He sighs. “Noah, we meant what we said before we even knew who Kincaid was dating. We don’t have a problem with him, and we don’t have a problem with you. You don’t have to hide anything from us because you’re worried about offending us or something.”
“Thanks, man.”
He smirks as he pinches my cheek. “Go get your boyfriend, Bentley, and bring him home to meet the parents.”
“Fuck off, Kale.” I laugh and shove him away. “TellMumI expect a nice home-cooked meal waiting on the table.”
He snorts and flips me the bird before heading backinto the change rooms to light a fire under Dane. Our housemate is notorious for being the last one out of the showers. He’s like a fucking duck playing under the water.
I call Zac on my way over, explaining our change of plans, and he’s more than enthusiastic. He’s been going stir-crazy, and as much as Isabelle’s intentions are in the right place, she’s been a little overprotective.
They’re arguing when I enter their house.
“I don’t know if this is a good idea, Zac. You’ve only been out of the hospital for a couple of weeks.”
“Yeah, and I’m going stir-crazy staring at the same four goddamn walls.”
“Language,” Adam chastises, but there’s no fire in his tone.
“I’m an adult, not a bloody teenager. This is me telling you I’m going to stay with my boyfriend. I wasn’t asking.”
I head into the living room to find Adam kicked back on the couch while his wife and son are having it out.
“Hey,” I greet them, hovering in the doorway.
Adam winks at me with a grin, mock-whispering, “Get out of here while you can.”
Zac scowls at his dad, then turns back to his mum. “I have my medication, and Noah knows what to do.”
“I’m just worried about you,” she sniffs. “I’m not trying to be overbearing, but you were in a serious accident. We almost lost you.”
His face softens, and he walks over to hug her. “You didn’t lose me, Mum, but I seriously need to get out of this house before I go mad. I’ll be fine at Noah’s.”
“We have an early bus to catch, Isabelle,” I add. “I’ll drop him off before we leave.”
I don’t miss the pain on his face when I mention the away game. He’s missing the boys and being part of the team. He won’t get to play again this season, but he has anappointment with the neurologist next week, and he’s hoping he can watch training and games if the headaches and tiredness start to subside.
“I’m fine, Mum,” Zac says firmly, kissing the top of her head. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He grabs his overnight bag off the floor, takes my hand, and pulls me behind him as I call out goodbye to his parents.
When we climb into Jasper’s car, he slumps in his seat, heaving a heavy sigh. “Thank fuck I’m out of there. I love her, but she needs to chill. I’m not going to keel over at any second.”
I roll my eyes at his dramatics as I start the engine. “At least she cares.”
He grimaces. “You still haven’t spoken to your dad?”
“Nope.” He stopped calling after the first week of me dodging his calls.
Zac rests his hand over mine, squeezing. He doesn’t need to say anything.
I take a left at the end of his street, heading towards town. But halfway to my house, he starts to fidget in his seat.
“Can you take a right here?” he asks, pointing to a street that makes my stomach curl.
I glance at him, but he stares straight ahead, so I flick on the indicator. His grip on my hand tightens as we approach the crash site. Adam and Isabelle had waited until he was out of hospital before telling him that the kid who caused the accident died at the scene. He hadn’t taken it well. It didn’t matter that the guy had been drunk—almost twice the legal limit—it was a life taken way too young in a tragic accident.
When I pull over and cut the engine, the panic from that night rushes back, and my eyes drift from the openfields on one side of the road to the houses lining the other. I swallow, glad the people living here called the ambulance when they did. I don’t want to think about what would have happened if the accident had occurred on a deserted road.
