Playing the Game (12 page)

“
Do you want me to comfort
you again? Tell you everything is all right? We don’t want the
sweetheart to worry.”

I stood, my mind swirling with anxiety. It
was like a demon had suddenly possessed her body. I tensed, waiting
for her head to begin spinning and green vomit to spew from her
mouth.

“
I’m sorry,” was all I
could mutter.

Sighing, she got to her feet. “No, I am.
It’s the hormones.”

My eyes must have mirrored my confusion for
she sighed again and pushed her hair out of her face.

“
I’m pregnant,
okay?”

Relief washed over me followed by a second
wave of joy. “Really? This is wonderful!”

“
No, it’s not,” she
snapped. “Don’t say a word to anyone, Aubrey, I mean it. I haven’t
even told Dane yet.”

“
But why?” I asked as
confusion swept my other emotions under the rug. “What’s the
problem?”

“
I don’t want to talk
about this right now, okay? Just go home and let Mom see you’re
safe so she’ll stop calling and bugging me.”

I nodded, unsure if I should stay and
somehow try to comfort my sister or do as she wished. The steel in
her eyes made the decision for me and I escaped to my car, my mind
whirling once again.

As I drove home I wondered what could be so
terrible about Gwen having a baby. She was in a loving, committed
relationship. Dane adored my sister and would never leave her –
especially now. And Gwen would be a terrific mother. She was loving
and smart and not overbearing. In many ways, she was like a mother
to me.

She was also my friend –
my best friend. As I fretted over her predicament I also made a
solemn vow that
I
would be the one there for
her
this time. I would give her a
little space to cool off then I’d go over and sit her down so we
could talk. She needed me – maybe not as much as she needed Dane-
and I damn sure wouldn’t let her down.

***

I got through Monday and Tuesday without
calling Jess. And I convinced my mother Kendra was a nice girl who
didn’t throw wild parties or jump into bed with random men. I
promised her I would invite Kendra over soon so they could
meet.

Wednesday morning as I drove to the studio
for rehearsal, I brainstormed on how to approach Gwen. I'd called
her the night before and she'd been polite, thanking me for
checking on her. I would go see her Friday. I didn’t tell her that
because I knew she’d put me off and do whatever she could to avoid
me.

When I got out of my car, I just opened the
back door to retrieve my guitar when a familiar voice greeted me. I
looked up into the smiling eyes of Troy Neal.

“
Hi, Troy. What are you
doing here?”

Before he could answer, Jess appeared next
to him with Derrick McKinney.

“
What do you want, Jess?”
I groaned.

His eyes scanned the parking garage. “In a
minute, sweetheart. I’ll get to you in a sec.”

Derrick pointed over my shoulder. “That’s
the one, man. Kendra looked him up online last night.”

Troy wrapped an arm around my waist and I
twisted as Jess and Derrick approached a figure getting out of a
car. I wiggled to wrench my way out of Troy’s firm grasp but he
just held tighter.

“
It’s fine, Aubrey,” he
whispered.

Jess grabbed Gary Lester by the lapel and
threw him against his car. “Is there some sort of video, man?”

“
I don’t know what you
mean,” Gary stammered. His wide, frightened eyes fell on me as the
blood drained from his face.

“
I know you and your sick
friends got Aubrey drunk and recorded it. I want the tape.” Jess’s
face was twisted in wild anger. I feared a security guard would
intercede and call the police.

Gary trembled visibly as his hand twitched.
Finally, he reached for the bag he’d dropped on the ground. Jess
released him long enough to allow Gary to retrieve a DVD in a blue
jewel case. His hands shook as he handed it to Jess. Jess, in turn,
handed it to Derrick who dropped it on the ground, crushing it with
his heel. Jess grabbed Gary’s lapel again and slammed him against
the car.

“
You will leave Aubrey
alone, do you got me?” His tone was low and highly dangerous. His
gray eyes glinted pure hatred. “You will not touch her again. I saw
the bruises you left and if you ever lay a finger on her, I’ll make
sure you never sing, dance, yodel or whatever.”

