by L A Cotton
If he wanted to make me feel guiltier than I already did, he’d succeeded. It slithered through my gut, twisting and tightening.
“You’re a good kid, Jason. I meant every word I said at Seniors Night, but sometimes you’re blinded to the game and that makes you your own worst enemy. From someone who remembers what it’s like to want it so bad you can’t see anything else, it’s a big old world out there, and there is room for more than just football. It doesn’t feel like it now, when you’re on the precipice of greatness, but trust me when I say, it’s true.” He gripped my shoulder again. “Now get out of here. I don’t want to see you again until we’re boarding the buses for Friday’s game, okay?”
“But, Coach, that’s still two days away.”
“I’m giving you all some well-deserved downtime. I’m not worried about Friday and neither should you be. It’s what comes after that matters. You’ve worked hard this season Jason, try being an eighteen-year-old kid for once; you never know, it might suit you.” Coach winked at me, before straightening his ball cap and strolling off toward the gym.
Downtime?
It didn’t figure into the equation. There was always something to be working toward, training for. Even when the season was over, I was in the gym working out, or working with the guys on drills. Perfecting the play, strengthening any weak links in the chain.
“Well?” Cam strolled over to me. “What’s the verdict?”
“He wants us to take some downtime.”
“Downtime? Sounds good to me.” He grinned.
It was in that split second, I realized how much we’d changed. Maybe it was Hailee or his mom being sick or the looming future, but football was no longer the most important thing in Cam’s life anymore.
Maybe it never had been.
I didn’t ever think anything would come in between us, our plans, but it had. Yet, I couldn’t blame him. I’d never seen him as happy as he was with my step-sister.
It had never been in my plan to meet someone, to let someone in. To distract me.
Then she came along.
Felicity Giles.
Fuck, had she taken me by surprise. A dark-haired angel with no filter and crazy fashion sense. She was everything I didn’t want or need, and yet, she’d infiltrated my steel exterior before I even had time to realize what was happening.
“You’re thinking about her, aren’t you?” Cam’s voice burst my daydream.
“Who, Hailee?” I quipped.
“You know exactly who I mean.” He smirked.
“Doesn’t matter.”
“You keep saying that...”
“Because it’s true. We’re done.” We had to be.
“If you say so.”
I did.
Even if it was the biggest lie of all.
“And that’s how it’s done, ladies,” Coach yanked off his ball cap and thrust it in the air. “A damn near perfect season.” If we hadn’t have blown our last game.
It was a bitter pill to swallow, but it didn’t matter. We were in the play-offs. One step closer to the end goal.
“Get showered and get changed. I want to get out of here and back home stat.”
A chorus of ‘Yes, Coach’ rang out around me, the buzz of the win still crackling in the air.
“Hey, Cap, check it out,” Grady flashed me his cell.
@ThatcherQB1: Raiders might have made the play-offs but Ford is going down #youredone #watchyourback
“He’s just pissed the Eagles are out and we’re in,” I said, feeling my stomach knot. “Let him talk shit, we all know who’s the better team.”
“I still think we should go across the river and show him who’s boss.” Ash slung his towel over his shoulder.
“You over your tantrum?” My tone was cool.
He shrugged as we hit the showers. “I figured if anyone’s going to show to the party later, I need to make the peace.”
“Oh, so it’s like that, huh?”
Asher’s mouth curved. “What can I say, gotta give the people what they want.”
“Fucker,” I muttered under my breath.
After a quick shower, we got dressed and gathered by the buses where Hailee and some other fans hung around to congratulate us. “Great game,” she said to Cam and Asher, completely ignoring me. I edged away, hitching my bag over my shoulder. It was on the tip of my tongue to ask where Felicity was, but that would suggest I cared.
“Hey, Jase, we’re going to ride back with Hailee. You want a ride?”
My eyes slid to hers in question, and she gave a dismissive shrug.
“I’ll ride with—”
“Just get in the damn car, Jason,” she sighed.
“You heard the woman, Jason, get in the damn car.” Ash winked, and I flipped him off. He was so smug I wanted to tell him to fuck off. But I didn’t. Instead, I gritted my teeth behind my lips and got in the car.
Wondering when I became such a pussy.
Two hours later, everyone who was anyone was crammed into Asher’s house.
“Okay fuckers, quiet down.” He jumped up on the breakfast counter and thrust his beer in the air. “Now I know Coach said it all last week at Seniors Night, but this is my house and I want to say a few words.”
A couple of the guys cheered while Grady balled up a napkin and launched it at him. “Get on with it,” he yelled.
“This won’t take long,” Ash grinned at him, waggling his brows, “just like Mackey in the sack.” Another round of hoots and hollers broke out around me.
“Last year should have been ours; we should have been in that championship game, bringing home the crown. But this year… this year it’s ours. I love you guys and I don’t know what I’m going to do when the season’s over. So raise your drink in the air and let me hear y’all. Who are we?”
“Raiders.”
“And what are we going to do?”
“Win!”
