"Some of the guys are heading out," Danny says. "Kendrick and I will stick around for as long as you need us."
"Thanks, but you can go," I tell him. "I'm heading home soon too."
"You need a ride?"
"I can take her," Eve says, gathering up the games and other stuff she brought. They turned out to be a good distraction and a good way to fill the time.
"You going to school tomorrow?" Danny asks.
"I don't know. My mom is telling me I have to but I'd rather be here."
"I can take you here at lunch. I have to go to practice after school but maybe Eve could give you a ride."
"Yeah, definitely," she says, glancing at me as she puts stuff in her bags. "I have to work but I can drop you here on my way."
"You guys are great. Thanks."
"No problem." Danny gives me a quick hug. "We'll see you tomorrow."
"Yeah."
He goes back over to the other guys as people start to leave, clearing out the room.
As Eve finishes packing up, Dean's coach comes over to me. "Heading out?"
"In a few minutes."
He pats me on the back. "He's going to be fine. The kid's strong as an ox."
I smile. "Yeah. He is."
"Hey." He walks down the hall a little, motioning me to follow. When I do, he says, "I told this to the players but I'll tell you as well."
"Yeah? What is it?"
"I don't want you bringing up football to Dean. If he asks, just talk about something else."
"I wasn't going to bring it up. I don't even know what I'd say."
"I don't either but when it comes time to talk about it, I want to be the one to do it. He's had his hopes set on playing college ball but that may not happen now. We'll have to see how it goes. He won't be finishing the season, that's for sure. But I'm working on some other options for him. They may not work out so I don't want anyone getting his hopes up."
"What options are you looking at?"
"Before this happened, I had scouts showing interest in Dean from all over the country, wanting to see video from the games. He even had a few offers. Now that this has happened, a lot of those opportunities may be gone but I still have scouts showing interest. We'll have to see how he heals and what happens with his knee. If his knee comes out okay, he has a chance of still getting on a team. It just won't be at a top school."
"So what do I tell him if he asks?"
"Tell him I'll talk to him. I've known Dean for years. We've had these discussions before, about his future, and staying on track to meet his goals. He knows I don't sugarcoat anything. I tell him like it is, and I'll do that again now. But I don't want to have that discussion until he's had more time to recover."
I nod. "Okay. Got it."
He smiles. "You've been good for him. I've seen him change a lot the past few weeks."
"What do you mean?"
"The kid actually smiles now. And he's got more life in him. He's not moping around, all depressed."
"He was like that before?"
