"What's been going on, Re." Brianna nudged my side with her elbow. "We hardly talk anymore."
I tore my eyes from Bryan subtly flirting with Shay in the front seat to my Brianna beside me, her hazel eyes wide. She had made sure to bundle up as Liam had been right; light snow flurries had been falling when Bryan picked me up a few hours ago, the sky a blanket of grey, the color of Liam's eyes at night. The fact that the boys were going to have to play with this, an hour from home at that, made my heart hurt for them. They were sure to be freezing all night.
"We have boyfriends now." Jay had been dodgy the last couple days, as if he could sense the inevitable breakup coming and I hadn't been able to catch him for longer than a couple minutes. "That's pretty time consuming, huh?"
"Sure." Brianna narrowed her eyes as if she could read my mind. "But I miss my best friend. Shay is totally awesome and I really like Andy, but I miss you, Reese. It seems like when you're not with Bry you're with Liam. It's like I don't exist in your little world anymore."
The words felt like she'd shoved a knife through my chest. Brianna had been there through my lowest times, forcing me out of bed and undressing me before climbing into the shower with me to ensure I cleaned. She was the one who constantly dragged me through the malls and stores to try and bring my spirits up with anything and everything. She was just as much of my best friend as Bryan, but what hurt the most was that she was right. I had been leaning so heavily on Bryan and Liam the last couple months I hadn't thought to look in her direction.
"You will always be part of my world, Bri. You're my bestie and have been through everything with me. Nothing and nobody will ever change that, okay? As a matter of fact, let's have a sleepover after the game tonight."
Brianna started clapping, but Shay whirled around in the passenger's seat and looked back at us, eyes wide. "Sleepover? Oh My God, can I join? I haven't been to one since sixth grade, Nicola thinks they're lame."
Neither of us even considered her words and said. "Yes." In unison. As Shay and Brianna broke into giddy slumber party talk while I looked toward Bryan in the driver's seat. He caught my eye in the rearview and smiled, his entire face brightening by just the slightest action. After a moment of hesitation, I returned it.
**
This was the make or break it game for the boys to get into the playoffs and it just happened to be against one of the best teams in the state. They were currently zero to nine. I couldn't bring myself to sit down as we headed for the bleachers, Bryan a couple feet behind me with his Nikon. The girls had already hurried to sit, but were hugging one another to try and keep warm. I, being Reese Taylor, had only a thin sweater on, but for some reason wasn't cold yet.
"You've got an admirer." Bryan joked as he came up behind me, dropping his camera so it hung on the strap and rested against his gray sweatshirt. I followed his eyes to find Liam behind Jay and Andy, looking as if he hadn't slept in three days. I probably looked the same. With Jay's dodgy behavior came me doing the exact same to Liam. His words had hung in the room for hours after they'd left his mouth. He had not only quoted the Wizard of Oz, but had discreetly admitted he was in love with me. I knew how hard tonight was going to hit him, but still hadn't been able to find the right thing to say after Wednesday night.
"Today's the anniversary of their death." I breathed, shooting my best friend a look. "We need to pray he keeps his head in the game."
Bryan draped his arm over my shoulder and hugged me against him. "I don't think we have anything to worry about."
***
The game went into overtime. I'd turned into an icicle halfway through the game, but luckily had Bryan as a personal space heater. It was the final play of the game that I slid out of his grip and made my way down the bleachers, wanting a better view. As soon as the ball was hiked to Liam he jogged back a few steps, scanning the field for anyone open. When he saw nobody was, he launched forward, juking someone that nearly tripped him before taking off at lightning speed toward the goal post. He was sacked just as he stretched his body out to land over the line. I was suddenly thankful I'd broken away from the crowd because I would have been deafened by the uproar that was caused by our boys scoring the winning touchdown. I hugged my arms around myself as the boys headed for the locker room. Brianna and Shay were beside me immediately, both talking about how great the play was.
"He totally won that for them!" Shay squealed. "I'm so proud of Liam!"
