Second Down - Chapter 39

The last week of school before break flew by. I had a bunch of tests to get ready for, and not just the regular end of semester tests everyone had to take. I guess Vice Principal Ford had been paying more attention to my extra work than I’d thought she had, because she’d arranged for all of the teachers who had me on plans to get on level to give me an additional test to see where I was and if I was doing the work to justify the teachers going to effort.

While I appreciated that the school was really taking my request seriously, and were doing so much to help me, I did not love having double the tests of everyone else in school.

Thankfully, Li had stepped in and helped me study. I’d had to cancel on helping out at Eduardo’s on the weekend so we could get studying in. I also think Melanie was a little annoyed that I’d spent all weekend with Li studying, even after I’d explained why I was doing it.

She didn’t say anything directly, and we didn’t have another blowout, but I could tell she was annoyed. I tried spending time with her each day too, and we went out Saturday night, but I really needed the help studying, and Li was really good keeping me focused and on task.

By Friday, the last day of school before winter break, I was ready to just be done with it. My brain felt like it had melted. I think teachers all knew that, because all of the tests were done the day before and today was essentially a goof off day.

Well, except for conditioning. The coaches never let us skip that.

I got to my locker and started pulling out my gym clothes when Coach Holloway stuck his head through the door and said, “Sims, come here. I need to see you.”

Oddly, it wasn’t the normal “SIMS!” that I got. If anything, it was in a conversational tone.

To be honest, it kind of freaked me out. Coaches yelling at me I could deal with. When they got quiet and nice, I got suspicious. Not that there should be anything for him to be mad at me about. I’d been at all of the sevens practices and I thought I was doing really well at it. We were fielding two teams, and who was going to be on a team hadn’t been decided yet, but I managed to beat Ben Harlan’s team, even though he had mostly upperclassmen and I had some of my JV guys along with Miguel and Hunter, who was way way less of a dick without Elijah around.

Elijah was apparently trying out for the baseball team, so he wouldn’t be around for sevens, thank God. Mason and Jake were also not participating, although I didn’t really know why and Aiden hadn’t been paired up with me yet.

Which was good, because he was still a dick, even without Elijah around.

I dropped into the seat across from Coach without him asking. I guess he’d called me into his office enough that I was starting to become comfortable, although the frown he gave me when I did caused me to make a mental note to maybe not do that again.

“How you doing, Blake?” He asked, again, way too casually.

“Good, Coach. Ready for winter break, that’s for sure.”

“I imagine. You’ve had a hell of a season on JV.”

“Thanks,” I said, a little confused by the non sequitur and wondering where this was going.

“How’d you feel about the transition to JV? From your side, how has it been?”

“Good, I think. I’ll admit, it was a little challenging at first, but the last few games of the season I felt really comfortable and I thought it went well.”

Of course, what really mattered was if he thought so too.

“I agree. You’ve adapted well to the new playbook and I think you have a bright future here, as long as you keep some of that enthusiasm on the field reined in.”

I knew he meant all the scrambling and the demands for more passing. I would have liked to argue that everything I’d done had worked out, but arguing with coach rarely ended well in my favor.

“I’ll try.”

“Good, because we’ve got a bit of a situation on our hands. Ben Harlan is moving to Dallas.”

I tried to look as surprised as I could. This had happened in my dream life too, Ben leaving making me the youngest starting QB in Wheaton history. In that life, I’d gone up to Varsity as Jorden’s backup and he’d crashed and burned early in the season, so I was a little ahead of schedule, but Ben leaving was always going to happen.

“What does that mean for the team?”

“With Kenneth Ward graduating and Ben leaving, we’ve suddenly got an open spot for varsity quarterback,” Coach said, watching me closely. “You’re the most obvious choice to step up.”

“I’m ready, Coach,” I said, trying to sound nervous and excited.

Coach held up a hand. “Now hold on, Blake. This isn’t a done deal. Moving you to varsity would mean Jorden Kinsell becomes varsity backup, and Gabriel Neiva takes over as JV starter. It makes sense on paper, but I’ve got some concerns.”

