Total pages in book: 131
Estimated words: 145402 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 727(@200wpm)___ 582(@250wpm)___ 485(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145402 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 727(@200wpm)___ 582(@250wpm)___ 485(@300wpm)
Kevin had a subscription to an Exy streaming site. He searched for Vermont's most recent game and turned the screen so they could both see. Neil took notes, Kevin absorbed what he could from watching, and they compared insights afterward. UVM had an imbalanced team: an intimidating defense backing up a mediocre offense line. Neil and Kevin would have their hands full, but at least their fractured backliners would have an easier time of things.
One game turned into two and would have become three if Nicky hadn't come looking for them. It took Nicky only a second to realize what they were doing and he flicked a dismayed look between them.
"You aren't serious. It's Friday night and this is how you're entertaining yourselves? Give me a break! Think about something else for a while, would you? Like ice cream. I thought we were going down to Columbia. My body's been ready for some ice cream all day long. I've been gypped and I demand compensation."
"That's not our problem," Kevin said.
"I'm making it your problem," Nicky said. "Neil, you're coming with me to the store."
"Go by yourself," Kevin said.
"Great idea," Nicky said. "Tiny flaw, though: I'm not on the insurance policy anymore and don't have a key to the new ride."
"You what?" Neil asked, startled.
Nicky shrugged and didn't explain. "Let's go, Neil. The games will still be there tomorrow. I'm here right now, I'm hungry, and I'm tired of you ignoring me in my own room."
Kevin opened another game and paused it so it could buffer. "Andrew can take you."
"I'm not talking to you anymore," Nicky said. "I'm talking to your mini-me."
"I," Neil started, but faltered when his phone buzzed.
He could guess what it was, but there was a chance it wasn't. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and flipped it open to read today's contribution to the countdown: "35". Neil gazed down at it in silence. If Neil believed in signs, this would be proof he should stay here with Kevin. They could get another match in before they had to crash for the night. One more game and he'd probably have names and numbers memorized. They had less than three months until finals. The Foxes couldn't afford a single misstep between here and there.
Neil looked up, ready to turn Nicky down, but Andrew had come up beside Nicky in the doorway. Neil looked at him and thought about Nicky's worried appeal last fall, the warning that one day Exy wouldn't be enough on its own. It could be a safe haven from his thoughts and a reason to get up and the inspiration to fight harder. It could mean the world to him, but it couldn't be everything. It couldn't fill in the broken pieces of him the way the Foxes did. It wouldn't drop everything to get him from the airport or come back for him without question or call him "friend". Neil built his life around Exy after his mother died because he needed something to live for, but Neil wasn't alone anymore.
Maybe he'd regret this on Monday when he was a thousand steps behind Kevin at practice, but it wasn't like Neil would ever catch up to him anyway. Neil snapped his phone shut and looked at Kevin. "What kind do you want?"
Kevin stared at him. "You're not leaving," he said, not quite a question.
"If we get into another one, we'll be up too late tonight. Pick a flavor."
Kevin didn't respond; maybe he was too disappointed in Neil to take the question seriously. Neil didn't care anymore what Kevin thought of him. Like he'd reminded Kevin the other week, Kevin's journey didn't stop in May. He could spend every night watching endless replays and tactics because he had all the time in the world to spare.
Neil tucked his phone into his pocket and got to his feet. "Text Nicky when you make up your mind."
Nicky looked beside himself with glee over winning the tug-o-war. Neil let that self-satisfaction trump Kevin's attitude and led Nicky down to the car. Nicky chattered about Erik for most of the drive to the grocery store. Nicky was planning on spending most of May in Germany. His short reunion with Erik over Christmas break just made Nicky miss him more than ever, and Nicky was counting down days until they could see each other again. He was a little worried what Andrew and Aaron might do in his absence, but he trusted Neil to keep them both alive until the dorms reopened in June.
Kevin still hadn't messaged Nicky by the time they reached the ice cream aisle, so Nicky gave in and called him. Neil half-expected Kevin to ignore Nicky's call, but Kevin wasn't so sour with them that he'd turn down a free snack. Nicky paid for the pints before Neil could offer to get his own, and they headed back to the dorm with their haul.
Kevin was nowhere in sight but the bedroom door was closed again. Neil assumed he'd resumed watching matches alone. It bothered Neil for a moment that Kevin wasn't willing to wait for him, but he refused to regret his decision. Nicky grabbed spoons from the kitchen and distributed pints to their hungry owners. Neil checked his expression when Nicky came back from dropping Kevin's off, but Nicky just rolled his eyes at Neil and grinned again. Nicky tossed the empty plastic bag in the general direction of the garbage can and surveyed his DVD stand with his fists on his hips.
After a minute's serious study, Nicky complained, "There's nothing to watch. I'm going to scour Matt's collection."
He said it definitively, but he waited a beat in case Andrew shot that idea down. Neil looked from him to Andrew, who was rolling his pint between his hands to soften it. When Andrew said nothing, Nicky vanished. Neil locked the door behind him and carried his ice cream to Andrew. He knelt on the floor near Andrew's beanbag chair and listened. He didn't hear the sound of a game coming from the bedroom, but Kevin's headphones weren't on his desk anymore. Neil set his ice cream and spoon to one side and turned a searching look on Andrew.