Football and Fairy Tales

Chapter 2

Devin

"Devin, don't forget to stop by Mr. Edwards this afternoon and help him clean the shop. We could use the extra cash."

"Yeah, dumb nuts, you want to eat, don't you?"

Dumb nuts? How old does this asshole think he is? Thirteen? What my sister sees in him is beyond me. He's lasted longer than the rest of her in and out-the-door boyfriends, so it has to be the sex. It sure as hell isn't money. I've had to pull extra shifts at Frank's Tavern to support his ass. On weekends, I work construction for my best friend's father. He's a real estate tycoon around these parts and can always use an extra hand when flipping houses. Rylan parents are loaded, and I know he'd help me out if I'd let him, but I'm too proud for that shit. However, I'm grateful for the job and have never minded hard work. Sighing, I pick up my backpack and head for the door of the used single-wide we were able to buy with our parent's life insurance policy after they were killed in a car accident when I was fourteen. With no other family, my then nineteen-year-old sister was left with a brother to raise. I'd feel a little more sympathy for her if she wasn't such a bitch. She had me working that same year so she could continue her extracurricular activities. It's good that many people around here are willing to pay under the table.

"I have practice this afternoon, but I'll stop by afterward," I yell out while slamming the door behind me. My phone rings before I reach my Mustang. It's old and needs work, but it was my dad's, which makes it priceless. Smiling at the name popping up, I answer.

"Hey man, how's old Dewbridge treating the star player this year?"

I cough while covering several bullshits in his ear. "We all know who the real star player is."

Rylan laughs. "Man, you sell yourself short. You are fucking amazing. Remember Mattie and I took time out to come home and watch you play last week."

It sucks that all my closest friends, the ones that don't pretend to be because of my status at school, have all moved away. Even Thomas, busy with football, and Darby getting her college degree while battling parenthood, something they both hadn't counted on at a young age. I envy the year they have on me because I'd do anything to be with them right now. They kept me grounded, and now I feel like I'm lost at sea, barely staying afloat.

"Keep your head on straight. You're halfway there, man."

Rylan knows what I'm thinking. He's psychic that way. Honestly, he's always been that way, soft and caring about his friends and family, and especially to Mattie. Pulling into Rylan's old spot that he never used near the front of the school, I stare at the building in front of me. The trailer park we live in is close enough to walk, but I'm not chancing my sister's shitty boyfriend touching my ride. I suspect theft is an activity he excels in.

"I got this, asshole."

He laughs, and I smile, but it quickly evaporates when a girl walks in front of my windshield. When you live in a small town like ours, you notice the things that don't fit. This girl doesn't fit.

"Hot damn," I whisper. She drops something, and when she reaches to pick it up, I find myself leaning over the steering wheel to get a better look. She's hot in a weird hippie kind of way. There's no way she's from Dewbridge. Everyone knows everyone here, and by the way the other students stare at her, I know they don't know her either.

"I gotta go, man. Talk soon."

"Not even eight o'clock, and you're already trying to get laid."

"You know it," I answer before hitting the end button and shoving my cell phone into my pocket. Grabbing my backpack, I hurry out of the car and slam the door behind me, but when I turn around, she's gone. She's either quick or good at camouflaging herself in large crowds. I grin because this day just got better. No worries. There's no way a person can miss her. I'll see her again. Patience is something I excel in, on and off the field.