For the Win (Playing for Keeps Book 1) (13 page)

London

Yawning, I stepped into the bathroom and shut the door. Once again I’d had trouble waking up even though I’d gone to sleep early last night. The truth was that I’d been too tired to read at night for the past week. Normally I read into the wee hours of the night and still got up in time for school in the morning. When I was a kid I used to hide under the covers with a flashlight, reading my latest book. Of course Dad would catch me every time and take away the flashlight. What he didn’t know was that I could sometimes still see the words by the faint glow of the moonlight. I’d hold the book up to my bedroom window, squinting, as I continued to read.

Lately, though, I’d been exhausted. At first I thought it was because I wasn’t sleeping well. The nightmares had returned with a vengeance a few months ago. I wasn’t sure what triggered them all of the sudden. For months I’d been doing well, dreaming about my book characters. And then one day, bam, the nightmares about Mom were back. I didn’t tell Dad. The last thing I wanted to do was worry him. He had enough on his plate. Besides, I didn’t want to go back to see Garrett, my counselor. Not because I didn’t like him. He was a nice enough guy, I just hated being analyzed. And mostly, I didn’t like to talk about that day.

But ever since my date with Cooper on the bike trail I’d been worried that I was getting sick. It had been almost a week, and I wasn’t feeling any better, or any worse for that matter. Every day I assumed something would change. Either I’d wake up with a spring in my step, or a frog in my throat. But neither had happened. I was still tired, still getting winded every time I attempted physical activity, but there’d been no cough, no fever, no throwing up. Honestly, it was a little disconcerting.

What was wrong with me?

Peeling off my pajamas, I discarded them on the floor and turned on the shower. It was hot, and steam rose from it circling my head and swirling up to the ceiling like plumes of smoke. Heat radiated off of it, warming my arm before I drew it back. When I did, a bruise caught my attention. It was on my forearm, large and dark purple. How had I gotten that? My stomach twisted, remembering a similar one on my calf. I didn’t know how I’d gotten that one either. Swallowing hard, I dragged open the curtain and stepped inside the shower.

As the water cascaded over my body, I savored the warmth of it. I picked up the bar of soap, holding it tightly to keep it from slipping from my palm. Then I ran it along my skin, over the mysterious bruise on my arm, and along my pale flesh. The soap lathered, causing bubbles to rise along my skin.

Once I was clean, I rinsed my body and then turned off the faucet. When I opened the curtain, cold air hit my skin, and goosebumps appeared. I shivered as I stepped onto the bathmat and wrapped my body in a towel. After brushing my teeth and hair, I padded across the hall to my room and threw on a pair of jeans and a shirt. I was too tired to care what I wore, and I found myself dressing in an outfit I could only classify as BC (before Cooper). It wasn’t until Cooper admitted he liked me that I actually began to care about what I wore. I still wore jeans every day. No matter how much I liked a boy, I wouldn’t be caught dead in a dress or skirt. That so wasn’t my style. But I had been wearing more stylish tops, and when I got a ride with Cooper or Skyler I wore sandals instead of my ratty tennis shoes. Today, however, I was riding my bike, so I supposed the t-shirt I’d thrown on would match my tennis shoes anyway.

Once I was dressed, I could hear Dad rummaging around in the kitchen. The scent of coffee reached my nose, and I inhaled. My eyelids lowered, my shoulders slumping. What I wouldn’t give to crawl into bed and go back to sleep. Just the thought of riding my bike all the way to school was enough to cause weariness to sink into my bones. I wondered if maybe coffee would help. I’d never drank it, but I knew it helped to perk Dad right up. He would walk around like a zombie until he’d had his first cup. Sometimes he even joked about how coffee transformed him from a grouchy monster to a cheery human being. (In case you weren’t already aware, my dad was pretty corny most of the time).

I trudged down the hallway and entered the kitchen. The bright lighting caused me to wince as I made my way over to the counter where the coffee pot sat.

“Good morning, pumpkin.” Dad was standing over the counter holding a cup of coffee in one hand and a breakfast bar in the other.

