What Holly Heard (5 page)

M
iriam screamed and jumped to her feet as Jed stole the ball right from the hands of a Waynesbridge Gladiator. She cheered as Jed drove the full length of the court for the easy layup.

The crowd roared, and the second quarter score jumped to 36-31, in favor of Waynesbridge. Jed had only four points so far and was playing badly.

“Why didn't he slam it?” Holly moaned.

“He's having a horrible game,” Miriam replied fretfully. “He needed an easy basket to get back on track.”

“But easy baskets are no fun to watch!” Holly complained.

Miriam let out a sigh of relief and clapped for Jed.

Poor Jed, she thought.

He just couldn't get into the groove. He missed every outside shot. Inside, he got mauled on every play and couldn't make a rebound.

She could tell by the way he carried himself that he was absolutely furious, Miriam hoped the easy basket would help. The last thing Jed needed was to lose control.

Waynesbridge scored again. A Gladiator whisked smoothly past Jed for two points. Jed cursed loudly, and most of the gymnasium heard it.

“Whoa!” Holly cried. “Nice language.”

“Give me a break,” Miriam barked.

Gary had the ball now, and the Tigers were driving downcourt. Two passes later Gary fed the ball to Jed.

Jed charged for the basket. As he leaped, the tallest Gladiator leaped with him, knocking the ball away and elbowing Jed in the face.

Both players went down hard as the whistle blew.

Immediately Jed jumped to his feet, glaring down furiously at the Waynesbridge player.

Miriam froze.

The Waynesbridge player said something to Jed.

The crowd gasped as Jed punched him in the face.

Blood spurted from the boy's mouth.

Miriam uttered a low moan.
What was Jed doing?

The crowd roared.

Jed leaped on the fallen Gladiator. Grabbed him in a choke hold.

Other players tried to pull them apart.

But Jed held on.

The Gladiator turned an ugly shade of scarlet.

His eyes bulged.

Jed was strangling him, Miriam saw to her horror.

Jed was choking him to death.

T
he excited, startled cries of the crowd drowned out Miriam's thoughts. She gasped in horror as players from both teams struggled to pull Jed off his red-faced opponent.

“How could Jed do this?” Miriam cried out loud. When the crowd on the floor finally cleared, Jed stood to one side. Gary and some other teammates held him back. Jed struggled against them, but they were too strong for him.

Miriam took in a sharp breath. Jed's lip was bleeding.

On the floor in front of him lay the fallen player. The boy held his chest, struggling to breathe. His teammates were huddled around him.

Miriam felt numb. She had never seen Jed so furious, so totally berserk.

Why? she asked herself over and over. What was wrong with him?

Finally Jed calmed down enough so that his teammates could let go. Coach Hurly pointed his finger toward the locker room and bellowed, “Hit the showers!”

Jed stomped off the court to a chorus of boos. Miriam could see his tightly clenched fists. Staring down at the floor, Jed marched through the locker room doors and disappeared.

Slowly Miriam sat down.

She felt dazed. And sick to her stomach.

The game started up again. But she was no longer interested.

“Miriam, what's his problem?” Holly demanded. “I don't believe it!”

Miriam didn't answer. She kept picturing the look on Jed's face. His hands around the other player's throat.

She thought back to his blowup Friday afternoon by the water fountain.

Something had to be seriously wrong with him.

She'd watched every basketball game this season. Sure, Jed made lots of fouls. He was a physical player. But this was totally different. Miriam couldn't imagine where such fury had come from.

The rest of the first half was a blur to her. When the buzzer went off, people stood and stretched. Miriam remained sitting, staring down at the empty court.

“Are you okay?” Holly asked gently. “Miriam?”

Miriam raised her eyes to her friend. “I've never seen him like this before.”

Holly sat down again and put a reassuring hand on Miriam's arm. “Remember yesterday when I said I'd try to find out what was up with Jed?”

Miriam glanced up hopefully. “Did you hear something?”

“Not yet,” Holly answered. “But I haven't hit up my best source. I'll ask Gary what's going on. Jed and that guy from Waynesbridge might just have a grudge. That would explain everything that happened tonight.”

Miriam sighed. “Jed never said anything to me about it.”

“It will be okay, Miriam. I promise.”

Miriam shook her head sadly. “This is the
playoffs,
Holly. If the colleges hear about this, they'll never recruit him! These games are so important to Jed.”

Holly didn't reply.

There's nothing to say, Miriam thought miserably. It's hopeless.

She put her face in her hands and waited for the game to end.

The Shadyside Tigers managed to pull off a victory—with a buzzer-beating jump shot by Gary. The scoreboard lit up, Tigers: 72, Visitors: 71.

Hopes of a state championship were still alive at Shadyside High.

Miriam, however, didn't feel like celebrating.

“Ready to go?” Holly asked.

Miriam nodded, silently gathering her bag and coat.

Holly's hand clamped onto her arm. “Look,” she whispered.

Miriam followed her friend's gaze. Mei and Noah strode briskly across the gymnasium floor toward the doors to the student parking lot.

Miriam could see the disappointment in Holly's eyes.

“You knew they'd stay together,” Miriam said softly.

“A girl can hope, can't she?”

