I was in the middle of a football game when Dad showed up late. I can still remember him pacing the sideline behind the team, his hands clasped behind his back.
As soon as the game ended with me catching a touchdown pass from Dylan where I broke a tackle and landed in the end zone, I ran off the field.
My father met me as I reached the sideline. And that’s when our lives changed.
“Hey, are you Colton Wild?”
A curvy blonde who looks vaguely familiar smiles at me as she enters the kitchen.
I nod. “Do I know you?”
“I’m in your History class. I sit behind you.”
Her face registers in my brain. “Right. You always have an extra pen when I’m forever showing up without one.”
Her cheeks pinken, and she giggles flirtatiously. “Yes! That’s me.” She gives me her name as she touches my arm.
She wants to hang out. And probably more than that. I don’t have to decipher her mannerisms because she’s clearly coming on to me.
Within three minutes, her hand shifts from my bicep to the pocket on my flannel shirt. She tugs at the fabric and teasingly unbuttons the top clasp of my shirt. When I don’t stop her, she moves her hand lower.
Past my stomach and down to my waist. She hesitates, but I still don’t say anything. Part of me’s testing myself to see if I truly can push this pain out of my mind.
When she reaches the belt loops of my jeans, I shut my eyes. Maybe this is just what I need to push my worries out of my head. A meaningless night with someone who’s on the same page. I’ve never had sex before, but I’ve had my share of hook ups, and this one should be no different.
Her lips go to my neck, and she trails her wet tongue down my skin.
“Colton, I’ve wanted you all fall. The entire time you’ve been in front of me in class.” Her tongue on my neck gets more insistent, and now her lips are involved.
Fuck, I just want to forget everything. Just for a little while.
My phone buzzes with a call, and my eyes fly open. Stepping back from the girl, I reach into my back pocket and swipe my phone screen.
“Mom?” I say.
Her moment of hesitation is all I need to make me want to drop to my knees.
“Mom.” I steel myself for her next words. “What’s going on?”
“The tests came back, Colt.” Her voice cracks. “You might want to come home.”
I’m already walking to the front door. “I’m on my way.”
* * *
Dad meets me as soon as I step into my house. His arms go around me, and he wraps me up in a hug.
“I’m going to beat it,” he says, and the words are like déjà-vu.
I break out of his embrace. “That’s what you said the last time.”
He winks at me, trying to mask his watery eyes. “And I was right on. I’ll do it again.”
I know the odds. I know the numbers, the markers, the side effects of the meds.
I know too much.
We had charts all over the kitchen. Schedules for appointment dates and medications.
