Sweet Fall

When I said nothing to JD’s question, they both glanced at each other and Rome stepped forward, concern on his face. “You good, man?”

Running my hands down my cheeks, I indicated with a flick of my chin for them both to move outta sight and into the players’ lounge. Once inside, Rome motioned for Jimmy-Don to lock the door, and we slumped on the sofas.

“So?” Rome pushed. Patience wasn’t his strong suit. That was why I liked Rome, straight to the point and didn’t take no shit. Jimmy-Don, on the other hand, was as laidback as he was big—very.

“Drugs, coke, on campus. Coach thinks it may be Axel and the Heighters.”

Rome sat back in his seat and gritted his teeth in frustration. “Fuck. Not this shit again.”

I’d known Rome pretty much my entire life. Hell, he practically lived with my family when we were kids, the multimillionaire oil tycoon’s son camping out on my bedroom floor in my doublewide ’cause his daddy liked to use him as a punch bag. When we were teens, Rome saw my elder brother and me drafted into the crew, and he went nuclear. He was also one of the biggest reasons I got out. He’d refused to sign on for the Tide unless we came as a package deal. The guy changed my life, and he hated Axel.

“And what did you tell him?” Jimmy-Don asked. It was one of the only times I’d seen the big guy serious. No cracking jokes. No stupid comments. He knew this shit was real bad for me. Knew what it could mean for my career… for my life.

“Told him the f**kin’ truth. It’s not Axel. He wouldn’t do this to me. Not here. Not now. He wouldn’t f**k up my dreams when I had them in my sights.”

Jimmy-Don looked across at Rome, who shook his head. “You’re f**kin’ dreaming, eighty-three,” he said flatly, using my jersey number instead of my name. He’d always done that, ever since we were kids.

“Rome, don’t. I can’t hear this shit from you too,” I said as calmly as possible.

“Well, you’re gonna. I’ve known Axel as long as I’ve known you, and your bro’s trouble, Aust.”

“Rome.” I groaned.

“You don’t owe him,” he snapped back.

I sank farther back into the sofa and tipped my head back. “I do.”

“Bullshit! If it weren’t for that dick, you never woulda got roped into the Heighters in the first place!”

“And if it weren’t for that dick, I wouldn’t ’a got out either. I do owe him, man. And he’s got my back, ’til the end. This shit here on campus ain’t him. I’d stake my life on it.”

Rome huffed a disbelieving laugh, but he didn’t speak. The silence between us only brought more tension, so without looking at my two friends, I said, “Can you just leave me the hell alone? I need a minute.”

I listened to them both move, then Rome shut the door with a slam.

I finally dropped my eyes, only to stare at the crimson-carpeted floor.

I knew Rome was only looking out for me, but he couldn’t understand what it was like being so poor you could barely survive each day. He couldn’t understand how a kid could get so hungry he’d raid restaurant trashcans for something to stop the hunger pangs in his stomach. He couldn’t understand when that kid was sick, there were no fancy pills to make him better. There was no health insurance plan that covered drug dealers from the trailer park in the part of town that even God had forgotten about. And he certainly couldn’t understand life within the crew. How once you were in, you were in for life… And he couldn’t understand why I owed Axel everything for getting me the hell out when I was seventeen.

Leaning forward, tears filled my eyes. With my elbows on my knees, I put my head in my hands and whispered out loud, “Axel. Please… please say this shit’s not you…”

Chapter Three

Lexi

“Are you still attending the meetings at college, sweetheart?”

“Yes, Daddy.”

“Are you still eating right? Still keeping your appointments with Dr. Lund?”

“Daddy! I’ve not missed one appointment! Not one in years. Can we stop raking over this ground every time you call?” I groaned.

My daddy was silent for a while, then spoke in a hushed tone. “Lexi, it’s your senior year. You’ve made the varsity cheer team, which you know is a trigger for you, and the pressure’s only getting more intense academically. And since Daisy passed…” Every muscle in my body instantly tensed. “Well, you can’t blame Momma and me for worrying about you handling it all.”