Her cheeks glow red and she shifts uncomfortably at the mention of her brother, “well, we’re going to go in. Say hi to Lizzy for me.”
She speeds off before he has the chance to say anything else and parks the car. The rest of us are slightly confused but I get the feeling she isn’t going to talk to us about it any time soon.
When we walk into the arena, I’m stunned. It’s fucking gorgeous back here, private concession stands, a row of private boxes, and photos of the legends who played here. Claire is the only one out of us who doesn’t seem impressed, she walks by all the cool shit and heads straight for the box on the right.
The nameplate on the door says Taylor, and I look to the guys to see if they’re seeing the same thing. She’s acting so chill about all this, I really don’t understand how.
She walks towards the fridge, grabbing a bottle of water. While she’s turned around, we surround her, staring at the back of her head. Claire jumps and holds her hand over her heart when she sees us, “what the fuck is wrong with you guys? You scared the shit out of me.”
“Why the fuck does the plaque on the door sayTaylor?” Miller asks.
She tries to find an answer, but stumbles over her words before giving up and running away from us. She fiddles with the water bottle, shaking a little bit and starting to breathe ten times faster than she was a moment ago. I wonder why she’s so freaked out right now.
I eye the guys, they see what I see and mirror my worried look. Whatever is going through her head right now, isn’t good.
I go to make my way over to her but August stops me, “let me go talk to her. You guys aren’t exactly friends, she’ll probably be more forthcoming with me.”
He’s right, I’ve been nothing but a dick to her… the last thing she’ll want to do is talk to me.
four
CLAIRE
I completely fucking forgot about the plaque on the door, not to mention everyone who works at the stadium knows that Chris is my brother. What if someone says something to the guys?
I’m freaking the fuck out, I feel my lungs getting tight and my heart starts to race. The last thing I need is to have a panic attack around them.
I jump when I feel a hand land on my shoulder, “hey, is everything okay?” August asks softly, almost like he’s scared to speak too loudly.
I nod my head yes, knowing that if I open my mouth, nothing but a strangled sob will come out.
Over the years I’ve gotten pretty good at masking the panic, but right now my wall is slowly crumbling as I progress further and further down this dark tunnel. The walls are closing in, August is too close, everything is too loud, my shirt is too tight, the water bottle in my hands is too cold. God I’m freaking the fuck out, I need to leave.
I need Steph.
And almost as if God himself is looking out for me, the door swings open and Steph walks in. Her gaze instantly finds mine, and like the best friend she is, she knows what's going on and comes to my rescue.
“Hey, it’s August right?” she asks, trying to get his attention off of me and onto her.
“Yeah” he responds, keeping his eyes locked on me.
Please, just look away, stop staring, let me leave. I beg and beg and beg, silently hoping that he’ll finally relent and let me suffer in peace.
“So you’re living with Claire right? How’s that going?” Steph places a hand on his shoulder, which distracts him just enough to let me slip out and run to the nearest bathroom.
My vision is going blurry, slowly fading to black around the edges as I slam through the door and collapse to the ground. I yank off my jacket, trying to get cool air to touch my skin, trying to do anything to make this overwhelming feeling stop. I place my fingers against my throat, counting the beats of my heart as it hammers in my chest. I can barely see anything as tears fall, so instead I close them tight, trying to get my shit together so I can go back into that stupid box and enjoy my brother's game.
I’m gasping for air and clawing at my chest with the other hand when I hear the door to the bathroom slam open, “Claire what the fuck? What’s happening? Are you okay?”
The voice is off in the distance, too far away for me to really process what’s happening. My heartbeat is too loud, my eyes are shut too tight, everything’s too much.
I can’t do this, it’s not fucking stopping.
Hands grip my face, forcing me to finally open my eyes and snap back to some semblance of reality… it’s August.
“Steph” I manage to choke out, and then his warm hands leave my face.
* * *