“Hey,” I mumbled, reaching into the nearest cupboard. My fingers located a mug, and my hand closed around it.

“You okay?” Dad asked.

“Fine. Just tired.”

His shadow cast over me as he neared me. “You’ve been saying that for weeks. Are you sure you’re all right?” Reaching over, his palm covered my forehead. “Your temperature feels normal.” He stared at me as I set the cup down on the counter and reached for the coffee pot. “But you don’t look so good.”

“Gee thanks,” I said, pouring some steaming hot coffee into my mug.

“I didn’t mean it that way. It’s just that you seem a little too pale or something.”

“I’m fine.” After picking up my mug, I brought it to my lips and took a sip. It was bitter, and I cringed, wanting to spit it out. But the sink was too far, so I forced it down. “God, that is nasty. How do you drink that every morning?”

Dad chuckled. “It’s an acquired taste.”

Shaking my head, I put the cup down on the counter.

“Why were you drinking it anyway? You’ve never wanted to drink it before.”

“I told you. I’m tired. I was hoping it would wake me up.” Sighing, I leaned my side against the counter.

“You’ve been sleeping a ton lately.” Dad’s eyes crinkled in concern. “You know what? I think I’m going to take the day off and get you in to the doctor.”

“Dad,” I groaned. That’s why I never should’ve talked to Dad about this. He always went overboard. For years I’d been complaining to him about how overbearing he was.

“You’re due for a checkup anyway.”

“I’m fine, Dad. It’s probably just hormonal or something.” I was hoping the use of the word ‘hormonal’ would get him off my back. My dad was pretty cool about most things, the one exception being ‘women issues.’ I thought he would burst a capillary when I first had my period. He had no idea what to do. It would have been hilarious if I hadn’t been so freaked out too.

But nothing was deterring Dad today. “Humor me, okay?”

“But I can’t miss school. I’ll get behind.”

“You haven’t missed a day all year, and you have straight A’s. I’m sure you’ll be fine.” He gently grabbed my shoulders and rotated me around. “Go lie down, and I’ll call the doctor.”

I wanted to protest again, but the idea of lying down was so tempting that I did as I was told. In minutes I fell into a deep sleep. I dreamt of blood, of Mom’s eyes wide and filled with terror. And of a dark-haired man with black eyes and a fake smile. A smile I never would’ve trusted. So why had she?

Tossing and turning, I fisted the sheets in my hand. Even in my sleep I knew I was whimpering. The sound was faint, but I heard it off in the distance. Coiling the sheets around my fingers, I gripped so hard they cut off the circulation.

“London? Dad pried the sheet from my hand when he woke me up. “Shh, it’s okay. It’s Dad. You’re all right. You’re safe.” It was the same thing he used to say when I was little and had nightmares. When my eyes popped open, I could see that all too familiar expression on his face. He knew. “How long have you been having them again?”

Pressing my lips together, I stayed silent.

“London, I can’t help you if you don’t tell me.”

“Not long,” I said. “It’s no big deal.” Swinging my legs out from under the covers, I slid them off the bed. “Let’s get this doctor’s appointment over with so I can get on with my life.”

“All right.” Dad stood, still appearing concerned. “I’ll let it go for now, but only because it’s time for your doctor’s appointment.”

“One thing at a time,” I said, regurgitating a phrase Dad had used incessantly over the years.

“One thing at a time.” He nodded, a small smile flickering.

Cooper had texted me several times while I’d been napping. I shot off a text on the way to the doctor’s office to let him know what was going on. His response was one of concern, reminding me of Dad. I downplayed the entire thing, explaining that my dad was known for being overprotective. But the truth was that deep down I was a little worried too. I knew my body, and something was off. I’d been ignoring it for weeks, telling myself it was my overactive imagination and there was nothing to worry about. But somewhere deep inside me I knew that wasn’t right.

