

  To top it off, Dana was at it again. She conveniently mistook their little coffee outing over the break as an invitation back into his life. She’d gone back to hugging him every time she saw him. And he knew she was behind the rumors that had quickly spread about Sarah cheating on him.

  The weekend was uneventful, and he finally went a whole couple of days without anyone asking him about Sarah. Monday went by pretty fast, but Angel wondered if he’d ever get over that tense feeling he had the whole day, worrying about seeing her.

  That evening he worked out with Alex in the backyard. They’d just finished when Sofia strolled out holding a bottle of water. Angel lay back down on the bench to rest.

  “Sarah got hurt today during practice.” Sofia sat down on one of the patio chairs.

  Angel sat up.

  “She’s still here?” Alex asked.

  “Yeah.” Sofia turned to look at Angel. “You didn’t tell him Sarah didn’t leave?”

  Angel shrugged. His thoughts were still on Sarah getting hurt.

  “No shit?” Alex smirked. “No wonder you’ve been so uptight all weekend.”

  Angel ignored him. Sofia hadn’t moved her eyes away from him. But he still couldn’t bring himself to ask anything about Sarah. Turned out he didn’t have to.

  “She twisted her ankle during one of the runs. It was pretty bad. Coach Rudy had to carry her to his car.”

  Alex wiped the sweat off his brow and laughed. “The perv?”

  Angel had a feeling Sofia coming out to tell them was not without reason. And if that reason was to piss him off, it was working.

  “To his car?” Angel tried not to sound as disgusted as he felt.

  Sofia took a swig of her water and eyeballed Angel. When she was done, she took her time putting the cap back on before she answered. “Well, yeah, she wasn’t gonna walk home.”

  “He took her home?” Alex’s bemused enthusiasm wasn’t helping Angel. He was trying hard to keep his cool. He had a feeling what Sofia was up to. But even if it was all true, it didn’t matter what she was up to. He was still incensed.

  “Yeah, that’s why I’m home early. He called the rest of the practice off.”

  Alex sat down cackling. “Oh, man, this is rich. So now she’s dating the coach?”

  “Shut up, Alex.” Angel finally snapped.

  “Yeah.” Sofia jumped in. “You see that’s how rumors get started. He was nice enough to take her home, and all of sudden they’re dating?”

  “I dunno. The guy is slick. I know a few chicks that actually did date him.”

  “He can get arrested, you idiot. Lose his job.” Suddenly, Angel was defending the pervert’s intentions?

  “Nah.” Alex was still grinning. “He knows what he’s doing. Sarah’s eighteen, right? It’s legal.”

  Angel was beginning to wonder if Sofia and Alex were in on this together. Between the two of them, they’d managed to irritate him to no end. He stood up.

  “Sarah wouldn’t do that,” Sofia said and then added, “besides, she’s still not over Angel.”

  Angel stopped and looked at Sofia. “She said that?”

  Sofia’s expression went flat. “No, but—”

  “But nothing.” Angel walked past her. “She’s going back to Arizona because that’s where she wants to be, Sof. I just don’t know what the hell’s taking her so damn long.”

  “Did you know her friend Sydney has a girlfriend?”

  Angel stopped, but didn’t turn around to face her. “Is that a fact?” With all the damn rumors going around, he didn’t know what to believe anymore.

  “Yep, a serious one. Sarah spent Christmas with them.” Sofia walked around to face him. Her expression was hopeful. “Does that change things?”

  Angel thought about it for a second, and that image that he’d finally been able to stop seeing every time he thought of her assaulted him again. That dress—that damn dress she’d worn for Sydney the night she lied about where she was. And the way she was all done up. He’d never seen her that way before. Angel clenched his teeth.

  “No.”

  He took a long shower and took in everything Sofia had just dumped on him. Even if he did get past the dress thing, which he knew he wouldn’t, he’d never be okay with Sarah having so much affection for another guy. Never.

  *

  Angel sat in his car, waiting for Sofia to finish practice. He’d gotten there early, and from where he was parked, he had a perfect view of the bleachers. He chewed his gum slowly as a calming technique when he saw Sarah make her way up the bleachers with her crutches and sit down. It had been four days since she’d hurt her ankle, and from the looks of it, it hadn’t healed at all.

