The Great Pretenders

Chapter 28

Lucy's POV

I should have known it was going to be a bad day. I woke up with a killer headache and a nauseous feeling in my stomach. I wanted to stay in bed and sleep but only the fear of getting behind on school work and not making it to practice propelled me to drag myself out.

My mom was lying on the couch where she had landed after she got home that night. "Wow, you look like something the cat dragged in," she mumbled her eyes barely open after a long shift.

I glared as I packed my backpack "And how much I love you too, mother."

"Are you okay? You look a little green," She sat up a bit.

"I'm fine. Just tired."

"Then why don't you stay home. We can have a girl's day in."

It was tempting and in hindsight, I probably should have just stayed. But no, I didn't and then I was called into Coach Martin's office.

"Hey coach," I said nervously as I took a seat.

He gave me a stiff smile "Lucy, I brought you in here this morning to let you know that I'm benching you for the Cedar Falls game."

I was stunned. I had been a solid starter in the midfield all season. I had more assists than anyone. I wanted to protest and yell but all I could manage was a strangled "Why?"

He looked uncomfortable "You just haven't had focus the last couple of weeks. And with this game, I need someone who's solid. It's a must win situation."

Damn it. My whole breakup had totally messed me up. The whole dramatic stupid situation had screwed me. What could I say? I couldn't argue. My mind was so focused on Mark and then Matt, I guess I had lost a step on the field. "I understand." I replied

"Are you okay, Bass? Everything okay at home?" he asked, more curious than concerned.

I made myself brighten, desperate to get out of the office "Oh yeah, fine. Just...you know...same old stuff."

Yeah the same old stuff. I barely made it out of the office before I began to cry. Stupid decisions had cost me my starting spot. I put my head down as I walked down the hallway.

"Hey darling," I heard Mark's voice call out. I sped up. I was not in the mood to deal with him today.

"Slow down, Lucy," he said loudly, finally reaching out to grab my arm. "What's wrong?"

I shook my head miserably "Nothing." I wiped the tears under my eyes.

"Did Sanders..." he began and I yelled cutting him off "No! This has nothing to do with you or him."

He rubbed his hand soothingly up my arms. "Then what?"

I looked up at him and saw genuine concern in his eyes. "I was benched for the playoff game."

He gave me a sympathetic look and opened his arms. I couldn't help it. I was so upset that I fell right into them sobbing against his chest.

"There, there Luce," he said softly, the familiarity of his embrace was comforting "It'll be fine. I'm sure you'll get to play."

It wasn't going to be fine. It was probably never going to be fine again.

Matt's POV

I woke up in a great mood. The school year was almost over and I was going to be out of the hell hole known as Huntington High school. I had a good girl to keep me company. We had another gig, this time at The Che Café in LaJolla. If we were lucky, after graduation we could save enough money to travel around and play different places in California. Today we were finally to talk about naming the band.

We had used Lips of Deceit temporarily but the guys and I all had an assignment to write down suggestions. I racked my brain thinking but had finally followed Lucy's suggestion of checking out cool passages from the bible. The story of Cain and Abel intrigued me most. I was excited to suggest the named "Avenged Sevenfold."

I hurried toward the outside quad, hoping to catch Lucy before I met up with the guys. I knew give me an honest opinion about my suggestions. She'd tell me if Avenged Sevenfold was as cool as it sounded in my head. I knew she had soccer period so I made my way toward the athletic wing. She could probably still be on the field, since their big playoff game was tonight. I was hoping to go out and see her play. It would be pretty cool to catch her in action. Then Saturday night, she could come catch the band, assuming she had a fake ID or we could get Jason Berry to have her one made. I needed to check on that. She had agreed to come to dinner with my parents on Sunday. Damn...there was so much to do. So many great things and I was excited about all of them.

Until I made it to the doorway of her classroom and saw her with her arms wrapped around her douche bag ex-boyfriend. She was crying and holding on to him for dear life. What was going on? Had she confessed her undying love to him? Was she apologizing to him for everything that had happened between us? Had she told him the truth about everything? He was rubbing her back soothingly. Did that mean he forgave her.

I started to see red...I wanted to go and kick his ass...that asshole had his hands on my girl. No...wait...she wasn't my girl.

She'd always been his...she was never mine.