I hadn’t gotten this speech the first time through, but then I’d only been a backup and, at the time, Jorden was a senior. Adding me had been a reaction, not a plan.

I just hoped that didn’t make things change. They hadn’t had time to consider putting a sophomore as their starter after two huge losses in the dream life. Now that he had, I hoped he didn’t second guess himself.

“Starting a sophomore on varsity is a big deal, Blake. The jump from JV to varsity is significant. We’re talking about bigger, faster, more experienced opponents. You did well on JV, but that was only for half a season, and let’s be honest, some of those teams weren’t exactly powerhouses.”

“I know it’ll be tough, Coach, but I’m ready for the challenge. I’ve been working hard, and I know I can step up.”

“It’s not just about physical ability, Blake. To succeed at the varsity level, you’ll need to develop your arm strength, improve the mental part of your game the most. I’m talking about your pocket awareness, being able to make faster decisions, and really honing your ability to read defenses. It’s a whole different ballgame.”

“I understand, Coach. I’ve actually been thinking about this a lot. You know I’m doing seven-on-seven, and I think that will help me improve over the spring and I’m going to continue training with Coach Greer. Also, we talked about it a while ago, but I’ve really been looking into additional coaching like you talked about. I’ve talked to my dad and I think we’ve worked out a way to pay for it. We’re hoping to get started in February or March, once we find the right coach.”

“Really? That’s good to hear. It shows you’re taking this seriously.”

“I am taking this seriously, Coach. I know it’s a big step, but I really believe I can do this. I’m not just talking about playing varsity, I think I can lead this team to state.”

We’d only made it to the semifinals in the dream life, but I hadn’t been putting in serious work then either and didn’t have everything I knew now, having done it all once through. Maybe I was being overly optimistic, but I really believed we could do it.

Assuming Coach didn’t revert back to his all-running playbook.

Coach Holloway’s eyebrows shot up, and for a moment, I worried he’d think I was just blowing smoke, but then he chuckled. “I like the confidence, Sims.”

“So I’m the new starter on varsity?”

“Nothing’s official yet,” Coach said firmly. “We’ll evaluate your progress through the spring. If you do everything you just laid out and show the improvement we’re looking for, then we’ll talk about making it official.”

“I’ll be ready, Coach,” I promised, and then remembered something else. “Oh, did Coach Greer talk to you about track?”

“He did mention it, yeah. What are you thinking about that?”

“I’m not sure. Football is my priority, and I told him that. He said he could work around my schedule, but I wanted to talk to you first.”

Coach leaned back in his chair, considering. “Well, you’ll certainly have a full plate if you do seven-on-seven, private coaching, and track. I talked to him and I think, just scheduling wise, we can work around your school and seven-on-seven commitments at least. It’ll be up to you for everything else.”

“But should I do it?”

“I can’t make the decision for you. I can say the speed training has definitely helped your game, and I think running track could further improve your speed. But it’s up to you to decide if your schedule can handle it all.”

Damn. It would have been easier if he had just said yes or no.

***

Walking through Eduardo's living room, I realized I might have made a mistake. Things had started off really well after we got everything set up, with a bunch of guys from the team showing up along with a bunch of the cheerleaders.

Sarah had come to help set up, so that part made sense and I'd invited guys from the team. Except the flow of new arrivals never stopped. By the time Miguel's older brother dropped off a keg, more than sixty kids had shown up. The entire football team was here, and not just JV, but varsity and the freshman teams too, along with both JV and varsity cheer squads and even a bunch of kids I didn't know.

The house was a wall of bodies of kids drinking and dancing, spilling out and filling the backyard and into the front yard.

Any hope Eduardo might have had of keeping this small and manageable had gone out the window.

I couldn't help feeling bad. I told him I'd talk to Melanie and Sarah and make sure we kept this under control, and clearly we'd done a bad job of it.

I found Eduardo in the kitchen looking like a cornered animal.

"Hey man," I said, clapping him on the shoulder. "How you holding up?"

"This is insane. There's way more people than we planned for."

"Yeah, I'm really sorry about that, but don't worry. I've already talked to Mickey, Joe, and some of the other guys on the team and they've all agreed to help clean up afterward. We'll get this place back to normal before your parents even know what hit it."

