Even hours after my argument-if you could call it that-with Nate, I was still seething with anger. Every tiny thing irritated me. Dropping my books nearly brought frustrated tears to my eyes, and sitting through physics was a complete catastrophe, complete with a long rant to Paisley.
I tapped my pencil sharply against my notebook and I rambled on, "I just don't get it! I mean, now I know the real reason he wouldn't let Trevor check out the cut or why he wouldn't go to the hospital. God, he gives me this bullshit sob story about his dad and that's not even what the little asshat actually cares about. He's only worried about him. Selfish bastard." I threw my hands up in frustration. I would come to regret the choice words I used, but in the moment my irritation overtook me.
The final bell rang and I complained on as we walked to her car. Fed up, Paisley cut me off. "Stop. Nate's a big boy; you have to let him make his own choices. They may be stupid choices, but it's not like you have to put up with them forever. Just ten more months." She laughed it off, as if ten months was as short as drive to the supermarket. I also knew this was a test. Even as she tries to comfort me, Paisley was digging for any juicy detail she could sink her teeth into.
I gave her a look, one that said I know what you're doing. Paisley shrugged nonchalantly, as if to say yeah, so what? She was asking me about where my relationship with Nate stood. I wasn't going to play into her games.
Not directly answering her silent question, I said, "I may not have to deal with him forever, but I still care for him now. He's going to hurt himself."
I think the answer left Paisley with even more questions. How deeply did I care for him? Why did I say I may not have to deal with him forever?
She shook her head, knowing she wasn't going to get anywhere with me today. "Okay, I know, but just try to be calm and be there for him tonight? He's doing this whether you show up to the game or not."
"I guess so."
"Yeah, okay, so let's just go get ready. We need to be back here by five thirty to catch the bus," Paisley reminded me.
"Okay."
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Paisley and I originally planned to get ready at Nate and I's house, so she could see where we've been living. But I was avoiding him, and going home meant running into him. I wasn't having any of that.
So we took our bags to Paisley's house and got ready there. I curled my hair and secured it back with a bow before swiping on some simple makeup and tugging on my uniform. We got back to catch the bus with plenty of time.
On the bus, the other cheerleaders blasted music, trying to hype everyone up for the game. Usually I would enjoy the music and sing along, but I felt foggy. My body and mind was exhausted with worry. No matter how mad at Nate I was for his choice, my concern outweighed the anger. I should've dragged him to the hospital and got his ass benched.
When the bus dropped us off at our opponent's field, the football teams were already out on the turf warming up. My eyes betrayed me and automatically sought out Nate on the field. I supposed he looked well enough, in his uniform and tossing around a ball with Tyler, who happened to be his wide receiver. I didn't see any hesitation or resistance in his movements. He probably took one too many Advils to put him in such good condition, but I still felt myself relax slightly. Just four quarters, that's all he had to get through.
I quickly scanned the stands, trying to see if either Nate's parents or my own had shown up by I couldn't find them. I guess the drive to the away game was a little too much.
The game began not long after we arrived and by the end of the first quarter our teams were still tied at 0-0. The game was proving to be tough, but, in order to move farther in the playoffs, we needed to pull out a win. In the second quarter, both teams managed to score and half-time began with our team losing 13-7.
Nate yanked off his helmet as he stormed off the field. He was slowly getting worn out through the game, becoming sluggish and throwing incomplete passes. His edge was gone. I watched as Nate kicked the trash can sitting on the sidelines. It spun a little, but didn't tip.
Nate looked up to the cheerleaders, like he was trying to find me. He locked eyes with me and his anger switched into sadness. My heart ached, as I began to empathize with him. He just wanted to win for his team; he wanted a glimmer of happiness in his overly stressful life. Nate was a teenager who had to deal with not only his dad dying, but also suddenly running a huge company. He just wanted something a normal teenager worries about, the big game.
All my annoyance softened, and even though I was still worried out of my mind for Nate, I knew I needed to stand by him. Without another thought, I walks off the track where the cheerleaders stood and onto the sidelines to Nate. I probably wasn't supposed to, so I planned on making my peace quickly.
I stood up on my tiptoes and threw my arms around Nate's neck, wrapping him in a tight hug.
"I'm sorry, I was just worried about you. I understand why you did it. Don't get discouraged, and go kick some ass this next half. Don't let them win," I said, without letting Nate get any words in. I released him and took when step back to see his face. A small smile and a slight nod told me that's all he needed. So I smiled back, bigger and brighter, and ran back to the sideline, ready to cheer him on.
The next half started and the energy completely changed. Our team was fast, strong, and ready to win. Nate threw pass after pass perfectly, and by the middle of the fourth quarter we were winning 28-20.
It was getting down to the last minute of the game, and it was the longest minute of the entire game. Timeout after timeout was called, the other team trying to run any saving grace play. After their fourth down, our offense was back on the field.
The ball was snapped to Nate, who searched quickly for his open wide receiver with just seconds left. Nate threw the ball, and I watched as Tyler caught the ball, running it smoothing into the end zone. I cheered loudly as the final buzzer echoed through the stadium.
The sounds were deafening, until the entire crowd grew silent. I looked around confused, and only then did I see him.
Lying motionless, Nate was crumpled on the ground.
The next few minutes were a blur. Before I knew it, I was watching Nate getting wheeled off the field in a stretcher as Paisley wrapped her arms around me.
A scream tore from my throat as I raced after Nate. Paisley tried holding me back, but I wasn't having any of it. I needed to be with him.
I caught up to Nate just as his the paramedics were putting him into the ambulance.
"Nate!" I cried. My eyes turned to his coach. "What's happening? Is he okay?" I asked frantically. As I tried to climb into the ambulance with him, his coach and Trevor, the athletic trainer, stopped me.
"Woah, girl, what do you think you're doing?" Trevor said.
Without any care of the repercussions, I wiped my tear-streaked cheeks and indignantly stated, "I'm his wife. I have a right to go to the hospital with him."
Stunned into silence, Trevor and the coach let me pass. I climbed into the ambulance with the paramedics and braced myself for what was to come.
_____________________________________________
This was hard to write. Thanks for reading this part and I hope you enjoyed :)
YOU ARE READING
Weight
Teen Fiction"Whatever happens, we're in it together," he murmured softly. I gulped, feeling the impact of his words. We were bound by law. And though we weren't in love, we were still in a relationship, however dysfunctional it may have been. *****************...
