I went. Because I had no idea how to ask him what we were now.
“Missed you this morning,” he said, his hand not leaving me.
“We texted.” I reminded him of the many texts he’d sent me throughout morning classes.
“Can’t see your face in a text,” he replied.
The birds in my stomach woke up.
When we got to the cafeteria door, West reached in front of us and opened it, and we walked inside together.
Every eye in the place was on us . . . or it felt like it. I could feel people staring. Wondering what had happened with us. Why our friendship seemed more intimate now. I glanced over at his table, and Brady, Asa, and Ryker were all watching us. Gunner was the only one who didn’t find us entertaining. He was too busy glaring at his phone while he texted something.
I didn’t look at anyone else as we walked through the line. West’s arm went around my shoulders, and he tugged me close to him as he placed a kiss to my temple. Surprised, I glanced up at him, but suddenly he was looking at someone else with a scowl. Following his gaze, I saw that Nash had stopped to watch us, his tray in his hands.
Nash looked at me, then shook his head and walked off toward the table with the other guys. I was sure they’d seen that interaction between West and Nash. Would Brady make it okay with them now that West and I were . . . doing whatever this was?
“Is he mad?” I whispered. I didn’t want his friends upset with him. He needed their support right now.
“Don’t care. If he is, he’ll get over it.”
That wasn’t the answer I was hoping for.
He grabbed my tray and his, and we walked over to the table and our vacant seats in between Brady and Nash.
West sat down next to Nash, which was normally where I sat. He was making a statement today. I just wasn’t sure what it was yet.
“So, y’all are a thing now?” Gunner asked, dropping his phone onto the table and reaching for his soda. “Thought she was off-limits and shit.”
“Don’t,” Brady said before West could react. “This ain’t got nothing to do with you.”
Gunner seemed more amused than anything. He picked up his apple and smirked. “Sure don’t.” Then he glanced at Nash before taking a bite and grinning.
I wanted to be anywhere but here.
“I was wondering, though, Maggie. You got a date for the homecoming dance yet?” Gunner asked.
“Gunner, shit, man,” Ryker muttered.
I didn’t look up. I studied the fries I was about to eat and pretended like I didn’t hear him. I hadn’t thought about the homecoming dance. I’d seen the posters and I’d heard the announcements, but I wasn’t thinking about it. I’d never been to a dance. I didn’t expect to go to this one.
“She’s with me, Gunner. She’s going with me. Everywhere,” West replied. “Is that enough clarification for you?”
His hand slid over my knee and squeezed as he spoke.
“Well, that clears that up,” Asa said with a chuckle. “We gonna let this slide or what?”
I glanced up at Asa to see who he was talking to. His gaze was fixed on Brady.
My cousin simply nodded. Nothing else was said.
Talk of Friday’s game began to take over, and I eventually relaxed enough to eat most of my lunch.
She Had Become My Everything
CHAPTER 36
WEST
Coach had said I didn’t have to be at practice this week. Although, if I wanted to, I could still play in the game. He knew they needed me, and he also knew my dad would have wanted me to play. So, I’d play.
I had missed all the other practices, but I wasn’t going to miss this one. My grandmother was at my house by now, so I knew my mother wasn’t alone. It gave me some freedom, but it also was keeping me from my house. I didn’t want that woman there. She’d never visited, not once my entire life. We always had to go to her home. She rarely spoke to my father or acknowledged him.
I felt nothing for her.
But my mother loved her.
No one questioned me when I walked into the locker room to get my practice gear on. Some nodded, a few slapped me on the back, but no one said a thing. This was what I needed. If I couldn’t have Maggie with me all the time, then this was the only other way to keep my mind free of shit.
As I tied my cleats, I stood up to see Brady walking over to me. He wanted answers, and I wasn’t going to give them to him. What I’d told him this morning was his answer.
“How long has she been talking to you?” he asked in a hushed voice.
I grabbed my helmet and started walking to the door. “A while,” I replied.
“How long’s ‘a while’? Since the hospital . . . or before?”
“Before.”
Brady fell into step beside me. “That’s why you grew attached so fast, isn’t it? She’s been helping you deal with things. She’s been there.”
I didn’t reply. I didn’t know the answer. Maybe that was why I’d grown attached to her so quickly. Grief changed you. Made you react differently. But I didn’t want to say that I wouldn’t have wanted Maggie had she not spoken to me.
But would I have?
“You understand probably better than anyone what she’s gone through. If she’s told you stuff, it’s more than she’s told anyone else.”
He was right. She had, but I wasn’t going to tell him that.
“She needs to talk to other people,” Brady added.