The Rules | ✅ Completed

Chapter 11

Seeing red had become normal these days, and it made me sick. I hated the rage that took over every muscle in my body. The only thing that made my blood boil more than the emotion taking control was the look guys gave my sister these days. I'm not an idiot. Finn said it best. She had grown up and I couldn't keep her out of sight for long. Now it seemed impossible.

My little sister was determined to step right into the spotlight. She welcomed the attention which was unlike her. Not to mention it drove me insane. I had to listen to the locker room talk and my teammates were careless enough to bring up her name. Some had learned quick to keep their mouths shut. Noah Greene was one who hadn't.

Watching him inch closer to her while hovering over her notebook made the muscles in my neck tighten. He had been talking about her since we showed up at the park. Eyes glued to parts of her no man dared to stare at in my presence.

Much like everything else, I was blinded as my friend called the play. I heard the ball meet his fingers and narrowed what sights I did have still on the shaggy haired lineman. My body collided into his and we fell to the ground. A yelp caused me to scrambled to my feet. Breathing heavy, I stared down at the guy I just laid out.

"What the hell," Joe yelled at me as he shoved me away. My hand racked through my hair as I stormed away from the field.

"Luke," Shane shouted as he jogged after me. His hand fell on my shoulder and urged me to face him.

"Back off," I barked as I spun to face him.

"Whatever this is, get your shit together and get past it. You're getting out of control and it doesn't look good."

"I'm aware." I went to walk away from him when he stopped me again.

"You can't beat the crap out of every guy who looks too long at her. She's not a princess to be kept in the tower while you're the dragon claiming to keep her safe. She is a teenage ager damn it. Not to mention, she knows how she looks and hasn't been shy about hiding it. You have to accept it, and let this overprotective shit go."

"She's my baby sister."

"She's my sister, too, but you don't see me knocking heads." My jaw tightened as the insults kept coming. "Blaine's not a baby. She's a good looking girl. Can't blame everyone for looking."

My fist curled at my side and he could see it as it raised. As I worked to mentally talk myself off the cliff of no return, my sister pushed between us. Her hands rested on our chests as she tried to put space between us. My stomach dropped as I watched Shane pull her out of harm's way. She fought out of his hold and wedged her way between us.

"Luke," her voice shook as panic filled her face.

"Get her out of here," I growled. With my anger spiraling, fear filled me at the possibility of hurting her.

"I'm not going anywhere," she crossed her arms. The panic faded as she glared at me. "You dragged me here, remember?"

"I need you to go home." My focus was solely on Shane. The weight lifted off my shoulders as Shane silently agreed. He reached for her shoulder but she shrugged it off instantly.

"And where the hell are you going to go? To the hospital to check Noah?" The weight was returning along with the anger. "You... You owe him an apology."

"Go home," I growled again, I got down to her level in hopes of intimidating her with a stare.

"Let's go," Shane muttered as he grabbed her arm tightly. Tugging her away from me, I sighed as they left. The images of her cowering on the ground made my stomach churn. If I didn't rein it in, and fast, I would hurt her. The sirens of the ambulance broke through the horrid visions and I was reminded of the current situation. The EMTs were busy checking on Noah and it took all my will power to return to the scene of the crime.

The Jeep pulled out of the lot by the time I got back to the crowd. Blaine's book bag remained on the table near the field and I busied myself with throwing her stuff back in it. Finn came over quietly with his hands in his pocket. The power of his stare made my skin crawl.

"What?"

"Go to the hospital," he urged. He grabbed the bag from me. "I'll take this over to your house, then meet you there."

"He won't see me," my voice was barely a whisper.

"I don't care. Make the effort, try to apologize and do better next time. I'll send Joe to make sure you don't smother the guy with a pillow."

**~~**

With Joe hovering nearby, I began to understand how Blaine felt. We were sitting with the rest of our teammates who were at the park. Judging by the grim atmosphere you would think Noah was on life support. The nurse told us all to keep quiet a dozen times in between updates. I pulled out my phone and reached out to Shane.

Dead silence.

You would think with how things have been, he would at least let me know they got to the house. That Blaine had calmed down a little. Anything to clear my head of this bleak place. The judgmental stares were tearing me apart. Fully aware this was my fault, I wanted to snap at them to ease up. I kept my mouth shut knowing that it would only make the tension grow.

Forcing myself to my feet I stalked off down the hall. Without meaning to I stopped outside Noah's room. I took a deep breath and knocked on the door. His voice welcomed me in. I hesitated, reconsidering what I would say. Turning the handle, I entered the room with my head hanging low.

"Now I know how the other team always feels," Noah's smile was forced but I was thankful. I pulled up a chair and sat beside his bed.

"I'm sorry," the words just tumbled out. Deep down I wanted to blame my sister, but it wasn't true. This time it had been my own fault. "I can make up excuses but it doesn't change what I did."

"Doc says I'll be good to go in a few weeks."

"Just in time for playoffs," I could feel my smile waver. He wasn't as good as Finn, but Noah was great at reading the defense. He managed to find a whole and get us the yards when we needed them.

"Look, I wasn't going to do anything that would cross lines. Just some harmless flirting. I swear. I wouldn't disrespect you like that."

"I know." I leaned back in the chair and rubbed my hand over my face. "It's just something I have to work on."

"How many people did you rip off using that line?"

"Too many," I chuckled.

"You just got to breath, man. I'd say leave it on the field but then I have to make up guidelines. For starters, injure the ones not on the same team as you."

"Noted."

By the time I left Noah, Finn and Shane were in the waiting room. They were huddled in the corner of the room talking. I nodded toward them when I reached Joe. He shrugged and muttered a who knows. Shane's face was red and Finn was rubbing the back of his neck. A storm was brewing between them. It felt unnatural since I wasn't the cause of this one particular storm.

Shane pointed at Finn and gritted his teeth as he spoke. Finn threw out his arms which only added to Shane's hostility. After a few more words, Finn left the waiting room. Shane pulled of his baseball hat and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. He lifted his head to scan the room and paled as he saw me. The smile pulling at his lips helped the color to return as he approached us.