"I'm not sure that will save it. All the kids out in the yard..."

"Yeah. Well, as long as no one breaks anything and we don't have big trouble, it should be okay."

"What if someone calls the cops?"

"Then we'll," I started to say, before a commotion at the front door caught my attention.

My stomach dropped as I saw Elijah and Mason swagger in. Worse, Elijah was already visibly drunk and very loud.

"What a dump! Who lives in this shithole?"

I felt Eduardo stiffen beside me. Elijah had the normal sneer on his face, which turned into a mean grin as it landed on me and Eduardo and he started pushing his way through the crowd.

"Well, well," Elijah slurred as he reached us. "If it isn't the big man and his new pet."

I stepped forward, putting myself between Elijah and Eduardo.

"Not tonight, Elijah. Just turn around and leave."

"Or what, Sims? You gonna make me?"

This wasn't school or practice. I didn't have to control myself to keep from getting kicked off the team or suspended, which meant I wasn't going to back down to him.

It was damn near time for Elijah to learn he wasn't as tough as he thought he was.

"Yeah, if I have to."

Elijah's grin grew bigger, as if he'd been waiting for this moment. He started to take a step toward me, his fists balling up, and then froze in place as Andre and Joe materialized on either side of me. Several other players closed ranks behind him, forming a wall between Elijah and the rest of the party and making it clear he and Mason were surrounded.

"Can't fight on your own, chicken shit? Gotta have your little fan club stand up for you?"

I opened my mouth to point out he had Mason right behind him, and we both knew that he wasn't going to stay out of it once I started to pound on him, when Kenneth showed up.

"Everything alright over here?"

"Just having a chat with the coach's new golden boy. Can you believe it, after you leave they're putting him on varsity? Makes you wonder how long he spent on his knees in the coach's office to get that deal."

"Actually, coach asked me who should be starting QB after I leave. I was the one who recommended Blake. I even hear coach is thinking about making him team captain."

It was nice to hear Kenneth had suggested me, but we both knew Coach Holloway wasn't the sort to make decisions based on what other people suggested. Although the captain thing was news to me.

I kept a straight face though, not wanting to give Elijah the satisfaction of seeing my surprise.

Elijah's mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. "You've gotta be kidding me. This team is gonna be a joke next year if that happens."

"I'd watch what you say, Elijah. Blake's got a lot of support, both on the team and with the coaches. You might want to think real hard about which side of this you want to be on," Kenneth said.

Elijah's eyes narrowed as he looked between Kenneth and me, the wheels visibly turning in his alcohol-addled brain. After a long moment, he spat on the floor and stormed off, Mason trailing behind him like a lost puppy.

As the tension dissipated, I turned to Kenneth. "Thanks for the backup. But... captain? That's the first I'm hearing about it."

"Nothing's set in stone yet, but Coach has been talking you up. Says you've got real leadership potential. Between you and me, I think you'd be good for the team. But you know coach. No one can tell him what he's gonna do."

"No kidding, although kinda makes the 'I made the decision' speech a little bullshit, doesn't it."

"Ha, yeah, I guess it does. Still, he did ask me and I think it was the right call. Just don't screw up my legacy," he said with a laugh, slapping me on the arm.

As Kenneth moved off to rejoin the party, I turned back to Eduardo, who'd managed to get some of the color back in his face.

"Well, now that that's over, let's try to enjoy your party, yeah?"

Once he got out and started to talk to people, Eduardo calmed down. It might have been a little overwhelming at first, but I think it didn't take long for him to realize that he actually knew most of the people here. He'd been hanging out with us most of the semester, and they liked him. Especially once he started getting friendly with Sarah.

We started having a good time. I found Melanie a few times, but she was mostly hanging out with cheerleaders and I kept getting dragged off by the guys. She was having a good time though.

I kept swinging by to check on her, both because I didn't want her to think I'd abandoned her and because she was steadily getting more drunk every time. I had nothing against drinking, really, and was drinking myself, but I'd kept it to a low level.

She didn't.