Gary nodded enthusiastically.

“
You won’t speak to her
unless it’s totally necessary. Got it?”

Again, Gary nodded.

“
I don’t want to have to
have this conversation again. I won’t be so nice next time.” He
released Gary, watching as the other man grabbed his bag and fled
to the building.

When Troy released me, I put a hand on the
fender of my car to steady my own trembling legs. I was numb from
head to toe. “Kendra told you guys, didn’t she?”

“
Yeah,” Troy growled. “She
told us everything.”

I didn’t know if I should feel angry or
touched.

Jess and Derrick picked up all the pieces of
the DVD and dropped them in a nearby trash can. When they finished,
Troy ruffled my hair with a smile and headed back to his car with
Derrick. Jess stopped in front of me, arms folded across his
chest.

“
You shouldn’t have done
that,” I whispered.

“
I should have done a lot
more,” he said. The anger was slowly leaving his eyes. “I gotta go.
We have a game today and even though I’m on the DL, I still have to
be there. I’ll call you after the show.”

I raised a confused brow. Why would he want
to do that? Hadn't I crossed the line when I'd uttered those
dratted words? Wasn’t he regretting what we’d done?

Tucking my hair behind my
ear, he leaned in close to whisper. “I never said I
didn’t
love you,
Aubrey.”

He kissed my cheek, gave me a wink, and
sauntered off to join his friends. I stood, hand still on the
fender, seething. Why did he have to do these things to me?

***

Gary avoided me the entire time we rehearsed
and later that night as we prepared for the show. I didn’t pay much
attention to him, however, as my mind was a mixed cocktail
consisting of Gwen’s attitude and Jess’s declaration. I tried very
hard to focus on the show as I donned my comfortable jeans and
button up shirt – it was country music night after all.

As I took the stage, I ignored Marissa and
Richard both. I didn’t want to see their reactions to my guitar.
Taking a seat on the stool, I tried to concentrate on the music. My
swirling emotions came through as I belted out the words to a
ballad I actually loved. I saw Gwen’s pale, tired face and heard
Jess’s confusing words as I sang.

When I finished, I sort of sat there like an
idiot in one of those music videos. The cheering crowd, standing on
their feet, brought me back to reality and I stood also to face the
judges. Their brief comments tonight wouldn’t be nearly as bad as
the long, drawn out commentaries I’d have to face tomorrow but it
still was enough to strike me rigid.

Stephen Cashmain loved the guitar. I smiled
wryly. I knew he would, being a guitar player himself. Sweet
Chelsea was in tears and Big D was a little choked up also.

Then I turned to Marissa. She pursed her
lips as she regarded me. “That was ten times better than you’ve
been the entire season. I actually thought you were singing to your
grandfather. Now if only you can put that much emotion and feeling
into the faster numbers, you’ll really impress me.”

I gave her a tight smile as I looked at
Richard. He nodded. “I like that you can play the guitar. Too many
contestants get by on voice talent alone. That bodes well in your
favor. And you did make the song your own this time. Keep it
up.”

The smile I gave him was a little more
genuine. I scampered off to the dressing room, heart a little
lighter. Only a few weeks left and the whole ordeal would be over.
But it was going to get tougher. Up until this point, the audience
had no say in who stayed and who left; that was entirely up to the
judges. But the final two weeks of the show, audience opinion would
be factored in with the judges’ opinions. I was going to have to
‘wow’ them all.

***

I paced my bedroom as I waited for Jess to
call. I hoped he had a long explanation for the words he’d uttered
to me this morning for I had no clue what to say. Did he mean he
loved me? Were we a couple? I didn’t know what to think. And my
head was tired of all the confusion and mixed emotions. How I
longed for a normal, boring life.

The phone rang and shook me out of my
stupor. I answered with unsteady hands.

“
You were positively
amazing, Aubrey,” Jess stated. “I’m very proud of you.”

“
Thanks,” I muttered. “You
watched?”

“
Yeah. We had a day game
so I got home in time.” He was silent for a moment. “I always watch
when I can.”

