Confiding in 12

20.invisible string

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Patrick 🎸

..........
All I'd been thinking about was Grace.

I couldn't focus on practice. Every pass, every tackle felt off, like my mind was miles away.

Was she safe at home?
Did she eat anything?
What if this whole mess was affecting her so much that she wasn't eating?

I needed to see her again.

Of course, I had a plan. I walked straight over to Johnny.

"Hey, Kav...mind if I come over?" I tried to sound casual.

"Mind if we come over?" Gibsie chimed in, throwing an arm around my shoulder and motioning to Hughie, who stood grinning behind him.

Johnny's eyes lit up-just a flicker, but enough for me to catch.

"Of course," he nodded.

"We can pick up Claire and Lizzie too. That'll cheer Grace up," Hughie suggested, clapping me on the back.

"Yeah...I think she'd love that," Johnny agreed, a faint smile of appreciation on his lips.

"Here's how it's gonna go," Gibsie began, taking charge as usual. "Me and Kav will pick Claire up, and you and Feely go get Viper."

I nodded. "Alright, we'll meet at Kav's house."

Hughie and I headed to my car, parked in the school lot. He slid into the passenger seat as I got behind the wheel and started the engine.

"She was frightened today," Hughie said, breaking the silence.

I nodded, eyes fixed on the road. "Yeah."

"Pray tell why?" he pressed.

"Grace was drugged, Hughie. How do you think she'd feel?" My voice came out sharper than I intended as I turned onto the main street, heading toward Lizzie's house.

"Oh, we both know that's not the whole deal," Hughie replied, running a hand through his blonde hair. "But if you don't want to tell me, I won't press...just glad someone knows."

I sighed. "I know...it's just a lot of shit, and Cap told me to keep my mouth shut. So I will, until he says otherwise."

Hughie nodded, his tone softening. "You've been clean, Patrick. And I can see she's the reason."

"Clean since Halloween...which is three days. It's not enough, Hugh." I gripped the steering wheel tighter, the truth weighing heavy.

"And why'd you stop, even for three days?" he asked, though we both knew the answer.

"For her," I admitted. "But we both know it won't last. My dad will pull something, and I'll lose control. And look at me-I'm already buzzing with frustration. Rugby helps, but it's not enough."

We stopped at a red light. I handed him my phone. "Text Lizzie. Tell her we're picking her up."

"Sure," he said, though we both knew Lizzie wouldn't open his texts after their fallout.