Claire considers me for a moment, then takes my hand and walks us over to where Austin and Rowan are standing with the Whitlock twins and Hunter. The guys have hung in groups tonight, taking shots or chugging beer—sometimes to celebrate all they accomplished this season and sometimes to mourn the loss.
Vaughn should be here. It’s not like him to flake on such an important night. These are his guys, some of whom he’ll never play with again.
“Did Vaughn ever show up?” she asks Austin.
Her boyfriend angles his body to let us into the circle. “No, I haven’t seen him.”
“He said he was coming,” Rowan adds.
“He was here. I saw him outside earlier.” All eyes go to Eddie as he speaks up.
“You saw him here?” I ask.
He nods. “He was in his Rover out front.”
“How long ago?”
“An hour or so.” Eddie shrugs one shoulder. “He looked pretty bummed out still.”
There’s no way he’s been here an hour and no one else has seen him.
“I’m going to go look for him,” I say to Claire.
She nods. “Do you want me to come with you?”
“I’ll come too,” Austin offers.
“No. I got this, but can I borrow your Jeep?” I ask Austin.
“Of course.” He reaches in for his keys and tosses them my way.
“If he shows up, text me,” I say, even though I don’t think that’s likely.
“Okay.” Claire steps forward and hugs me. “Check in, so I know you’re safe.”
I’m already backing away to go as I reply, “I will.”
* * *
When I don’t see Vaughn’s Range Rover out front at the party, I get in Austin’s Jeep and head back to the school. I’m not sure why that’s the first place I look, but something draws me back there.
Relief swoops through me when I spot his SUV parked behind the soccer field. I climb out of the Jeep and walktoward the building. The double doors are locked, so I walk around toward the field.
I don’t see him at first. The lights on the field are off, but the white of the soccer ball catches the moonlight.
Whatever terrible feeling I had before intensifies now.
He’s lying in the middle of the field with a soccer ball behind his head, staring up at the sky.
Walking around toward the field, I can see him more clearly. His slow breaths as he exhales into the cold night, his hands laced together at his stomach, and he’s not staring up at the sky like I thought. His eyes are closed.
I expected to find him shooting the ball into the net or punching something. Somehow this is so much worse.
“Hey, Collins!” I yell, infusing as much fun into my voice as possible. My heart is hammering in my chest.
He lifts up and looks over to me slowly. His expression is blank, as if he isn’t sure he’s really seeing me, or maybe he’s hiding his disappointment at being found. Vaughn sits up but doesn’t get to his feet, so I move closer.
My smile slips with each step. So much hurt is etched into his features.