“
Oh, Jess,” I cried,
sliding to the floor. “Why do you do this to me?”

“
Do what?” he asked. “I
gave you a compliment. Do you want me to insult you
instead?”

“
No,” I whined. “You
confuse me. You say one thing and act another way. I don’t know
what is going on half the time.
All
the time!”

He chuckled and the itch to smack him
returned. “Welcome to my world, sweetheart.”

“
What do you mean? You
can’t be confused. You’re far too confident.”

“
Maybe,” he admitted. “But
I told you before I don’t know what to do with you. I still haven’t
figured that out yet.”

“
But what you said this
morning…” I trailed off, not sure if I should have even mentioned
it.

“
That I never said I
didn’t love you? Of course I still love you, Aubrey. I always have.
Didn’t I tell you in school I’d love you forever?”

Yes he had. I remembered it clearly. And I’d
believed him. I’d believed him even when half the school whispered
behind our backs how he’d leave me first chance he got. They were
right, of course. But now what?

“
Listen to me, Aubrey.
Tomorrow is our travel day and I’m going with the team. My PT has
been going well and so have my throwing sessions. I’m hoping to
pitch while we’re on this road trip. But, I’ll think about things
while I’m gone and I want you to do the same. Okay?”

He sounded serious. Of course he usually
was. A glimmer of hope flickered in my heart. “Okay.”

“
Be good and stay away
from the wild parties. Do something to piss your mom off while I’m
away, huh?”

I laughed through the tears I hadn’t
realized I was crying. “I’ll try.”

“
Good,” he snorted. “I’ll
call you when I can.”

And he hung up before I could utter another
word.

I headed to the shower in order to wash away
the day. As the spray fell on my face, my heart gave a little leap.
Jess still loved me. That didn’t mean much, however, if we couldn’t
be together. But he said he would think about things. Maybe he had
a change of heart.

My spirits cooed happily as I crawled into
bed. I knew I shouldn’t get my hopes up but I couldn’t help it.
Maybe things would work out. Somehow.

Chapter Ten

Walking listlessly, I stopped every now and
then to peer into a store window. I should have figured it would be
a bad, bad idea to venture downtown on a busy Saturday. I endured
many curious looks and whispers as well as strangers stopping to
wish me luck on the show. I sort of missed the days when I was a
nobody in this city; just another lonely shopper on a Saturday
afternoon.

And lonely I was. Thursday’s show had gone
well, at least, as Richard and Marissa didn’t have much to pick on
me about. But everything had gone downhill from there. My attempt
to barge in on Gwen had been thwarted when she brushed me off,
claiming to not feel well. I had been prepared to ignore her
protests and demand that we talk, but the circles under her eyes
and her flushed skin had been enough to convince me to let her
rest. I'd given her a quick kiss and a hug, hoping that would be
enough to convey that I loved her and was worried. She'd promised
to call me when she felt better.

So I'd called Kendra in hopes of having her
over to meet my mother and maybe finding something to do. I was
disappointed, once again, when she answered her cell, informing me
that she was traveling with Troy this week.

That left me with nothing to do; nothing to
keep my mind busy and make the time go by faster. I was supposed to
be thinking about things but my mind was already made up. I loved
Jess and I’d do whatever I needed to do in order to make things
work.

I had a couple of weeks left of the show
before the finale – which happened to fall on the MVP break. I was
hoping to convince Jess to come, if I made it that far. His chances
for making the MVP team where slim because of his shoulder problems
and short stint on the DL. Still, for his sake, I did hope he’d
make it, even if it meant he couldn’t come to the finale.

Pausing in front of a hair salon, I gazed at
the pictures in the window. The models all looked so incredibly
happy with their new hairdos. One of them had her hair styled the
way I’d always wanted mine. I scooped up my hair and hung it over
my shoulder. It’d grown longer this spring, falling past the middle
of my back. My mother loved it and nearly had a heart attack when
I'd mentioned getting it cut. I stared at the picture of the girl
with the stylish do. I grinned, remembering Jess’s orders.