Narrow Paths

Chapter Six

I woke up in the morning bright and early at seven o'clock. I'd only gotten four hours of sleep, but that didn't matter. We had football practice on Saturdays at eight in the morning.

I didn't bother showering. I simply changed my clothes and hopped into my truck, skipping breakfast. In fifteen minutes, I was at the football field.

The entire day was devoted to learning a few new drills. Our offense was strong, but our defense had always been lacking. I was a wide receiver, so that meant I was working against our defense as they tried to learn the drill.

Jeremy was a linebacker who enjoyed his job a little too much. He'd hit someone so hard last year that they'd gotten a concussion. He didn't mind the fact that he intimidated the freshman players.

He ran up to me during one of our small water breaks. "What's up with you and Darcy?"

"What do you mean?"

"Beck said he saw you and her at a party last night."

"That lying bastard," I said, although in the inside my stomach dropped.

I knew that I was caught. Beck would tell my father and there was no way around that. As the quarterback, there was no way he could lie in the town's eyes. I doubted that I could convince my father that I hadn't been at the party. I knew I'd have to admit that I'd been there and pray he would throw me out of the house.

"That's what I said. You wouldn't be caught dead at a party thrown by Ricky."

"Ricky?"

"He's a drug smuggler up in Union City. Big guy, blond, really white?"

"Never seen him," I admitted truthfully.

"Well, then, there you go. You weren't at the party."

I was a bit ashamed that he didn't even think that I could be lying. I was, of course, but the truth would get me skinned alive by both him and my father. He valued the fact that I shared the same values he did; neither of us liked parties, drugs, or alcohol all that much.

We went back to work on the drills and by the time noon rolled around, I was ready to go home. I was sweaty and exhausted. The heat had made the practice almost unbearable.

I showered and changed in the locker room. I thought about how to tell my dad that I'd been at a party. I knew he didn't care if I partied; he'd said so himself. But I didn't know if he'd appreciate me lying about something this big.

I decided to take him out to lunch. I got in my truck, determined to take him to the diner. By the time I'd parked at the police station, the AC had cooled me off both physically and mentally.

There wasn't anyone in the station except my dad and his deputy, Mr. Name. He nodded at me and returned to his paper work while I sat down in front of my dad's desk.

His desk was littered with papers, cola stains, and paperclips. He was a messy person by nature. Although, if someone was to move something in an effort to clean, he'd never be able to find it again. He knew where everything on his desk was located underneath the mess.

"Want to go for lunch?"

"Sure, give me a minute."

He pulled himself out of his chair and rubbed his knees. He'd always had bad knees, for at least as long as I could remember. He picked up his holster and strapped it around his waist, then followed me out to the parking lot.

"Nope, nope, nope. We're not going in the cruiser."

He howled with laughter but I stood firm. I'd ridden to many a social event in the back of the cruiser just to amuse him. I didn't mind all that much, but it was a bit humiliating.