Some of the guys around me nod in agreement, their faces set.

“We should put it behind us,” says a junior from the offense.

But some of them give me hard, heavy-lidded looks. Brandon, another defensive player, is one of them. With carrot-colored hair and brittle dark eyes, he’s in line to take Liam’s place after he graduates.

He steps forward and nods his head toward Liam. “I’m with him. I don’t want any questions either, not from the police and not from you. She lied to cover up cheating on Chance. Who knows who it was, but none of us did anything illegal.”

Cheating on Chance? A scoff comes out of me. Shaking my head, I recall a few times when I wanted her to, when I looked at her and—

Glancing at Chance, I see he’s no help, not with his eyes on the ground.

I shouldn’t react. Nope. I should just stop talking, put this aside, and focus on playing the game.

“I don’t even know who you are,” Liam grunts. “She’s chum. She’s Shark bait. She’s nothing.”

“You brought her up, not me.” My voice is soft.

Dane jostles against me. “Dude. Let’s play football.”

Liam barks out a rough laugh. “That shadow of doubt hangs over all of us, even you. You think I don’t see the way some of the teachers look at us? The headmaster?” His face hardens. “Even Jolena looks at me different.”

I shrug. “I doubt you need to worry about Ava showing up to anymore of our parties.”

Liam locks eyes with me. “If she does, I figure I’m owed one tussle in the woods. If I’m going to be accused of something, I should at least get the chance to actually enjoy it.” He grabs his crotch and grins. “She’ll scream for more like every other girl.”

Everyone on the team freezes, and I…I feel like someone blindsided me with a two-by-four.

My right fist connects with Liam’s face. His head snaps back but his surprised eyes never leave mine. Rage colors his face and his punch comes quick and accurate, hitting me in the eye before I can dip down. I can’t even feel it. Oh, hell yeah, bring it. I’ve been itching to hit him forever. I think about the first time I saw him and Dane snorting coke at one of Liam’s barn parties. We got into a scuffle then, but I didn’t hit him nearly enough—

He shoves at my chest, trying to push me away, but I grab his shirt to pull him back and slam my fist into his eye.

“Stop!” Chance jumps between us, but I wrestle out of his grasp and face off with Liam again.

I spit. “Get in line like everyone else and follow the rules I set.”

“You hit me first! Some captain you are,” he calls out, his chest puffing up.

“Stop, please!” Dane begs, clutching my arms as some of the defensive players pull Liam away.

I jerk out of his hold and nod my head at Liam. “And you call him your best friend? Did you not hear what he said?”

I’m talking about Mom and what she went through, but they don’t know what broke her in the end, and their eyes bounce back and forth between us, watching Dane pale.

“And you,” I say, spinning to Chance. “She cared about you,” I growl. “And she doesn’t lie. She walked back in here because she’s better than you…and me.” I tug at my jersey and let it pop. “How does it feel to know you turned your back on a girl like her? Wake up, Chance.”

His mouth gapes. He’s stunned. “Knox…”

“Everything okay, boys?” Coach’s voice cuts into the tension as he approaches us.

A long exhalation comes from my chest.

I’m losing it, but I can’t seem to stop myself from caring. I’ve kept this anger and resentment bottled up for months, thinking I had control of it, but since she came back…fuck.

Coach looks at all of us warily. “No more bullshit. If you want to be a team, you need to start acting like one.” He pauses. “If this is about last year, we’re past that. Got it?”

I glare at Liam.

“Knox! Do you want a championship this year or not?” Coach touches my arm and focuses a hard glance on my face.

“Yes, sir.” I nod, slowly forcing my shoulders to loosen.

I turn steely eyes on Liam, smirking at the swelling I see under his left eye. Figure I’ll have one to match. I lean over to him, keeping my voice low. “I mean it. Say her name again and I’ll fucking hurt you.”

Anger colors his face and he sneers but can’t hold my gaze.

That’s right, asshole. Be scared.

9

Tyler looks up at me with wary blue eyes, and I read the nervousness there. I smile down at him. On the other side is Sister Margaret, holding his other hand.

“W-Will they like me?” he asks as we walk into the elementary campus of Camden and head toward the sign that points to the headmaster’s office. Dr. Rivers, a lady I researched online, appears to be well-educated and admired by colleagues and former students here. I met with her yesterday after school, and she’s expecting us. I see her down the hall, approaching from her office. I look back down at Tyler. Geeze, he’s so small compared to kids his own age. Like many children with FAS, he has small eyes, thin lips, and a small upturned nose. He’s holding his backpack with fingers that are disjointed and knotty, not that it holds him back. He’s a normal rambunctious kid who loves sports, especially running. His little legs are quick, and he can move like the wind. He does have slight hearing loss and thick wraparound glasses sit perched on his nose, but thankfully he was spared heart or kidney defects.

I lean down until I’m at eye level. “You better believe it. Plus, you’re brave.”

“Like when Luke and Han take down the Death Star?”

I laugh. “Just like that. They were just like you once, little but strong.”

“Will I get a medal like they did? Will people clap and stuff?”

“A gold star for sure, and I’m always cheering for you.”

He nods. “Okay, I’ll do it.”

I sigh. Dang, I’m going to miss seeing him at the group home. “If you want, you can spend the night with me in my dorm and I can bring you to school tomorrow?” Sisters of Charity isn’t run by the state of Tennessee, and thankfully there’s some leeway in the group home’s rules. I’m eighteen and his sister; they’ve agreed to let me sign him out for little excursions before. I’m not actually sure if he can stay the night with me, but I glance up at Sister Margaret and she nods.

I straighten the collar on his little blazer, which I picked up yesterday. Dr. Rivers stayed late for me, which was nice of her.

He bites on his fingernails. “Maybe later I’ll stay over. I-I like to sleep in my own bed. And Axel is there. He might miss me.”

I smile. Of course. That’s his home, and Axel is his best friend.

“Okay, that’s cool. We can go get an ice cream later this afternoon and you can tell me all about your day.”

He nods.

“Be good, okay? No darting off from your teachers, bozo. I mean it.”

He looks away from me, that look of stubbornness I know he gets from me growing on his face. “Th-They better be nice to me or I’ll cut their balls off and stuff them down their throats.”