Distraction (2 page)

Dad despised my best friend, Elle, and her family. Elle and I
had planned to go to Tech after graduating high school. But when I learned my
dad
'
s deal to keep Elle from getting her scholarship, if I signed
to play with them that fall, I backed out. I never told Elle why I changed my
mind at the last minute. I could see the hurt hidden in her bright green eyes,
but I
'
d do it over again. I
'
d do anything to protect her.
Besides, what better way to get back at my dad than play for the school he
despised most. Such a sweet victory when I made my official announcement back
in high school.

My phone buzzed, snapping me out of the past. Kellie texted
: Babe, I
'
m heading over to
your apartment. See you when you get there.

Looked like Kellie would be the first to hear my big news. I
didn
'
t know how or what to tell Elle anyway, and my parents could
wait.

I walked out to my cherry red,‘69 Chevy Camaro z28. A smile
tugged at the corner of my mouth. I got in and roared the engine to life.
Driving home, another memory of Elle surfaced from my subconscious. Elle
'
s car, in my
opinion, classified as a piece of shit, and on several occasions she
'
d threatened to
steal my baby. I laughed knowing she could barely shift my car into gear before
the engine died. I never let her drive my car, or even think about driving
after her first attempt. Oddly enough, my dad and I shared a mutual love and
respect for expensive cars. She was the only gift I
'
d accepted with appreciation.

Pulling up to my apartment, I parked my car next to Kellie
'
s then headed
inside. She stood in my kitchen when I walked in.

She smiled. "Baby, I
'
m so glad you
'
re here."

I shut the front door. "You
'
re never gonna
believe what happened today."

"
Tell me,
" she said, now standing beside me.

"Looks like we
'
ll be going to the same school next
fall. Coach called me to his office before practice and told me the news."
Before I could say more, Kellie attacked me. I laughed against her eager lips.

"Baby, I
'
m so excited." She backed away, but wrapped her arms
around my waist.

"Yeah listen, I need to call Elle real quick."

Kellie
'
s eyes darkened. Not long after we
'
d been going
out, Elle texted me. Nothing unusual, we talked on the phone or texted all the
time. I told Kellie she didn’t have anything to worry about, and she didn
'
t seem to mind
after my explanation. Though looking at Kellie now, she didn
'
t seem happy by
my response.

"Don
'
t you think you should tell your parents first?" The
heated look in Kellie
'
s eyes softened. I loved both my parents, but my relationship
with my dad had always been strained. For lack of a better word, I called him a
dick.

"Yeah, I guess you
'
re right." I stepped back and
dug my phone out of my front pocket. "
Give me a
second.
"
Kellie nodded and I walked back to my bedroom for privacy.

I sat on my bed and stared at my phone. Kellie would never
know if I called Elle first. I smiled, picturing the excited look on her face.
At the last minute, I decided differently.

"Hey, Mom."

Twenty minutes later, I walked back to Kellie in my living
room and sat beside her on my couch.

"So, how did it go?" Kellie
'
s dimples caved,
smiling at me.

"Not bad. My mom said she was glad I
'
d be going to
school closer to home. I heard my dad in the background saying something about
making sure I didn
'
t screw up my second shot to play ball with Tech." The
muscles in my jaw tensed from thinking about his cocky-ass voice in the
background.

"Well, that
'
s good.
" She paused, looking down at her hands. "Did you
call your friend, Elle?"

I watched her closely, wondering at the uncertainty in her
voice. "No, not yet. I
'
ll wait until after I
'
ve talked to the coaches there. I
still haven
'
t heard from them, officially anyway."

"Oh." Kellie perked up. "Maybe you should call
them."

"I will, but not right now. I
'
ve got some last
minute studying to do before my finals next week."

"Okay. Do you need help?" Kellie
’
s words sounded
more like a purr. She moved closer, trailing her fingers down my chest.

"What kind of help did you have in mind?" I smiled
back, waiting for her next move.

"I thought we could go over," she straddled me,
"chemistry." Kellie leaned forward, pressing her lips against mine.

"Not one of my classes," I said against her soft
lips.

"
Well,
it's a class I
'
m taking next semester." Kellie sat up. "I thought
I
'
d get a head
start."

I slid my hands under her shirt and up her back to unlatch
her bra.

"I think I could sacrifice my time to help you out."

* * *

After receiving my official letter of acceptance, I called
the head member of the athletics department. He said practice started a month
before school began and not be late. I half wanted to ask why I
'
d been accepted,
but changed my mind. The guy sounded like a dick, no need to press my luck.

When semester finals finished, Kellie and I packed our stuff
and said our goodbyes. Dan and the rest of the team were pissed, but after the
kick-ass party he threw everyone seemed cool, if not excessively pumped, at the
chance to kick my ass on the field next season. Not gonna happen, but I allowed
them their digs. For two years we
'
d played for the same team.

