“Yes, that’s what he was telling me about. Basically, if we don’t win it will be my fault he loses the best spot in the parking garage.” Wesley’s voice quickly spirals into panic.
I bite my tongue until my eyes water. I willnotspeak poorly of my superior in front of my intern. I won’t.
“How am I supposed to create a winning team in two practices?” Wesley’s voice is thready. He stares into the midground, his eyes wide.
The thwack of balls hitting gloves over and over fills the silence between us. The paranoia prickling at my neck has subsided. Of course Richard wasn’t following up with Wesley earlier. He would have no reason to suspect that Wesley was at my home last night.
But I still feel the sting of tears, a tightness in my chest that I can’t place.
“Is your mom okay?”
The ball falls from my hand before I can catch it. We both chase after it but Wesley gets it first.
“What? Why did you ask me that?”
He searches my face. It feels like he’s trying to see behind my sunglasses but I don’t want to let him see me right now and glimpse the fear at the mention of my mother, the discomfort Richard’s presence brings. It’s all raw skin and I can’t handle the sting of exposure.
He shrugs, handing me back the ball. “You just seem really quiet.”
The ball is heavier than it was just moments before, and warmer, too. But I can’t tell if it’s the warmth from Wesley’s skin or if my own hand is just that cold.
“I’m just...” It’s too much to tell him this. To show him I’m not as tough as I want him to think I am. That I can turn into a weak, scared girl because of one man. “I’m not in the best mood.”
“So...” His pause is filled with the sound of snide laughter coming from Mark and his friend. “You probably don’t want me to come over tonight, then?”
I throw the ball to Emily.
“No. You should come over tonight.”
His smile makes me feel a little better. He starts to walk but turns around. “I’ve been sort of a bad brother,” he says, his voice low. “So later later?”
“You should probably go coach someone else.” I nod to the other players and the movement sends a shooting pain down my neck. I gasp, pushing my fingers against a tender spot.
“You okay?” He takes a step toward me, hand raised, but I step back, shooing him away.
“Fine. I’m fine.”
Light dances in front of my eyes. I close them to the pink, yellow, and green orbs. My stomach sinks, both with realization and regret. The irritability, my mood, the sensitivity to light. I’m getting another migraine.
The next time I open my eyes Wesley is across the field getting Abila and Marisol started on fielding grounders, but Emily is suddenly, blessedly beside me. I sag against her.
“Migraine?” she asks.
I nod.
“Let’s get you home.”
She follows my gaze across the field as she leads me toward the parking lot. “Do you need me to...tell anyone?”
I trip on a divot and pull up short to keep from falling over. “No,” I say with too much force.
Emily takes a step back, hurt in her eyes.
I keep walking toward my car. My home is calling me. All the lights on dimmer switches. The soaker tub. The pharmacy’s worth of drugs.
“There’s no one to tell.”
Chapter 31: Wesley
