Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 99766 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 499(@200wpm)___ 399(@250wpm)___ 333(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99766 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 499(@200wpm)___ 399(@250wpm)___ 333(@300wpm)
Our girls are barely keeping up. If Tierra wasn’t distracted, we’d defeat them easily. But, since she’s fucking up left and right, Penny doesn’t really have anyone watching her back.
Penny is trying to get Tierra’s attention when one of the girls on the other team slams her elbow back, right in Penny’s face. She falls on her ass just as the whistle is blown. Fucking finally they make the call. When Penny turns her head, blood is running down her chin.
Fuck.
I run out onto the court and kneel beside her. “She got you good, Zero.”
As I help Penny to her feet, I holler for Liv to replace her. Garrett shows up, ready to assist his daughter. She plops down on the bench, red-faced and still bleeding. No tears. Penny doesn’t cry. She gets even. I can tell she wants to kill every last one of Rockford’s girls.
“She nailed you pretty good on the lip,” Garrett says. “It’ll heal without stitches, but it’s going to bleed awhile. You’re not playing anymore tonight.”
She groans but lets him fuss over her. I turn my attention back to the game, yelling at my girls to get it together. To play defense. To open their fucking eyes. The minutes fly by until we’re nearing the end. Rockford is just two points ahead of us.
Tierra steals the ball and runs it down the court. Three-pointers aren’t her thing, but I can tell she’s going to try for it since Penny isn’t there to do it. The one I’m pretty sure is Sage flies after Tierra, quickly catching up to her. Before Tierra can make the shot, with seconds left on the clock, Sage bumps into her from behind. Hard. Tierra falls face first, elbows slamming the floor with brutal force.
The buzzer blares.
They fucking lost.
Penny
The other team shouts, jumping to their feet on the bleachers, now that the game is over. My eyes are locked on that bitch Sage. The one who pushed her.
It all happens in slow motion.
Tierra on her knees and elbows, planting her palms down so she can stand up. Sage lifting her leg. My cry of warning that gets washed out in the chaos. Sage slamming her foot down on Tierra’s.
The snap.
The snap.
Snap. Snap. Snap.
A sound that will haunt me on repeat. Over and over and over again. A sound that somehow pierces the dull roar of voices and penetrates me right in my skull.
“Daddy,” I croak out, pointing to Tierra.
Her scream chases the snap, pained, horrified, shocked. Dad flies off the bench, pushing past players to get to Tierra. Terrence rushes after him, limping, but not letting it slow him down. I finally snap out of it and chase him. A crowd has formed around Tierra. She holds her knee to her chest, screaming in pain, tears running down her cheeks. The referee and Rockford’s coach are yelling at Sage. She glares at them, satisfaction gleaming in her eyes.
That bitch.
Liv walks toward Tierra, her giant metal water bottle in her hands. I don’t think twice. I snag it from her and heave it at Sage. It smacks her in the forehead. She squawks in shock or pain or what the fuck ever. I don’t care. Ducking between some people, I make my way to Tierra. Dad is squatted beside her, assessing her ankle. I kneel down next to her, not sure how to comfort her. Terrence strokes her forehead and holds her hand, his face scrunched in worry.
“Her ankle is broken,” Dad growls, anger seeping in his tone. “She needs to get to the hospital.” He motions toward Sage. “Terrence, make sure that bitch gets in trouble for this.”
“It hurts,” Tierra sobs. “It hurts so bad.”
“I know, honey,” Dad croons. “I’m going to take you to the hospital. I’m going to pick you up now.”
She cries harder as Dad scoops her up. Terrence stalks over to where the referee and other coach are still yelling at Sage. She’s no longer wearing that stupid smirk. Her cheeks are wet with tears and her forehead is bleeding. Good.
“Grab her bag and meet me at the car,” Dad says to me. “Hurry.”
I take a second to flip Sage off with both fingers before I grab our stuff and get the hell out of here.
Dad is quiet on the drive home from the hospital. I’m glad Tierra had him by her side while he barked out orders to the doctors and nurses. Somehow, despite not working there, everyone knows him and listens to him. Wannabe Mayor Hoodlum just doing his thing. He basically told them what was wrong with her, ordered all the tests, and then micromanaged them as they did their job. As a result, she didn’t have to wait for anything and was taken care of properly.
I sat in the waiting room with Terrence and Rhetta for hours. The satisfaction of smacking Sage in her sneering face was short-lived. I wish I’d punched her in the fucking mouth.