Kellie drove back to her hometown while I drove to my parents'
house for the summer. I swear the second I pulled into my parent's driveway my
phone rang. A few guys from high school who came back every summer, called to
meet up.

A couple of days later, we hung out at a local pool joint.
While there, I ran into a few old flings from back in the day. The guys ragged
on me when I turned their sex with no limits offers down. Hell, I wanted to
kick my own ass when Becky Johnson rubbed her enhanced rack against me. Life
after high school had really done her body good; too bad I couldn't tap a piece
before heading off to Tech.

Life at home could
'
ve been better, but as long as my
dad and I didn
'
t communicate we were fine. My mom bragged to her friends
over my playing football at Tech next semester. I loved her, but she had a
tendency to go overboard. She never said much when my dad started in on Elle,
so when my mom brought her up one day, I was surprised.

"Tristan, have you talked with Elle since you
'
ve been back?"

I grabbed a handful of freshly baked cookies before turning
around. "Not much. She said her and Alyssa were heading back here in a few
weeks."

My mom had her back to me, but when she turned around, she
frowned.

"What?" No way in hell would I willingly give the
cookies back.

"You haven
'
t told her about going to school with her in the fall?"

Okay, not what I expected her to say, and how in the hell did
she know? "No, but I planned to tell her soon."

My mom stared at me for a long minute, seriously putting me
on edge with her freaky Mom Jedi voodoo mind trick.

"I see. Will this be before or after you start school?"
She folded her arms over her chest.

"
Not sure.
" I refused to say more and shoved half of a cookie in
my mouth.

"What does she think of Kellie?" I choked on the
half-eaten cookie.

"I haven
'
t." I paused long enough to gulp down the stuck pieces
of chocolate chip crumbles in my throat. "I haven
'
t told her much.
I figured I
'
d tell her next time I saw her."

"Hmm. How is Kellie?" She didn
'
t care for
Kellie much. I know this because she said after meeting her for the first time,
"
Tristan, I don'
t like her much." My mom went on before I could answer
her question. "I spoke with Elle
'
s mom the other day."
More
weirdness.

"Really? How is Mrs. Richards?"

"Seemed okay. She asked if you would stop by and say hi
before you left."

Okay, I had to stop this insanity.

"Mom, you and Dad don
'
t like Elle or
her family." I matched her, folding my arms across my chest. "What
'
s with the
sudden interest?"

"I
'
ve never said I didn't like Elle. You
'
re mistaking me
for your father. Besides, you and Elle are close. I knew how much you wanted to
be with her after you two graduated high school." She shrugged her
shoulder as if she were telling me something I didn
'
t already know.

"Yeah...but still." I looked around the kitchen,
half expecting to find a bottle of Jack and Coke around. Nothing. "Mom, is
there a point to your questions?"

"No, just be sure to stop by Mrs. Richards’ house before
you leave town."

"Okay, Mom." I turned, ready to get the hell out of
the twilight zone when my mom stopped me.

"Tristan."

I sighed, and peeked over my shoulder. "Yeah?"

"Sometimes you
'
ve got to decide what
'
s right and what
'
s wrong. Even if
what you decide goes against what you
'
ve been told to do."

"Sure, okay." I turned back around and locked
myself in my room for the night.

The next day I did as my mom asked. I went to see Elle
'
s mom. I knocked
on the front door and waited. When she opened the door, she smiled.

"
Hi, Mrs. Richards. It's
good to see you."

Mrs. Richards pulled me in for a long hug then moved back so
I could follow her inside. We sat in the living room.

"I
'
m glad you came to see me." She had a weary look in her
eyes, one I knew well. Elle's sister, Heather, always seemed to bring out a
worried response in their mom.

"Everything okay? How
'
s Heather?"
If I guessed right, Heather was the reason for the troublesome look.

"I spoke with Heather the other day." She turned
away, but not before I noticed the sudden mist in her eyes.

"Is she," I paused, repressing a sigh, "doing
okay?"

Mrs. Richards cleared her throat before looking back at me.
"I
'
m not sure. She said she
'
s in Lubbock.
"

"Does Elle know?" I knew the answer before she said
anything.

"No, and I didn
'
t want to worry her." She bit
her bottom lip, a habit shared with Elle. "I thought if you could talk to
Elle, maybe she would ask around. Maybe show Heather
'
s picture to
people?"

As usual, Mrs. Richards poured all of her time and energy
into Heather. Everything revolved around Heather while Elle got put on the
backburner. Sudden anger flared inside of me from the need to protect Elle, but
I pushed it aside.

"I
'
ll be sure to talk with her when I see her."

She nodded, smiling softly back at me. I had to get out, go
away before I blew up. I knew she worried about her daughter, but Elle needed
her mom as much as her sister did.

"It was good to see you again, Mrs. Richards, but I
should get going. I promised to help my mom this afternoon with a fundraiser."
A lie, but the only excuse I could think of.

"Oh, sure. Thank you for coming to see me. You being
here means a lot."