One Of The Guys

Chapter 1

Tires screeching. Screams filling the night air. The cries of family. Sirens screaming. Me, sitting off to the side. Cut and bruised. Sobbing. He's still in there. He's still trapped. He means everything to me.

I wake up drenched in sweat. The nightmare comes flooding back to me. I just sit there. This happens a lot. I stand up and walk out of my bedroom and into his.

His bed freshly made. Clothes folded neatly in his dresser. Yet, he's not there. He hasn't been for a year. And I still get nightmares. I just sit down on the edge of his bed. All of the sudden, sobs rack my body. Making it hard to breathe.

*********The Next Morning*********

I wake up in his bed, not even realizing that I fell asleep.

"Taylor?" I hear Jake's concerned voice. I sit up and see him standing in the doorway.

"Oh, hey." I say, trying to act like I'm okay. Without a word, Jake crosses the room and hugs me. We sit there for about 5 minutes before he pulls away.

"Did you sleep in here again?" Jake asks, taking note of my puffy, red eyes.

"Yeah. I came in here and sat down. And I guess I fell asleep." I say, glancing at him. He's not my boyfriend, but he is my best friend.

Meet me, Taylor Green, quarterback and captain of the football team. Jake Westveiw is my wide receiver and my main man. My best friend. My #1 therapist. Just kidding, but he should be. He's always there.

"You should probably get ready for school. I'm your ride and I don't wanna be late because of you." Jake says, sticking his tongue out at me.

"Whatever. Breakfast is whatever you can find I'm the kitchen. I'll be down in 10." I say, getting up. He nods and heads downstairs.

I hop in the shower. It only takes like 5 minutes. And when I get out, I put my hair in a ponytail. And I pull on a pair of skinny jeans and my football jersey. I usually don't wear it to school, but the team is having a jersey day. Don't ask me why, but coach insisted. My converse are waiting for me at the door of my room. I look around before grabbing my football bag and my school bag. Then I head downstairs.
By the time I actually get downstairs, Jake is yelling my name.

"Geez, I'm here." I say.

"Oh, I didn't realize you were already coming down." Jake says, grinning. I shove him and grab an apple from the fridge.

"That's all?" Jake asks, giving me a knowing look.

"Omigod. I'm not gonna do it again. It was a one time thing after......" I say, trailing off.

"I know. I'm sorry. I just worry about you sometimes." Jake says, looking into my eyes. And this is why I'm glad that I don't have a girl as a best friend. They would probably encourage me. Just to get skinny. I punch his arm, not hard and run out the door.

"Lock it on your way out!" I yell over my shoulder.

Jake groans, but pulls the key out of his backpack. He's like my brother, so my parents gave him a key. He comes over a lot. He runs out to his truck. With me already in it. When he gets here, the doors are locked. I stick my tongue out at him.

"Bitch." He mutters. I laugh, then unlock the doors.

"And I thought that you wouldn't stoop that low." Jake says, with mock horror.

"Than you have no idea who your dealing with." I say, laughing. He glares at me, then smiles and starts the car. We laugh and joke all the way to school. Pretty soon, last nights nightmares are behind me. When we get to school, the whole team is waiting for us.

"Long time no see." Says Alex, smiling. He's the running back.

"No kidding." I say, laughing. We had a long grueling practice yesterday after school. It totally sucked. I fist bump some of the other guys and greet them. None of them know why I play football. They all think its because I love the sport. And I do, but that's not the only reason.