On my latest trip, I found her at the bottom of the steps, swaying and holding up a bottle of liquor that I hoped didn't belong to Eduardo's parents, since it looked practically empty.

Emily and Hanna were with her, both looking almost as unsteady. They were all giggling and passing the bottle from one to another.

"Whoops!" Melanie laughed as she stumbled, sloshing her drink onto the floor. "I think we need a refill!"

I quickened my pace, reaching her just as she started to topple over, catching her arm and steadying her.

"Hey! Where've you been? You're missing all the fun!"

She was sweating heavily, her words were slurring together, and she could barely hold herself up.

"I think you've had enough fun for tonight," I said, gently prying the bottle from her fingers.

She pouted, reaching for the drink. "No fair! Give it back!"

"Come on, Mel. Let's get you somewhere to sit down for a bit."

"I don't need ... ohh, I don't feel so good," she said, looking a little green.

Eduardo and Sarah, both of whom were thankfully sober, showed up at that moment.

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah, she's just had a little too much to drink and I need to get her to lie down for a while. Mind if I use your room?"

"Of course. Do you need help?"

"Nah, I've got her. Maybe check on these two," I said, pointing at Emily and Hanna, who looked equally green.

They went to help the other two drunk cheerleaders as I tried to guide Melanie up the stairs. She slipped on the very first one, her entire weight on me. Making a quick decision, I scooped her up in my arms. She squealed in delight, throwing her arms around my neck.

"Ooh, so strong!" she cooed, nuzzling against my chest. "My big, strong quarterback."

I just shook my head in amusement as I carried her up the stairs, careful not to bump her head on the wall. When we reached Eduardo's room, I shouldered the door open and gently laid her on the bed.

"There you go. Just rest here for a bit, okay?"

Melanie immediately tried to sit up. "No way! The party's just getting started!"

I put a hand on her shoulder, easing her back down. "Mel, you need to sleep this off. Another drink and you're going to spend the night with your head in a toilet."

She giggled, grabbing my shirt and trying to pull me down beside her. "Only if you stay with me."

"Melanie, stop," I said firmly, extricating myself from her grip. "You're drunk. This isn't a good idea."

I'd had many fantasies, both in the dream life and since we'd started dating, of being with her. Melanie was maybe one of the most beautiful people I'd ever known, but I didn't want our first time together to be like this. Odds were, she wouldn't even remember it the next morning.

She did not take my hesitation the same way.

"Why not? Don't you want me?"

"Of course I do. But not like this. You're wasted."

"I knew it," she said angrily. "You'd rather be with Li, wouldn't you?"

"What? No. Come on, that's not fair. I just don't want to do this with you this drunk."

Melanie's lower lip trembled, tears welling up in her eyes.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. Please don't be mad at me."

I sat on the edge of the bed and said, "I'm not mad, Mel. I just want you to be safe."

"You're so good to me, Blake. I don't deserve you."

"No, I don't deserve you, which is why I want to wait until we're both going to remember being together."

Melanie's eyes were growing heavy, her words becoming more slurred. "You're right. You're always right. I'm just gonna... rest my eyes for a minute..."

Within moments, her breathing evened out as she drifted off to sleep. I carefully rolled her onto her side, making sure she wouldn't choke if she got sick. Then I grabbed the trash can from the corner and placed it next to the bed, just in case.

I stood there for a moment, watching her sleep and feeling a mix of emotions I couldn't quite sort out. Part of me wanted to stay, to make sure she was okay. But I knew that would only lead to more complications when she woke up.

With a heavy sigh, I turned and left the room, quietly shutting the door behind me.

I thought maybe it was my imagination as I turned back toward the stairs that the party seemed a lot quieter than it had when I'd gone upstairs. The music was just as loud as it had been, but something felt off.

I realized that the amount of chatter had dropped way off, and only really the music was playing, which was what made it seem subdued.

I found the reason for it as soon as I hit the bottom of the stairs. Raf was standing in the front doorway, blocking it, flanked by two guys I didn't recognize. I didn't have to know them to know how they knew Raf, though. Smart money said they were guys from Raf's gang.

"Where's my little cousin, huh? Too good for his own family now?"

