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THE CHILL IN THE AIR CUTS straight through my school uniform as I walk through the halls after football practice. The tension from the drill is still in my body, and the freezing wind outside isn’t doing much to help. I shove my hands into the pockets of pockets, not giving a damn that it’s now ruined from mud and sweat. It’s been like this for weeks-early mornings, late practices, and barely a moment to breathe.
Honestly, winter break was supposed to give me some rest, but it ended up making me more tired. The whole time, Cora and Dad fought, and I had to keep stepping in.
As draining as it is, it has become my job at this point. What makes it even difficult is that cora has stopped with the anger towards me but has replaced it with the silent treatment.
We used to have a good sibling relationship and I’m not about to throw that down the fucking drain. She’s my little sister and as annoying as she is right now, she’s hurting even more. I can see that and I won’t just ignore it.
The only plus side of the break was that my dad bought me my car. He was only supposed to pay half, that was the agreement he made but he paid full and surprised me. In a way, I think it’s some sort of apology for what has been going on but the only apology he should be making is to Cora.
I’ll fix this. I will. I just need time because with school and football piling up, I barely have any of it. But if no one will fix this, then who will? I know mum would want me to.
My thoughts stop as Jack and Hassan are walking next to me, talking about what they are planning to do after we win the finals on Friday. “We have to party,” Jack says, a grin on his face that screams trouble.
“You know I don’t do parties.” Hassan shrugs. “Especially if they involve you.”
“I’m not that bad,” he counters, then turns to me. “Right, Connie?”
“I guess so,” I shrug, not really focused on their conversation.
“Ah, this is why I love King Connie more than you, Hassan.”
Now that immediately catches my attention. “Yeah, fuck off. I take that shit back.”
“No one on this stupid team has good fucking humour,” he mutters to himself, shaking his head in disapproval.
I let out a chuckle in response. Is he serious? What he considers good humour is concerning.
As they make a right turn, I immediately stop in my tracks. There she is. The girl on my mind. “I’ll catch up in a second, lads!” I tell them, not bothering to wait for their response as I walk over to her.
She’s standing at her locker, head down, a tired look on her face that I haven’t seen before. It hits me in the gut.
My mind has been drifting to Carmen since the hangout we had last week. It’s still fresh in my mind. She smiled more in those few hours than I’ve seen her in the whole time I’ve known her. There’s something about that smile-it’s like it lights up everything around her. Makes me forget the shitty stuff going on in my life, even if it’s just for a minute.
The fact that she has been on my mind a lot since then has been it’s bugging me especially since I haven’t heard from her since that day. I texted her, but no response. I figured she was busy, maybe just needed space. But when I texted again… still nothing. Is she ignoring me? Did I say something wrong? I don’t know.
But the thought keeps eating at me.
Her quiet laugh, the way her eyes brighten when she smiles. I can’t help but like it. And the fact that I do pisses a part of me off, because Carmen and I are friends. Just friends. I never had many girl friends, at least ones that I didn’t make out with, so I have no idea if this feeling is normal. It doesn’t seem like it is.
She looks up and as soon as her brown eyes meet my gaze, she quickly shuts her locker. Too quick. Like she’s hiding something almost. But I can’t pry. I haven’t talked to her since we hung out and I’m not about to ruin it.
“Hey, blondie.”
She looks up at me with those tired, red eyes. It’s almost like she’s not herself. “Hi, Aaron,” she mumbles, and it only makes me more concerned.
“You okay?” I ask, my voice softer than I intend.
“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” She gives me a quick smile, but it doesn’t reach her eyes.
“You haven’t been responding to my texts,” I say, raising an eyebrow, only realising how desperate that sounds when the words have left my mouth. For fucks sake.
“Oh, my parents took my phone from me,” she replies quickly, almost as if she’s brushing it off.
I’m not convinced. “Did something happen?”
“No, no. Nothing, don’t worry.” She says it like she’s trying to convince both me and herself.
I know I should let it go, but something doesn’t sit right with me. She’s not her usual self. I can tell.
“I can’t do any tutor sessions this week,” I say, deciding to change the subject, not wanting this conversation to end. “Your dad’s got me practicing hard for the playoffs this Friday.”
“That sounds like him,” she laughs weakly, the smallest bit of her usual charm flickering in her eyes.
“That’s why you’re my favourite Castro,” I whisper, glancing around to make sure no one hears. “Just don’t tell him, yeah?”
She chuckles softly, the first real one I’ve heard from her in a while. It’s not much, but it’s something. “It’ll be our little secret.”
“Will you still be able to watch the game?” I ask. If her parents took her phone then she must be grounded.
“Yeah,” she answers, her reply washes some sort of relief over me. “My dad wouldn’t let me miss it. He says I have to support Felix.”
“I’ll be looking for you in the stands, Blondie,” I say, smirking.
“Yeah, right,” she scoffs. “Your head will be too in the game.”
“Oh, you’ll see.” Somehow, in every game my eyes find hers. The finals won’t be any different.
She opens her mouth the reply but stops herself, her eyes darting behind me. Before I can turn around to see what she’s looking at, her dad walks straight past me, catching our conversation.
“Shouldn’t you be in class, Carmen?” he asks, his tone stern.
“Study period, dad,” she replies, not missing a beat.
He looks at her for a moment, sending her an unconvinced look before turning his focus to me. “You did great at practice, lad. This is what I need to see during the finals.”
“Got it, Coach,” I say with a stern nod.
“We’re about to go over some plays in the locker room,” he tells me, his head nodding down the hallway, indicating for me to follow him.
I turn back to Carmen. “See what I mean? How could you not be my favourite Castro?”
She rolls her eyes, but there’s a smile on her lips. A small one but it still feels like a win. “Go before he gets mad.”
I smirk back at her as I walk backwards. “See you at the game, Blondie.”
She waves me a goodbye, the soft smile still on her pink lips as I turn around to catch up with her dad.
Fuck. She does something to me.
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