As if her words invited him over, he and Andy started across the field in normal attire, Andy with his arm draped around his best friend's neck and ruffling his hair as he praised him. As soon as he was within reach Brianna reached out and hugged Liam, likely congratulating him. Before he could get over the shock of the action she launched herself into her boyfriend's arms and kissed him. Despite avoiding him the last few days, I couldn't help but throw my arms around Liam, smiling.
"That was incredible, Liam. I'm proud of you." I pulled away and looked up at him. "They'd be proud of you."
I met Andy's eyes over his shoulder and he nodded; he was likely the only other person here tonight that had an idea of just how much this night meant to Liam.
"Thank you." Liam slowly slid his arms around my waist and buried his face into the crook of my neck. I could hear by how strained his breathing was that he was trying to get himself together before he would have to face our friends. "Thank you for being here tonight, Reese."
I heard a quiet scoff a few feet away but didn't have to look to know it was Jason. He shook his head and rammed hard into Liam as he tried to pass, but chose the wrong night to do so because Liam immediately shoved me into Bryan and swung at his teammate.
Jay, surprised by his reaction, needed a few seconds to recuperate before he threw himself at Liam.
"Stop!" I shouted, but Bryan did as Liam had done a minute before and pushed me away from the fight and started for Liam himself. The first time Andy and Bryan tried to restrain the boys did nothing but give Bryan a bloody nose, and Liam and Jay were on the ground fighting again. Finally, Bryan was able to grab Liam and started shoving him toward the parking lot, shaking with anger.
"You wanna fight someone, Scott?" Bryan snarled at the taller boy. "Fight me."
The words struck something in Liam because his clenched fists unfurled at his sides and stared at my best friend, eyes lacking any emotion.
"You love her?" Bryan asked, throwing his hand in my direction. "Then you need to stop this shit. You're going to end up hurting her. Get a hold of yourself man. Stop letting your emotions talk for you. Figure out what the hell it is that you want before you drag Reese into something we can't bring her back from."
Liam looked from Bryan to me, then turned on his heel and headed for the parking lot. When I tried to start forward, Bryan turned his glare on me. "Don't you even think about it."
*
After stopping by Shay's house so she could pack a back for the sleepover, we headed back to the Waters. Mom hadn't had a problem with me staying over; she was working swing shift tonight anyway. The girls immediately headed inside to get everything ready for the rest of the night, but I slumped against the backseat and Bryan didn't look as if he were going to budge until I did.
"You need to break up with Jason." He snapped.
"I've been trying." I whispered. "He keeps dodging me."
Bryan shifted his body so he was able to look at me without craning his neck. "Something happened with Liam. What happened?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that until tonight he was doing a pretty decent job keeping it together, falling in love from afar. Not trying to get into fights with Jason." Bryan explained. "When I tore him off Jason he looked ready to kill him."
I looked down at my hands. "His parents—"
"Reese, I understand he was a little more emotional tonight then usual, but I could feel the shift at school Thursday morning. What happened between you guys Wednesday night? You said he was over there, obviously something happened."
I shrugged a shoulder. "Before Mom said anything about his parents, we had this moment in the kitchen. I. . . but thunder scared me and broke it. Then when we were in my room after Mom told him, he touched my cheek and he. . ."
"He what, Reese?"
"He pretty much admitted he was in love with me."
Bryan ran a head over his head, looking too tired for someone who had been sitting most of the night, "Okay. You're going to go in there and have a girls night with my sister and Shay."
"What are you going to do, Bry?"
"I'm going to go talk to Liam." The words almost made me laugh. It was definitely something I never thought I'd hear out of his mouth. "He needs someone to talk to right now and I think maybe it might be beneficial if that person is me."
I sat forward and reached for my best friend's hand and squeezed it. "Thank you, Bry."
"Get inside, Re."
I grabbed my bag from the floor and swung it over my shoulder before climbing out of the car. As soon as I was on the Waters front porch, he nodded and turned the car around, heading for Liam's house. Brianna and Shay fell on to the porch beside me, watching after his car with curious looks.
"Where is he going?" Shay questioned, eyebrows quirked.
I rested my head against Brianna's shoulder and smiled. "To talk to a friend."