“Only if she likes to torture herself.”

They watched Mei and Noah disappear out the doors. In spite of Holly's feelings, Miriam couldn't help but be happy that Mei and Noah were still together. Miriam wanted to believe that love was all that mattered in a relationship.

“Um … Holly?” Miriam asked.

“Yeah?”

“Do you mind waiting a few minutes for me? I want to see if I can catch Jed outside the locker room.”

“Don't you think you should wait until he cools off a little?” Holly replied.

“No.” Miriam shook her head. “Now.”

Holly smiled. “Okay. I'll meet you at the car.”

“I won't be long,” Miriam replied.

I
hope,
she thought grimly.

*   *   *

The hallway outside the boys' locker room was empty except for a few kids and parents doing exactly what Miriam was doing: waiting. She leaned against the wall and sighed.

In a few minutes the locker room door opened. Miriam jerked upright. Several players filed out, their hair wet from the showers. She searched for Jed.

Gary came out with Teddy Miller and Luke Appleman. He grinned triumphantly, still riding high after his game-winning shot.

Miriam caught his eye and waved. He waved back and jerked his head toward the locker room as if to say,
Jed's coming.
Miriam nodded, and Gary continued on with his teammates.

Finally Jed came out, his gym bag slung over one shoulder, his head down.

“Jed,” Miriam called, her voice tight and shrill.

His head snapped toward her. His lower lip was swollen and red. He seemed to stare right through Miriam.

“Hey,” he uttered curtly.

Miriam fell into step beside him. “What happened, Jed? Are you all right?”

He stopped walking. “No, Miriam, I'm not. I came this close to getting kicked off the team, okay? Is that enough information for you and your friends?”

“Why? What happened?”

Jed snorted. “Weren't you watching the game? That guy elbowed me on purpose. So I decked him.”

He made a fake swing with his fist, and Miriam saw cuts on his knuckles from the punch.

She took a step backward. Jed didn't seem aware that she was there. The dryness in her mouth made it difficult to speak.

“You've been elbowed before….”

Jed laughed. A humorless laugh.

“Well, maybe this time it ticked me off,” he sneered. “These guys come in here and think they can take shots at me. I don't like being elbowed in the face.”

He stepped closer to Miriam, glaring down at her. “Would you like it if someone pushed
you
around?”

He poked her in the shoulder with his free hand. Hard.

“Jed!” Miriam stumbled back a step, bumping the wall behind her. She frantically searched up and down the hall. It was deserted.

“Would
you?” he demanded, poking her shoulder again, even harder.

“Ow! Stop it, Jed!”

Miriam tried to slap his hand away. Jed caught it, crushing and twisting her fingers in his iron grip.

“Jed!”

“See?” he sneered. “You don't like it, either. Now you know how I felt out there in front of all those people, humiliated and bleeding like some kind of loser!”

Miriam tried to free her hand, but his grip remained locked. She stared into his eyes—and saw only delight there.

Delight in the pain he was inflicting on her.

“Jed,” Miriam gasped.
“You're hurting me!”

He didn't seem to hear her.

He's going to break my hand! she realized.

The pain shot up her arm, and she started to scream.

H
er scream snapped him out of his daze.

He tossed down her hand, uttering a hoarse cry of surprise.

She clutched her throbbing fingers to her chest and stared at him. She felt the tears coming now, fresh, hot, and unstoppable.

Jed blinked as if coming out of a deep trance. He rubbed his temples, squinting.

“Oh, no … oh, Miriam.” He backed off and tried to meet her eyes. “Miriam, I am so sorry.”

“Jed, what is wrong with you!” Miriam felt her self-control slipping away. Felt the tears burning her eyes.

She hated to cry.

Hated Jed for making her cry.

“I didn't mean to hurt you,” he murmured. “I'm out of control tonight.”

Anger suddenly flooded Miriam.
“That's
your excuse? You really tried to hurt me, Jed!”

“I …” He let his arms flop to his sides. “I don't know what to say. I'm sorry. I just… I might have blown everything tonight, Miriam. I'm going crazy.”

Miriam spun around and strode down the hall. She had to get away from Jed. Her anger completely blocked out her fear.

How could he hurt her?
How?
She wanted to scream.

It was so sick! She couldn't stand to be near Jed right now.

“Miriam, wait!” he called after her. She could hear his footsteps.

Suddenly another thought unfolded in her head.
This is Jed. This is the guy you care about. And he's hurting, and he's scared. I don't think he's ever been scared before.

Miriam turned back—and Jed stopped short as if expecting her to hit him.

“Listen to me, Jed,” she growled, pointing at his chest. “If you ever, I mean
ever
lay a hand on me again, we're through. Do you hear me?”

He nodded. He avoided her stare. “I never wanted to hurt you, Miriam. I just … I only wanted you to know how it felt for me out there. Playing basketball has never been this hard before.”

Miriam nodded. Her anger was fading. He looked
so tired, so broken, like a scolded puppy that truly didn't mean any harm.

She could actually feel some sympathy for him. She reached out and gave his hand a squeeze.

“I have to go. Holly's waiting for me.”

“I'm so sorry, Miriam,” Jed whispered. “You don't know how sorry I am.”

She nodded. “I know.”