Junior Year Box Set

Wolf and Jim saw what had just happened and tried to stop me. I punched them both when they tried to grab me. They were lying on the ground when I turned back to finish off Mike. Gina hovered over him. I gently pulled her away from Mike and showed her my phone. Jim and Wolf got back up.

“Back off; this is between Mike and me. I’ve given you fair warning,” I told them and hoped I wouldn’t have to follow through on my threat.

Then the crowd parted, and Cassidy stepped inside the circle.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Cassidy asked.

“Mike sent me a text this morning,” I said and showed it to her.

“Are you done kicking the crap out of him?” she asked.

“Not by a long shot. I plan on breaking every bone in his body.”

“You know I can’t let you do that.”

“Cassidy, I’m not playing. I’m going to mess him up,” I said.

She nodded sadly, then launched herself at me. Cassidy wasn’t playing, either. I would like to describe my valiant effort as Cassidy and I battled all over the parking lot as if we were in a Bruce Lee epic thriller. I would like to say I at least held my own. I would like to say I wasn’t unconscious, but that would have been a lie, too.

◊◊◊

I came back around as the paramedics loaded me into the ambulance. Gina and Cassidy were crying. I felt terrible because I’d caused that. Mike had sat up, and a paramedic checked him out. They had strapped me to the gurney or I would have been after Mike again. Coach Hope pushed me back down, and after I’d been loaded into the ambulance, he joined me.

“What the hell just happened, and why the hell were you not at practice on Saturday? What is going on with you?” Coach Hope asked.

I took a deep breath and explained about who Phil really was, and the reaction at home. I then told him what Mike had done, and showed him the picture that had been sent to me. I’ve seen Coach Hope mad. I thought I had seen him at his worst, but seeing the graphic display Mike had sent me topped that. It took me a moment to grasp why it affected him so much, and then I remembered Cassidy. Coach Hope was the father of a teenage daughter. He didn’t say anything to me the rest of the ride.

When I got to the emergency room, I received a full physical. The doctor explained to me that being choked out as I’d been wasn’t beneficial for the brain, even if the blood supply had only been cut off for a moment. They wanted to do further tests on me, but my parents weren’t answering their phones. I had them call Tom Dole, my lawyer. He and Kendal had power of attorney over me for when I traveled. Tom came down and signed the forms so I could get the tests done. I seriously considered whether I should get emancipated or not. Maybe I would just move to LA and leave all this shit behind.

◊◊◊

They moved me to a regular hospital room around lunchtime. I must have kick-butt insurance if they wanted to keep me overnight for observation. I was surprised when Coach Hope and Cassidy showed up to see me. I gave her a weak smile.

“Thank you. I was really going to hurt Mike,” I told her.

“I know, and normally I’m up for kicking a guy’s butt, but you planned to really do some damage. I couldn’t let you do that,” Cassidy said.

“Is he okay?” I asked.

“He’s just bruised up. The training staff patched him up,” Coach Hope said. “You two got three-day suspensions for fighting. I’m not sure what we’re going to do at quarterback if my first and second strings are out of action.”

“Please, a trained monkey could run your old offense,” I teased him.

Cassidy giggled because her brother Brad used to run it. It consisted of simple handoffs, and then you played defense. If the two of us really did go down, that was going to be his only option.

“Since you’re already here …” he teased me.

“Careful, Cassidy has met her weekly limit on hurting boys. You wouldn’t have anyone to protect you,” I shot back.

“Who do you think trained her?” Coach Hope asked.

I just winked at Cassidy, who seemed happier now than when she came in.

“Do you think you and Mike can get past this?” Coach Hope asked, getting serious again.

“No,” was my one-word answer, and I knew it was the truth.

“I was afraid of that. We need him as your backup, though. Maybe we move him to defense,” Coach Hope said.

I thought about it for a minute and nodded my assent. Coach was bending over backward for me. If he hadn’t seen the picture, I’m not sure he would have talked to me about Mike and me getting along.

We were interrupted by my mom, who finally showed up. Coach Hope and Cassidy said their goodbyes. He had to get back to run practice, and she had her sixty minutes of hell class. I looked at the clock and saw that it had taken my mom over six hours to come find her youngest son in the hospital. Dad had yet to make an appearance.

“What happened? The messages said you had been in a fight,” Mom said.

“Just go home, Mom. I’ll have Tom or Kendal come and check me out of here tomorrow.”

“David, I’m your mother.”