“Damn right we are. Now let’s celebrate like the winners we are and get fucked up.” He chugged his drink down and thumped his chest like Tarzan. Cam laughed beside me, but I barely smiled. Because celebration or not, something was missing.
I followed Cam outside to our usual seats where Hailee joined us. “Everything okay?” Cam asked her as she slid onto his lap.
“Yeah, fine.”
“They’re not coming?”
She shook her head, her eyes finding mine. “I don’t think so.”
“Maybe it’s for the best,” Cam said quietly as I focused on my beer, scratching off the label with my thumbnail.
“Yeah.” Hailee’s eyes burned into the top of my head.
“Shots,” Asher appeared with a tray of Jell-O shots.
“Nah, man,” I grumbled, not in the mood.
“Aw come on, man, we made it. A near perfect season and State in our sights.” He thrust a cup at me, waiting for Cameron and Hailee to take theirs.
“I can’t believe this is almost the end.” Ash’s expression fell as he raised his cup in the air. “It’s been the best four years of my life. To good friends, football, and the future, whatever it may hold.” Something flashed over his face, but it was quickly gone as he downed his shot.
“Pittsburg won’t know what hit them,” Cam said, tossing his empty cup on the tray.
“Yeah,” Ash shrugged, “but it won’t be the same will it?”
A good friend would have reassured him, would have promised things wouldn’t change.
But he was right.
Come graduation nothing would be the same anymore.
Felicity
“You must be Felicity. I’m George, welcome to A Brand New Tail.”
“Hi,” I smiled at the man. He was younger than I expected; with sandy blond hair and a bright smile. He couldn’t be a day older than twenty-five.
“Thank you so much for this.”
“No problem. Regina said you’re thinking of applying to study animal science at college?”
“It’s a possibility but I know it’s
super competitive and some hands-on experience would really help my application.”
“Can I ask why now? Most of our volunteers from high school start with us in junior year.”
“I’ve always loved animals and vet school is something I’ve always had in the back of my mind, but my parents... well, they have a different idea where my future is concerned.”
“Ah,” he smiled. “Say no more. My parents wanted a doctor and got a vet tech instead.”
“How’d they take it?”
“It was a shock at first, but they came around to the idea. In the end, I think all our parents really want is for us to be happy. Shall we get started?”
“I’d love that.”
For the first time since Mya talked me into this whole thing, I felt a seed of hope blossom in my chest. George got it. He’d been where I was now and come out the other side without too many bumps and scrapes if his senior position here was anything to go by.
“First things first. This is Serena, our front of house manager.” He motioned to the pixie-haired woman manning the desk. “Serena, meet Felicity. I’m giving her the grand tour.”
“Hey, doll,” she smiled warmly. “High school junior?”
“Senior, actually,” George corrected. “She’s a bit of a late starter.”
“No time like the present. Don’t let him scare you off, Felicity, was it?” I nodded. “George is all bark and no bite. Excuse the dog pun, you get a lot of those around here.” She gave me a wink and went back to whatever had her attention behind the desk.
“Don’t mind her,” George said, leading me through a door into a long hall. “So out there was what we call, ‘the floor’. And everything beyond this door is what we refer to as ‘the back’.”
“Got it.”
“I figured we’d start with the fun stuff and work backwards.”
“Sounds good to me.” The place had a very distinct smell. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but it was there.
“We have a permanent staff of four. Me, Serena, Joseph, and Maggie, and a team of five volunteers who help us out on a week-to-week basis depending on how busy we are.” George kept walking, leading me to the far end of the hall. “Serena handles front of house, all customer enquiries, and adoptions. Maggie and I deal with new arrivals; we run full check overs, update vaccination boosters, administer medication and treatment in any cases requiring it. And Joseph is our resident animal whisperer.”
“Animal whisperer?”
“It’s what we like to call him. It’s his job to look after the animals day-to-day, but the guy has a rare gift with them, even the most severe cases we see. In my five years being here, I haven’t seen a case he hasn’t been able to crack.”
“Wow, he sounds wonderful.”
“He’s really something. Unfortunately, he’s taken a rare day off, so you won’t meet him today.”
Disappointment settled in my chest, but I tried to shake it off, remembering Hailee and Mya’s words of encouragement. This was a positive step in the right direction.
“And here we are. This is what we like to call, ‘the zoo’.”
The second George opened the door, I realized why. Assaulted with overzealous barks and wary purrs, I stepped into the room. Even a few growls greeted me.
“Okay, okay, quiet down.” George dragged his keys along the nearest cage. “I brought someone to meet you all, but you have to promise to behave.”
“There are so many.”
“We don’t just take cases from Rixon. We cover the surrounding areas too, so things can get pretty crazy. We’re almost at capacity right now. Twenty-five cats, eighteen dogs, and Earl.”
“Earl?” I asked, my eyes wide as I observed the vast room. It was clearly divided into cats and dogs with an examination table and apparatus set up in the middle. The crates were big and spacious, each equipped with food and water bowls and scratching posts for the cats, a few toys for the dogs.
