The Unexpected

save yourself

Sam's POV

I watched with a grin on my face as Ethan stared in disbelief. He shook his head. "Actually, I'm not too

surprised. You seemed like the kind of girl who could kick anyone's butt," he told her. She laughed and

walked to her locker. He had a small smile on his face and I thought, uh oh. Her back was to us and I

continued to watch Ethan. She pulled off her practice jersey and he blushed and started changing. The

rest of the guys were used to her but Ethan was new. I could tell he was trying not to look at her but from

personal experience, it's hard. I often noticed guys glancing at her lean, athletic body as she grabbed

her shirt, only in a sports bra. I used to have a major crush on her. We've been best friends since 2nd

grade, and I liked her until he came... and destroyed her. I shook my thoughts away and changed

quickly. 

Ethan's POV

Dang. The only word that describes what is happening. I told her the truth. I really am not too surprised.

Impressed, yes. Surprised, no. When I met her, she seemed like the girl who didn't take crap from

anyone and was confident. I changed and grabbed my bag to shove everything in. I walked out with the

rest of the team and was pulled to the side by someone. It was Sam. Syd raised an eyebrow and he

waved her on. She rolled her eyes and put her stuff in her truck. I guess she was waiting for Sam

because she didn't leave. I looked at Sam questioningly. He looked down and back up. "Listen, you

seem like a cool dude and I don't think you would do anything to hurt anybody... but do me one favor?" I

nodded and he continued. "Don't fall for Syd." I let that hang for a sec. Did he feel threatened? Was he

scared I was going to hurt her? Did I like her like that after one day? He saw my confused face. "You

might not know it now, but pretty much all guys go through it at our school. It's hard not to fall for her. I'm

not saying you like her now, but if I don't warn you, you will soon. I swear I don't like her and I'm acting

jealous or threatened," he clarified. "She's like a little sister. Anyway, all I'm saying is... don't fall for her,

you'll be hurt if she turns you down, after what happened with - " He stopped and looked guilty. "Woah,

woah. What happened?" He muttered a very unflattering word and cleared his throat. "I guess I can't

say that and then not tell you. Dang it Sam! Ugh, okay but you can't repeat this to anyone or I'll rip you

limb from limb. Got that?" I nodded slowly. "I think I can do that." He blew out a breath. "Good."

Sam's POV

Shi- oot, I'm an idiot. I knew Ethan was a good guy and he wouldn't spout out what I was going to tell

him but I was still protective of Syd. This was private stuff. I looked at him and finally said, "Okay, 2 years

ago, Syd started dating a guy named Caleb. Caleb was a star soccer player, all sport athlete, nice,

smart guy... and her first boyfriend. He was good to her. He was our good friend and like our brother.

They dated for a year. Then.. things changed. Syd started to not come to school for days at a time.

When she did, she had this look in her eyes we had never seen before. We realized later... it was fear.

We also found out..." I swallowed hard. It was not easy talking about it. It was still raw. "He did drugs. He

got wasted every weekend and the reason Syd was scared was because... he had started to beat her."

Ethan's eyes grew wide. "She thought it was just a phase that all guys went through and she loved him

so much that she accepted it. She loved him and yet he didn't feel the same way but beat her. It was

finally bad enough to where she ended up in the hospital. She had to stay there overnight and get 12

stitches." I closed my eyes. Even though this didn't happen to me, it happened to my best friend and it

hurt. I could see her in the hospital bed, unconcious and I opened my eyes again. "When she finally

woke up from unconciousness, she decided that she'd had enough. Caleb was so devastated that he

got drunk and.. and he -" I stopped and swallowed, hard. "He jumped in front of a- a train." Ethan closed

his eyes and groaned. I ran my fingers through my hair. "She blames herself for his death and put walls

up ever since. He only died 7 months ago. Don't tell her I told you okay? Just save yourself the

heartache and try not to fall in love with her. You'll only get rejected." I patted his shoulder and ran to

Syd's truck. 

She looked up from her phone. "Finally!" she muttered. I forced a smile. "Sorry, had to talk to Ethan

about our English homework." She looked at me suspiciously. "It takes 10 minutes to tell him the

homework?" I nodded. "Mrs. Jansen gives us a lot." She raised her eyebrow. "And you almost cry about

it?" I swallowed. "Of course. You don't cry about your homework?" She shook her head. "Whatever."

She started up the truck and we drove off. 

Ethan's POV

I stood there, yet again in shock. I could never understand fully what Syd went through. What happened

to her was terrible and I respected her so much more because of it. I knew that men could be abusive

but I never knew someone personally had gotten beaten. I was not only shocked, angry, and sad but

disappointed. This dude, Caleb, ruined everything for everyone else in Syd's life. He burned practically

all bridges for any future relationships. Syd's a cool girl, she didn't deserve that. She must have really

loved him to take that. And of course she would blame herself for his death. Survivors guilt. Plus, she

ended it with him. Anybody would feel guilty even though it's not their fault. I sighed and with heavy

thoughts weighing me down, I got into my car. How could someone be so awful? I shook my head. She

didn't deserve that. I remembered Sam's advice: Just save yourself the heartache and try not to fall in

love with her. You'll only get rejected