The Omission Behind Ones Devotion

Chapter 3

Brayden's POV:

I watch as Hayden tells us a little bit about herself.  I didn't really get to meet her, due to an unexpected phone call. I felt bad for leaving so abruptly but things have been kind of rough at home, ever since my father left us.

And as for my mother, well she was no mother to me. She's never home, and when she is, she's usually drunk and a thick smell of cigarettes seems to always consumes her.

She wasn't always like this. She used to be home, making dinner, with a smile on her face.

She used to be a part of my life.

She used to.

Don't get me wrong, my life isn't all that bad. My dad is the owner of a business, so he still sends checks in the mail for rent and food and stuff like that. I mean, most teenagers would love to be in my situation. Everything already paid for, house to yourself, nice car, nobody to tell you what to do, it seems great, really. But when you're alone on Christmas, or thanksgiving it all seems to sink back in, the memories, the pain, all of it.

I guess that's why I'm so thankful for Ryan. His family seemed to take me in as one of their own. His family helped me forget. I mean, I'm a little nervous though, now that his whole family is back under one roof, where does that leave me.

When it was just the boys in the house, there was nothing to worry about. Ryan's dad never asked any questions or anything.

I really didn't want his mom to find out. Every single time an adult hears my story they don't treat me the same. Its like I'm not a person anymore, instead I'm a charity case. And that is the last thing I want.

The sound of a whistle pulls me out of thought as I look back up to see that Hayden was no longer standing there.

"Alright everybody we are going to play a little game of volleyball, so...Brayden and...Luke team captains."

Luke had immediately chosen Hayden first, seeing that she is new and all. But I don't necessarily think that's the reason why, I saw the eyes he was giving her.

My team consists mostly of my football team, and Luke seemed to have some athletes, but mostly nerds. This is going to be an easy dub.

I go to serving position and wait for the whistle to be blown. When I do, I toss the ball up in the air, and serve straight to Hayden. She returns it to Luke who was the setter, with little to no effort, and called the ball. She approached the net, jumping up in the air, spiking it straight down. Multiple people dive, but no one seems to make contact with the ball. All heads turn to Hayden stunned. I recall Ryan saying that she played volleyball, but I didn't think she was that good.

Hayden's POV:

Everyone's heads turn as they all stare at me with astonishment after my hit.

"Wow", tall girl with blondish-brownish exclaims breaking the silence. She was standing at the entrance with a paper in her hand, obviously running an erran for a teacher. She walks over to Coach Booker, giving him the note, not breaking eye contact with me. She begins to walk over to me, and Coach Booker blows the whistle, signaling for everyone to continue to play.

"Can I speak to you for a second," She asks ushering to the door.

"Um sure?" I say unsure of who she is, or why she is pulling me from the "game".

We walk out of the gymnasium and she turns around. She was around my height, probably around 5'11".

"Who are you exactly?" I question.

"Oh silly me, I'm Avery. And you.. must be new," she questions back.

"Yeah, um I'm Hayden I moved here from Chicago."

"Do you play." She asks referring to Volleyball.

"Yeah I do...why?"

"FANTASTIC!!"

"Wait what?"

"Bring your stuff tomorrow, and bring your A game."

"Wait what?" I repeat, clearly confused.

"Oh yeah sorry forgot you're new. I'm on our school volleyball team, and our school is the three time state champions. I think you would be the perfect addition to the team, but it's not me you have to impress. Its Kaitlyn, she is captain and really difficult to persuade. Our season isn't until later in the year, but this is when we start recruiting since we don't actually have tryouts. So, you in?"

I let everything sink in and take a deep breath.

"I'm in."

"Yay!" Avery exclames jumping up and down. I hear the whistle blow again, followed by the ringing of the bell singling that the day was now over. I grab my things and begin my walk home.

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Hey guys, hope you liked Chapter 3, it's a little shorter than my other chapters but this chapter's main focus was to give you guys some background information. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed, if you did don't forget to vote!!

                      -Taylor