“Our rabbit. We technically only take cats or dogs, but he was found in the alley behind the building and Serena begged us to take him in.
“Someone just left him there?”
“You’d be surprised where people dump their unwanted pets.”
My heart clenched as I found the long-eared rabbit in a special cage away from the other animals. He was so cute and defenseless; the idea someone could just toss him away made my heart ache.
“So when an animal first arrives, the first port of call is a full health check...” For the next ten minutes, George explained how they processed new animals and how they used a digital matching service to try and rehome as many animals as possible.
“The average stay with us is eleven weeks, which means we’re doing a fairly good job of finding animals new compatible homes. We have a thorough screening process and insist potential adopters attend one of our information sessions before jumping headfirst into anything. And we’re proud to hold an eighty-five percent rehoming success.”
“Eighty-five percent? But what happens to the other fifteen percent?”
“Oh, they usually become lifers here or we transfer them to a more suited center.” He moved over to a cage and crouched down. “Now this is Boomer. He’s a black lab who’s been with me since the beginning.”
The dog stared up at me, leaning up to sniff the air around me. “Hi there, boy.”
“You want to meet him? He’s as friendly as they come.”
“I’d love to.” A little thrill shot through me as George unlocked the cage and pulled open the front gate.
“He’s a little unsure of new faces so give him a minute.”
“Hey, Bo—”
The huge dog leaped toward me, knocking me back onto my butt.
“I think you have a fan,” George chuckled but I had my hands full of dog as Boomer nudged and licked my face, coaxing me to run my hands through his soft, glossy fur.
“And George said you were shy.” I glanced over at him and he blushed a little. He was kind of cute, made ten times cuter by the fact he cared for all these animals.
But I wasn’t here to crush on George, I was here to soak up everything I could about what it entailed to work in a place like A Brand New Tail.
“You like that, huh?” I scratched under Boomer’s neck and he lifted his head from side to side so I could get better access.
“Okay, Boom, back in you go. Joseph isn’t on shift today, but I’ll make sure you get to stretch those legs later.” He patted Boomer on the head before gently herding him back into his cage.
“They all get daily exercise?”
“They do. Twice a day. And then Joseph usually has them out in small groups in the yard. It’s important for socialization and preparation for their new homes.”
I nodded, eagerly soaking up every word. “I always wanted a dog or a cat, but my mom was concerned about allergies.”
“I have three pets.” George scooped a handful of doggy treats out of a jar and began working his way down the low row of cages. “A spaniel and two cats.”
“Where did you study?”
“I did animal science at Penn’s School of Veterinary Medicine. I graduated last year, got my licenses, and Regina offered me the position of center manager.”
“Wow, that’s amazing.”
“I always imagined I’d work at a veterinary clinic, but once I started volunteering here, I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. There’s something magical about bringing together a rescue pet and a new owner.” Pride radiated from every word and I realized I wanted that. I wanted to make a difference to animals and people.
“You have that look,” he observed.
“I do?”
“Yeah,” he smiled, “The newbie sparkle. I remember it well. It looks good on you.” His eyes widened at his slip of the tongue, and I smothered a giggle.
George was flirting with me. It was probably unintentional and harmless, but it felt nice all the same.
“And that was really inappropriate. I’m sorry. Sometimes
I speak before I think. I can assure you, I’m usually much more professional.”
“It’s okay.”
Awkward silence stretched out before us despite the little flutters in my chest.
“So, hmm, yeah this is the ‘zoo’. We also have a surgical room, a recovery room, and a couple of isolation pens for the worst cases.”
“It hurts my heart knowing people can be so cruel to something so cute.”
“We see it all here. It’s definitely not for the faint of heart, but it only makes it all the more rewarding when a dog who has only ever known neglect and abuse finds a loving home. You want to see the rest of the place?”
Nodding eagerly, I said, “I’d love to.”
I ended up staying most of the afternoon. George was happy to talk shop and I was more than willing to listen. It couldn’t have gone better... until he reminded me there were no volunteer openings, and the bottom fell out of my happy bubble.
“Of course, I understand,” I said, wringing my hands in front of me.
“I think you’d really fit in here.” A gentle blush creeped into his cheeks again and there was no mistaking he was flirting. “But my hands are tied. Hopefully you got a real feel for what it’s like though?”
“I did, thank you.”
“Well, it was nice to meet you, Felicity. If you have any questions or need any help with your application, just give me a shout.” He fumbled in his pocket. “Here’s my card.”
“Thanks.” I plucked it from him and held it close to my chest as if he’d just offered me the universe. “I should probably let you get back to it. Wouldn’t want to keep them waiting.” My head flicked over his shoulder.
“Yeah, I have big shoes to fill today since Joseph is on vacation.”
“I’m sure you’ll do a great job.”
“I’ll try.”
Neither of us made any effort to move but it was starting to feel awkward, so I gave him a small wave and walked away. It had been such a bittersweet experience; confirming my unexplored desire to work with animals but tempered by a sting of regret. Frustration because I hadn’t been braver to go after what I wanted last year or whenever my mom and dad brought up college.