  This was the first time he’d seen her all week. He’d picked up Sofia every day that week, except Monday when she got off early, but Sarah hadn’t been there until now. Even from that distance, he couldn’t keep his eyes off her. She wore her hair down. The wind had picked up, and she kept pulling strands of hair away from her face. She sat there, consumed in the team practicing without her.

  He thought of how different things would be if Sydney didn’t exist. He’d be sitting there with her now, no doubt, moving the hair away from her face and taking advantage of the moment to kiss her each time.

  Something heated inside him when he noticed Coach Perv walk out of the gym. The coach’s eyes were instantly on Sarah. He wrote something on a clipboard, glanced at the team a few times, then his eyes were back on Sarah again. Angel swallowed hard when Coach Rudy started walking toward her.

  The coach took a seat right next to Sarah, and immediately his hands were all over her ankle.

  “What is he a fucking doctor now?” Angel muttered to himself.

  They talked and even laughed. The coach stood up a couple of times and yelled out a few things to the rest of the team practicing on the field but never once moved away from Sarah’s side.

  Angel pounded lightly on the bottom of the steering wheel over and over, trying not to lose his patience. But the damn coach hadn’t stopped talking to Sarah since he’d sat next to her.

  Sarah shook her head to move the hair away from her face, and then the coach reached over and tucked a strand behind her ear.

  Angel spit his gum out the window and got out of the car. He took a deep breath. The air was cool, and it helped him cool off a little—very little. He leaned against the car, his eyes on them the whole time.

  Don’t do it. Just stay here and wait for Sofia. She’s not your concern anymore.

  Angel glanced down at his watch. He couldn’t get over the coach’s blatant disregard for the team. The rest of the week when he’d picked up Sofia, he’d been out there riding them hard. Now he was so busy with Sarah he barely addressed them, and practice was almost over.

  The coach said something that made Sarah laugh out loud. Angel looked around to see if anyone else had noticed their banter. Didn’t she realize people would talk? No one seemed to notice, but when the coach put his hand on her ankle again, Angel started walking.

  He had no idea what he was going to say or do, but even the voice in his head couldn’t stop him. Angel had made no secret of his relationship with Sarah last semester, and the coach had seen them together plenty of times. Maybe just seeing Angel would make him back the hell off.

  Angel had made it halfway to the bleachers when the coach called everyone in. That’s when his eyes met Sarah’s. The smile on her face dissolved when she saw him, and she looked away.

  He took slower steps toward the bleachers now as the coach gave his speech on what he thought they needed to work on. What a joke. He’d spent the entire practice chatting it up with Sarah, and now he was going to preach to them
?

  Angel reached the bottom of the bleachers when the coach was done. Everyone started on their way, and Sofia came over to meet him. Sarah’s back was turned to him as she gathered her crutches.

  The coach held her by the arm when she lost her balance. Angel concentrated hard on relaxing. Sarah laughed when the coach called her a klutz, and she almost lost her balance again.

  “C’mon, Sarah, you’re killing me,” the coach teased.

  “I got it now.” She giggled as she stood up straight.

  Her back was still to Angel. She hadn’t seen him that close yet, and the coach hadn’t noticed him in the crowd.

  “You need a ride home?” the coach asked. “I can drop you off.”

  “That’s all right, Coach. She’s got a ride.”

  Both the coach and Sarah turned to look at him. Angel didn’t feel like he was talking to a coach at his school anymore. He was big but young, and what Alex had said hit him in the gut. This guy was slick and Sarah was legal. The coach stared him down like a rival and looked back at Sarah.

  Sarah peered at Angel. “Really? Funny I wasn’t aware.”

  Her attitude surprised Angel, but he didn’t back down. “Yeah, I’m taking you home.”

  Sarah stomped down the bleachers. Her crutches made every step louder than normal. The coach was steadfast behind her.

  “I’d rather walk.” Her eyes were ablaze.

  But Angel noticed a slight break in the heat when their eyes locked and took advantage. “Why?”

  She glanced away quickly and then stared at him again. Angel’s heart raced. She was so close he fought with himself not to take her face in his hands and kiss her as he had so many times before.

  “You haven’t even said hello to me since I’ve been back.” She stopped when her emotions betrayed her. Her rigid stare faltered. And when Angel saw her beautiful eyes well up, he knew he’d made a huge mistake. “Don’t you even wanna know why I’m still here?”