Dr. Jeffrey’s had been my pediatrician since we first moved to Folsom. He was an older gentlemen with bushy grey eyebrows and salt and pepper hair. He wore large black rimmed glasses, khaki pants, and a blue dress shirt, a stethoscope around his neck. His voice was soothing and, like when I was younger, I instantly relaxed as he examined me.

He asked the usual questions:

How long had I been feeling this way?

Did I have any other symptoms?

Had my diet changed?

My physical activity?

Was I taking drugs?

Having sex?

You know, the usual embarrassing questions doctors had to ask you when you were seventeen years old. Normally these questions didn’t faze me, but this time when he asked the sex question my stomach did this little flip. Sex was not something I thought about very often. And when I did, it always involved my current book boyfriend, not a living breathing human. And I was pretty sure sex with a fictional character wasn’t even possible. As real as they seemed to me, I was sane enough to know they weren’t actually real.

But now I was dating Cooper, so my fantasies had suddenly traveled right out of the pages of my novels to a real live boy. And that both excited and terrified me at the same time. Still we hadn’t had sex yet, so I told him that. I was glad Dad had decided to stay in the waiting room. Even though I had nothing to hide, I knew the sex question would freak him out. As cool as he was being about Cooper, I knew he was a little uncomfortable with me seeing someone.

“I’m going to send you to the lab for some blood tests, okay?” Dr. Jeffreys scrawled some words on a lab sheet and handed it to me. I couldn’t read what it said.

Nodding, I dropped off the examination table, the bottom of my shoes hitting the linoleum. The paper quivered in between my fingers as I walked out of the room. When I got to the waiting room Dad stood, setting the magazine he’d been reading on the chair he’d vacated.

“What did he say?”

“To go to the lab for some blood tests.”

“That’s good, right? It means we’ll know for sure what’s going on.” He smiled.

“Yeah.” Still, I couldn’t fight the nagging in the pit of my stomach as we made our way to the lab. After giving the receptionist my lab slip, I sat down next to Dad to wait. The room was full and I knew we’d be waiting awhile. While Dad picked up a magazine and started flipping through it, I yanked out my cell phone. There was a text from Skyler.

Skyler: Where r u? I’m sitting alone at lunch. It sucks.

Me: Sorry. I wasn’t feeling well so Dad made me go to the doctor.

Skyler: What’s wrong?

Me: Just tired.

Skyler: Maybe you have mono. It’s all that kissing you’re doing.

I giggled, and Dad glanced over at me. Smothering my phone with my hand I smiled innocently at him. He might have been okay with my relationship with Cooper, but I was sure he didn’t want to hear about us kissing.

Skyler: It would be worth it though. I’d kiss Cooper even if I knew it would give me mono.

Me: Don’t even think about it.

Skyler: lol

My phone rang in my palm, Cooper’s number filling the screen. I pressed the talk button and brought it to my ear.

“Hey,” I said.

A few people looked over curiously, and the receptionist gave me a dirty look. Dad raised his brow as if asking who it was.

I covered the phone with my palm and stood. “It’s Cooper. I’ll step outside. Come get me if they call my name.”

Dad nodded before returning to his magazine article.

“Sorry about that. I’m stepping outside.” The door dinged when I pressed it open. After stepping outside, I leaned against the large glass window on the building.

“Do they know what’s wrong yet?”

“Not yet. I’m in the lab waiting on a blood test, but I’m sure I’m fine,” I said. “Skyler thinks its mono.”

“Mono?”

“Yeah because it makes you tired,” I explained.

“Ah, I see.”

“Did you give me mono, Cooper?”

“Why would you assume you got it from me?” he asked. I could hear noises in the background, chatter and laughter, the sounds of the high school cafeteria. I’d rather be there than here.

“Because you get it from kissing,” I lowered my voice, my cheeks flushing as a couple walked past. But they didn’t even notice me. They were deep in conversation.

“That’s herpes.”

“You have herpes?” I joked, talking even lower than before and cupping my hand around my mouth so no one could hear. “I probably should have asked for your medical records before we started seeing each other.”