The Life of Me

Page 28

Dai

Dai crashed into someone as she was heading to the basketball court.

It was Joshua.

"Hey, Joey! Where ya headed?" she smiled, holding the ball under her arm. His head bolted up, his eyes wide in fear. "N-no where. Just taking a walk..." Joshua stated nervously. Dai raised an eyebrow. If there was one thing she knew by heart, it was when someone was hiding something. "Really?" she paused, glancing over his shoulder. Seeing no one, Dai let her gaze soften. Yes, it's strange, seeing the Dai Parker, the stern, focused captain of the Eagles Basketball Team, soften.

"Hey, listen to me," she commanded, looking the tiny figure before her in his reddened, dulled green eyes. "I don't know what happened, and I'm not going to push but, if there's a problem, you need to tell someone about it. Understood?" she kept their conversation short, noting that the younger human wanted to leave. Joshua nodded, a small smile gracing his chapped lips.

"Thank you," he said honestly, walking past the dark-haired player.

Dai smiled to herself, continuing her walk to the court.

Two hours after shooting hoops and earning glares from some(a lot) of the guys, Dai figured she should sit down for a moment.

She calmly walked over to a patch of grass near the court, nice view to watch egos shatter, she was met by two sets of green and a pair of hazel-brown eyes.

"Um, hi?" Dai question, tilting her water bottle in their directions.

"Did you see Joey?" Cheyenne pleaded, her green eyes brimmed with tears. Alyssa stood eagerly beside her, with Lottie placing a reassuring hand on her girlfriend's shoulder. Dai nodded, telling them what she had witnessed and shared with Joshua.

When she finished, Cheyenne crumpled to her knees, muffled sobs echoing around her. Dai reached out to comfort her but stopped when she saw the looks Alyssa were sending her. "I don't understand," Dai admitted, rubbing reassuring circles in Cheyenne's back as the girl calmed, "What happened?" Alyssa told Dai what had caused the drama that started with Bailey being a dick and ended with Joshua's cabinmates being asses. Dai clenched her teeth. "If I see that son of a bitch, I'll... I'll... UGH!" the captain shouted in frustration. Alyssa nodded in agreement.

"My thoughts exactly,"

"We have to find him. Before anyone hurts him." Dai stated, inhumanly calm. Lottie glanced nervously between her girlfriend and the basketball captain. "I'll just stay here with Chey in case Joey comes back,"

It was settled.

They would find him. And they'd have to do it fast.

Time was not on their side in this battle.