Eduardo emerged from the kitchen, his face pale. "Raf, what are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here?" Raf's laugh was harsh. "Funny, I was gonna ask you the same thing. Why weren't you at your tía's birthday, huh? But you can throw a party for all the white people?"

The way he spat out "people" made my blood boil. I started to move forward, but Joe caught my arm, shaking his head in warning.

"I called her and wished her happy birthday and explained it to her."

"Bullshit. You're forgetting where you come from, primo. Family comes first. Always. Which is why you're going to get rid of these people and come with us."

I couldn't stay quiet any longer. I didn't know what Eduardo was going to say to that, but this was the moment. I needed to break them apart once and for all if I was going to keep Eduardo from doing what he was destined to do.

I shook off Joe and pushed through the kids, stepping into the space that had opened up for Raf, no one wanting to be near him.

"This is a private party. You weren't invited."

"Stay out of this, puta. This is family business."

Thankfully, I wasn't alone and several guys from the team backed me up. His guys may be tough, but Andre and Tyrell were huge. In a heartbeat, instead of facing me, he was facing ten guys whose body language said they were ready to back me up.

The almost sneers Raf's guys had worn the whole time broke slightly as they started to do the math and realized they weren't in quite the same position they thought they'd been.

"Eddie's my friend. That makes it my business."

Raf took a step towards me, his breath reeking of cheap beer. "You think you can come in here, play savior? You don't know shit about him or where he comes from."

"I know where he could go. What he could be capable of. And I know he'll never get there if he gets mixed up with you. Tell me again how many of your 'friends' are in prison?"

Raf's hand shot out, grabbing the front of my shirt. "You better watch your mouth, pendejo."

The room went dead silent. I could feel the tension. This was about to escalate, everyone on the verge of doing something really stupid.

"Get out, Raf," Eduardo said, not shouting but loud and very seriously.

Raf's head whipped around, his grip on my shirt loosening. "What did you say?"

"I said get out. You and your friends. I don't want you here."

"You're going to pick this guy over family?"

"Family doesn't try to drag you down. Family supports you. These people," he gestured to the room, to me and the guys, "they're my friends. They support me. You? I have no interest in you or your... friends."

To say Raf was pissed was an understatement. He shoved me back, hard enough that I stumbled.

"You're gonna regret this, primo. Both of you."

With a jerk of his head, Raf and his buddies stormed out, slamming the door behind them. Everyone at the party was frozen for a moment.

"Fuck them. This is a party, right?" Eduardo said, which may be the most unlike thing he'd said so far.

Which was something.

As everyone got back to partying, I put a hand on his shoulder and said, "You okay, man?"

He nodded, although his face made it clear how much the interaction shook him up.

"Yeah, I think so. Thanks."

"Hey, what are friends for."

"No, I mean it. That's the second time you stood up to Raf for me. It means a lot."

"Look, Eduardo, I'm just gonna be blunt here. I know what Raf is trying to do, what he wants you to be a part of. You can't do it, man. You've got so much going for you. Getting mixed up in that, it could ruin everything. Not just your future, but your families too. You see what's happened to everyone else who've gotten mixed up with him."

"I know, and you're right, and I wouldn't. I'm done with him, I swear. These last few months ... they've been the best of my life. For the first time, I feel like I belong somewhere. I didn't even feel like when we were in Midland, and I lived there my whole life before moving here. I'm not going to throw that away. Not for Raf, not for anyone."

Those were the words I'd been angling toward ever since I'd decided to try and change the future.

"Good. That's... that's really good to hear, man."

The cops showed up and broke the party up about ten minutes later, which was probably for the best. Thankfully, no one went to jail for underage drinking.

One of the upsides of being a cop's kid is the police knew him and gave me some slack, especially after we turned over the still half full keg to them for 'evidence.'

They let us all scatter as long as no one who was drunk drove home, which wasn't a problem in a small town like this, where most of us lived in walking distance.

That only left Eduardo, me, and a few of the guys still sober enough to clean up from the party. Except for a few moments, it had been fun. More importantly, Eduardo had publicly and very finally separated himself from Raf.

It felt good.