Total pages in book: 127
Estimated words: 117363 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117363 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
“People picking fights with our new star,” he admitted as he held the door for her. “Rumor mill is working overtime.”
“Overdue for a new scandal, hm?” she asked. “End the way you started.”
He didn’t flinch, but it was a near thing. Once upon a time she’d gone to all his high school games, but once upon a time was before the fall banquet that broke their family in half. She’d gone out of her way to forget everything she knew about Exy since then, and she’d never forgiven him for sticking with it. He’d walked through a hundred hypothetical arguments with his therapist in preparation for the day he finally fought back, but every time the chance came, he watched it slip past in miserable silence.
He followed her out to her car, but Annalise made him wait as she dug lip balm out of her purse. She applied it liberally, smacked her lips together a few times, and then sent him an arch look. “What’s Grandpa think of this investment of yours?”
It was obvious bait, but that couldn’t keep the edge out of Jeremy’s fierce, “He is not our grandfather.”
“Careful,” Annalise warned him as she rummaged for her keys. “You already destroyed the family. Don’t destroy my future, too. Door.”
He got her car door open, jaw working on arguments that would always ring too hollow. Annalise got into the driver’s seat and motioned an okay to him as soon as her legs were out of the way. Jeremy pushed her door closed and took a step back. She needed a few moments to buckle and get settled, and then her car came to life with a quiet rumble. She pulled away without a backwards glance. Jeremy watched her taillights disappear as she turned out of the driveway, then turned to survey his house.
The temptation to head straight to Cat and Laila’s place was almost overwhelming, but tonight was not the night. Today was their anniversary, and he wasn’t going to crash that with his family drama.
He sat on the short wall of the fountain instead and went through his messages. Since Cat was distracted, most of tonight’s updates were from the other gossips of the Trojan line. Jeremy wasn’t sure he had the energy for more bad news tonight, but then a new text popped up from a number he hadn’t had to use in months. It was from Lucas, who he didn’t spend a lot of time with outside of the court. The rising junior was a solid backliner, even if he was mostly relegated to playing sub against the Trojans’ weaker opponents.
“Can we talk?” was all the message said.
Jeremy called him immediately. “Hey, Lucas. You all right?”
“Grayson got home last night,” Lucas said, sounding dull and distant.
Jeremy turned on his perch to put his house at his back, as if by having fewer lights in his eyes he could hear Lucas better. Lucas’ older brother Grayson played for the Ravens, but Lucas went out of his way not to talk about him. Not disinterest, but grief, Cody told Jeremy once. Supposedly Ravens were forbidden to contact their own families once they signed with Edgar Allan. It sounded like hogwash, but Grayson refused to acknowledge Lucas even after Lucas signed with the Trojans.
“How is he?” Jeremy asked. “How are you?”
Lucas was quiet for an age before saying, “He’s not right. I don’t—I shouldn’t say it, I know I shouldn’t, but I…” He faltered, fighting for self-censure before he said too much. “I don’t even recognize him. He’s not eating, and he’s not sleeping, and he’s just—wait,” he said, and went very quiet. Jeremy strained to hear whatever distracted Lucas, but nothing came through. An uncomfortable minute passed, then another, and when Jeremy was really starting to worry Lucas came back. “He’s very angry.”
“At you?” Jeremy asked, alarmed.
“At everything,” Lucas said evasively. “At us. At Jean most of all.”
Jeremy asked, “Do you feel safe with him there?”
“He’s my brother,” Lucas said.
“That’s not what I asked, Lucas.”
Lucas was quiet for far too long. Neither the silence nor what followed made Jeremy feel any better: “I think so.”
“If that changes, do you have somewhere you can go?”
“I could stay with Cody, maybe,” Lucas said uncertainly. “If they don’t go back to Tennessee to see Cameron, I mean.”
Not in a million years, Jeremy thought, but if Lucas didn’t know how much the cousins hated each other he wasn’t going to get into it. All he said was, “Yeah, that’s a good idea. You know they get bored without someone to boss around.”
It earned him a quiet chuckle. “Yeah, that’s true.” The humor was quick to bleed out as he continued. “I just… wanted to get that off my chest, I think. I’m worried about him, but I’m also worried about us now that you’ve brought one of them onto our lineup. If you could see what Grayson’s like right now, if you knew what he used to be like, you’d understand.”