For Hating Me You Sure Are Possessive

41: For Show

The telephone in my aunt’s house never rings. In fact, had it not been for the fact coach had once called it, I wouldn’t be surprised to find it’d been shut off. My aunt had only gotten it so she could keep in contact with me.

I didn’t have to be a genius to know that plan had failed. The phone rang more often than I heard from my aunt. But the phone ringing and hearing from my aunt weren’t the only thing on my ‘Rare Occurrences in Kara’s Life’ list I had going. And no, I’m not referring to me managing to catch a break either.

It was people knocking on my front door. Not because I had a doorbell. I didn’t. In fact, so few people ever came over my aunt had never gotten a doorbell installed. Why should she if it would’ve only been for show?

So, when a knock sounded on my front door at ten in the morning I didn’t even register what it was. Instead I sat up in my bed, rubbing my tired eyes. What in the world are my neighbors doing? Normally I wouldn’t have minded being woken up at this time of day. But, I’d been up until six because of that damned party.

I groaned as I remembered how I practically had to beg for Logan to agree to drive me home. Had it not been for Preston saying he’d give me a piggy back the entire way if Logan didn’t get his keys I’d probably still be there. But I wasn’t.  Instead I was at home, in bed groggy and confused.

The knocking stopped shortly after I jammed my down pillow over my face to cancel out some of the unfamiliar pounding. I hesitated a fe moments before raising the pillow off of my head. “Thank god,” I groaned, shoving the pillow back beneath my head. All I’d need now was an hour or two more of sleep. Preston was picking me up at quarter to noon to go get his daughter from his ex girlfriend’s.

As if realizing how close to sleep I’d managed to get in those few precious moments a new sound filled the otherwise quiet house. Almost as rare as knocking; it was the telephone. The shrill whine of its electronic tone echoed off the walls. It was supposed to sound like every other phone when it rang- who knows, maybe it did –but in my worn out state it was death incarnate.

I heaved my legs over the side of the bed, muttering incoherently. I didn’t know why I ever bothered trying to sleep anymore. Someone was always messing with my sleeping patterns.

Maver and his parties did me no good. 

Logan and his dropping me off super early in the morning sure as hell didn’t help.

Not to mention all of the early morning practices I had to attend.

Which, not surprisingly, I was ecstatic that I had none to show up for this week. Waking up super early to walk to practice (no way no how was I climbing into Coach’s yellow hummer again) was on the very bottom of agenda. How I never questioned his vehicle choice was beside me. Did it not just scream suspicious?

Only as loudly as his sudden interest in me had screamed unusual I guess. For four years I’d been on the team. For four years I’d bounced between Maver and my teammates giving me lifts to practices and games. For four years Lucas had been my coach. Assistant Coach.

Never once had he offered me a ride. Never once did he stay behind to make sure I made it out of the building, what with how I was the last one out and everything. Never once had he treated me any differently than any of the other girls on the team.